Brutus says long live caesar3/28/2023 In Act V, by having the two opposing groups speak, Shakespeare tells his audience that, in fact, it is too late for language. The characters and the action of this play express this desire and fear. Human use of language, according to the Elizabethan way of thinking, derived from that authority and thus had within it the potential for a tremendous power - one that human beings both desired and feared. During that period, the ultimate, the most authoritative Word was God's. Why does Shakespeare so purposefully draw the reader's attention to language? He does so because the question of language and its power were important issues in Elizabethan times. These passages are taken from just eight lines and are only a small sampling. ![]() "Good words are better than bad strokes.".The real battle of words, however, occurs between the triumvirate and the conspirators. It is no surprise, then, that a power struggle opens the scene as (the younger) Octavius refuses to follow (the older) Antony's orders. The previous four acts have been largely about words, persuasion, the (mis)use and (mis)interpretation of words, and the power of language. It is fitting that a battle of words should open the final act of the play. They part poignantly with Cassius saying, "For ever, and for ever, Brutus! / If we do meet again, we'll smile indeed / If not, true this parting was well made." Octavius, Antony, and their armies exit.Ĭassius has serious misgivings about the battle, and both he and Brutus worry that they will never see each other again. Cassius calls Octavius a "peevish schoolboy" and Antony a "masker and a reveller." Antony responds that Cassius is "old Cassius still," and Octavius challenges Brutus and Cassius to fight now or whenever they muster the courage. Octavius suggests that they cease talking and begin fighting and boasts that he will not sheath his sword until he has either revenged Caesar or has been killed by traitors. Cassius accuses Antony of using deceit in his meeting with the conspirators following the assassination and he reminds Brutus that they would not have to endure Antony's offensive language now had he died alongside Caesar. ![]() The two sides immediately hurl insults at one another: Antony accuses Brutus of hypocrisy in the assassination and he derides the conspirators for the cowardly way that they killed Caesar. Antony orders Octavius to take the left side of the field, but Octavius insists upon taking the right and Antony taking the left.īrutus, Cassius, and their followers enter, and the opposing generals meet. A messenger arrives and warns Octavius and Antony that the enemy is approaching. On the plain of Philippi, Octavius and Antony, along with their forces, await Brutus, Cassius, and their armies.
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