Antony is a hugely ambiguous character. He hardly appears in the first half of the play at all, and only really comes into focus once Caesar has been murdered. All we really find out about him in the early part of the play is that he's something of a party-animal, and that he enjoys plays. And Cassius, who's always right in this play, fears him as a potential threat.
His good points only come into focus after the murder. First thing to say is that he's an extremely skilful politician. He knows to take the conspirators' hands, and he makes sure that he makes it seem completely uncalculated:
Gentlemen all,—alas, what shall I say?
My credit now stands on such slippery ground,
That one of two bad ways you must conceit me,
Either a coward or a flatterer.
That I did love thee, Caesar, O, 'tis true!
He is, of course, a flatterer. A complete flatterer. So much so that the audience actually believe that he's on the side of the conspirators. It's only when he makes his speech that you think he might be genuine:
O, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth,
That I am meek and gentle with these butchers!
And then, of course, his famous speech at the funeral turns the tide against the conspirators, and makes the act of doing so seem uncalculated. He's an amazing speaker. In fact, he's such a good speaker, that you never know whether to believe him. Is he a good friend - is he loyal to Caesar - is he self-serving? Depends which of his lines you buy and which you don't.
No comments:
Post a Comment