Julius Caesar (theatre)/Awesome
O, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth, —Mark Antony, Act 3 Scene 1
|
- Ah, the first time we see Mark Antony alone on stage after the assassination. The moment the mask falls away, and we see the dark thoughts and emotions boiling beneath the surface as he spoke to the conspirators before, concealed even by his previous shows of grief, now clearly meticulously planned while his servant spoke to them. These same emotions are with him still up until Brutus's own death. Such hateful, spiteful, ruthless, vindictive, and brutal words, and such symbolism in them. Especially the line "and let slip the dogs of war." This is a reference, first to the Rome practice of bringing teams of dogs to the battlefield trained to kill, but also of religious symbology in both the Roman Classical Mythology and the Christianity of Shakespeare's own time. Thus these dogs are Hellhounds belonging to alternatively Mars or War, the second rider of the Apocalypse on the Red Horse with a sword. It really gives the question of Who Let The Dogs Out? a whole new meaning. So was it Shakespeare, Mark Antony, Caesar's ghost, or Atë? I lean towards Mark Antony myself.
- And yet those hateful, ruthless, vindictive words are completely understandable: Antony loved Caesar, and desired revenge for his assassination. And boy howdy does he take revenge to a new extreme.
- Antony's entire Rousing Speech to the crowd, turning them from the conspirators' side to his own without breaking Brutus' rule about criticizing the conspirators, instead you can just feel the sarcasm leaping off the page, getting more and more venomous as he repeats "Brutus is an honorable man" until you're almost ready to join up with the mob and avenge Caesar.