Antony's Speech III

Bill Long

Creating Desire (3.2.118-160)

Once Antony has stopped the momentum of Brutus's speech by contrasting Caesar's supposed ambition with examples of his unambitious conduct, he is ready to create a desire in the people for more information. He does so by subtly suggesting the idea to the crowd that they ought to mutiny and then, more strongly, dangling Caesar's unread will before their eyes.

Mutiny

While the plebs demonstrate the vacillating character of their minds, Antony takes up his speech again. "O masters! if I were dispos'd to stir/ Your hearts and minds to mutiny and rage,/ I should do Brutus wrong, and Cassius wrong (3.2.121-123)," because, of course, they are honorable men. The crowd by this time is not convinced that they are honorable men, and so the conditional clause lodges in their minds, but possibly with the conditional ('if') removed. 'Of course, I am not inclined to stir you up to rebellion,' Antony says falsely. The mere mention of it stokes the passions. It is as if a teacher were to say to honors students, "I don't want you to be concerned about grades," and then tries to go onto another subject. More than one student will interrupt, "What is your policy on grades, professor?"

The Will

But Antony is subtler still. He doesn't linger on the scary theme of mutiny, passing over that as quickly as it seems to come into his mind. He does want to linger over Caesar's will, however, and by planting knowledge of it in the people, and then taking it away, he is encouraging them to want both of the things that are taken away (mutiny and the will).

He is more forceful on the will. "But here's a parchment with the seal of Caesar,/ I found it in his closet, 'tis his will./ Let but the commons hear this testament--/ Which, pardon me, I do not mean to read-- (3.2.128-131)." Right. Tell them that the will contains precious information which would make them "kiss dead Caesar's wounds,/ And dip their napkins in his sacred blood (3.2.132-133)," [note the restrained and reverential dipping of napkins in blood in contrast to the barbaric plunging of the conspirators' arms into Caesar's pool of blood in 3.1.106].

Caesar's Love

If Antony was to read the will, he would be bringing out "testimony" as to how Caesar loved the people (3.2.141). The theme of love is here developed as not something private, between Brutus and Caesar or even between Antony and Caesar but now from Caesar toward the people. They loved him (3.2.102) and now Antony reveals that the will shows how Caesar loved them. Love was reciprocated. Antony's false protests to the effect that if he read the will, "it will inflame you, it will made you mad (3.2.144)," is precisely meant to inflame them and make them mad. The word "will," a person's last testament, used at least 13 times in fewer than 30 lines.

But even more to be noticed are a handful of uses of "will," the helping verb. ["will you give me leave?" (3.2.160) or "Will you be patient? Will you stay awhile?" (3.2.149) and "You will compel me then to read the will? (3.2.157)] Both usages of "will" ring in our ears with an insistence that is almost unbearable. Certainly the people will demand the thing that Antony forbids. Mutiny has surely been forgotten by now, but it was the first thing that Antony mentioned as he created a desire in the people. They are fixated now on the will, but the first thing suggested to them was rebellion. Both will be linked, and ultimately they will not have one without the other.

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