What, are the brothers parted?
What, are the brothers parted?
What, are the brothers parted?
what, are the brothers parted?
They have dispatched with Pompey; he is gone.
The other three are sealing. Octavia weeps
To part from Rome. Caesar is sad, and Lepidus,
Since Pompey’s feast, as Menas says, is troubled
With the greensickness.
They have dispatched with Pompey; he is gone. The other three are sealing. Octavia weeps To part from Rome. Caesar is sad, and Lepidus, Since Pompey’s feast, as Menas says, is troubled With the greensickness.
They have dispatched with Pompey; he is gone. The other three are sealing. Octavia weeps To part from Rome. Caesar is sad, and Lepidus, Since Pompey’s feast, as Menas says, is troubled With the greensickness.
they have dispatched with pompey; he is gone. the other three are sealing. octavia weeps to part from rome. caesar is sad, and lepidus, since pompey’s
’Tis a noble Lepidus.
’Tis a noble Lepidus.
’Tis a noble Lepidus.
’tis a noble lepidus.
A very fine one. O, how he loves Caesar!
A very fine one. O, how he loves Caesar!
A very fine one. O, how he loves Caesar!
a very fine one. o, how he loves caesar!
Nay, but how dearly he adores Mark Antony!
Nay, but how dearly he adores Mark Antony!
Nay, but how dearly he adores Mark Antony!
nay, but how dearly he adores mark antony!
Caesar? Why he’s the Jupiter of men.
Caesar? Why he’s the Jupiter of men.
Caesar? Why he’s the Jupiter of men.
caesar? why he’s the jupiter of men.
What’s Antony? The god of Jupiter.
What’s Antony? The god of Jupiter.
What’s Antony? The god of Jupiter.
what’s antony? the god of jupiter.
Spake you of Caesar? How, the nonpareil!
Spake you of Caesar? How, the nonpareil!
Spake you of Caesar? How, the nonpareil!
spake you of caesar? how, the nonpareil!
O, Antony! O thou Arabian bird!
O, Antony! O thou Arabian bird!
O, Antony! O thou Arabian bird!
o, antony! o thou arabian bird!
Would you praise Caesar, say “Caesar”. Go no further.
Would you praise Caesar, say “Caesar”. Go no further.
Would you praise Caesar, say “Caesar”. Go no further.
would you praise caesar, say “caesar”. go no further.
Indeed, he plied them both with excellent praises.
Indeed, he plied them both with excellent praises.
Indeed, he plied them both with excellent praises.
indeed, he plied them both with excellent praises.
But he loves Caesar best, yet he loves Antony.
Hoo! Hearts, tongues, figures, scribes, bards, poets, cannot
Think, speak, cast, write, sing, number—hoo!—
His love to Antony. But as for Caesar,
Kneel down, kneel down, and wonder.
But he loves Caesar best, yet he loves Antony. Hoo! Hearts, tongues, figures, scribes, bards, poets, cannot Think, speak, cast, write, sing, number—hoo!— His love to Antony. But as for Caesar, Kneel down, kneel down, and wonder.
But he loves Caesar best, yet he loves Antony. Hoo! Hearts, tongues, figures, scribes, bards, poets, cannot Think, speak, cast, write, sing, number—hoo!— His love to Antony. But as for Caesar, Kneel down, kneel down, and wonder.
but he loves caesar best, yet he loves antony. hoo! hearts, tongues, figures, scribes, bards, poets, cannot think, speak, cast, write, sing, number—ho
Both he loves.
Both he loves.
Both he loves.
both he loves.
They are his shards, and he their beetle.
They are his shards, and he their beetle.
They are his shards, and he their beetle.
they are his shards, and he their beetle.
Octavia speaks only a handful of lines in this scene, and none of them are complete. She says 'My noble brother!' — and stops. She starts a practical request — 'look well to my husband's house, and—' — and has to whisper the rest privately. Antony describes her as a feather balanced at the crest of a wave, inclining neither way. This is Shakespeare's most precise description of what it feels like to be a political marriage: you belong to no one, you can't fully speak to either side, and the thing you most want to say is the thing you can least afford to say publicly. Octavia is articulate in her silences. Watch for how she is described but rarely allowed to describe — and how that changes when she finally reappears in 3-6.
Good fortune, worthy soldier, and farewell.
Good fortune, worthy soldier, and farewell.
Good fortune, worthy soldier, and farewell.
good fortune, worthy soldier, and farewell.
No further, sir.
No further, sir.
No further, sir.
no further, sir.
You take from me a great part of myself.
Use me well in’t. Sister, prove such a wife
As my thoughts make thee, and as my farthest bond
Shall pass on thy approof. Most noble Antony,
Let not the piece of virtue which is set
Betwixt us, as the cement of our love
To keep it builded, be the ram to batter
The fortress of it. For better might we
Have loved without this mean, if on both parts
This be not cherished.
You take from me a great part of myself. Use me well in’t. Sister, prove such a wife As my thoughts make thee, and as my farthest bond Shall pass on thy approof. Most noble Antony, Let not the piece of virtue which is set Betwixt us, as the cement of our love To keep it builded, be the ram to batter...
You take from me a great part of myself. Use me well in’t. Sister, prove such a wife As my thoughts make thee, and as my farthest bond Shall pass on thy approof. Most noble Antony, Let not the piece of virtue which is set Betwixt us, as the cement of our love To keep it builded, be the ram to batter...
you take from me a great part of myself. use me well in’t. sister, prove such a wife as my thoughts make thee, and as my farthest bond shall pass on t
Make me not offended
In your distrust.
Make me not offended In your distrust.
Make me not offended In your distrust.
make me not offended in your distrust.
I have said.
I have said.
I have said.
i have said.
You shall not find,
Though you be therein curious, the least cause
For what you seem to fear. So the gods keep you,
And make the hearts of Romans serve your ends.
We will here part.
You shall not find, Though you be therein curious, the least cause For what you seem to fear. So the gods keep you, And make the hearts of Romans serve your ends. We will here part.
You shall not find, Though you be therein curious, the least cause For what you seem to fear. So the gods keep you, And make the hearts of Romans serve your ends. We will here part.
you shall not find, though you be therein curious, the least cause for what you seem to fear. so the gods keep you, and make the hearts of romans serv
Farewell, my dearest sister, fare thee well.
The elements be kind to thee, and make
Thy spirits all of comfort! Fare thee well.
Farewell, my dearest sister, fare thee well. The elements be kind to thee, and make Thy spirits all of comfort! Fare thee well.
Farewell, my dearest sister, fare thee well. The elements be kind to thee, and make Thy spirits all of comfort! Fare thee well.
farewell, my dearest sister, fare thee well. the elements be kind to thee, and make thy spirits all of comfort! fare thee well.
Octavia barely gets to finish a sentence — her speech is always interrupted, always incomplete. Watch for how Shakespeare uses her broken syntax to express a character caught between two powerful men, unable to fully belong to either.
My noble brother!
My noble brother!
My noble brother!
my noble brother!
The April’s in her eyes. It is love’s spring,
And these the showers to bring it on.—Be cheerful.
The April’s in her eyes. It is love’s spring, And these the showers to bring it on.—Be cheerful.
The April’s in her eyes. It is love’s spring, And these the showers to bring it on.—Be cheerful.
the april’s in her eyes. it is love’s spring, and these the showers to bring it on.—be cheerful.
Sir, look well to my husband’s house, and—
Sir, look well to my husband’s house, and—
Sir, look well to my husband’s house, and—
sir, look well to my husband’s house, and—
What, Octavia?
What, Octavia?
What, Octavia?
what, octavia?
I’ll tell you in your ear.
I’ll tell you in your ear.
I’ll tell you in your ear.
i’ll tell you in your ear.
Her tongue will not obey her heart, nor can
Her heart inform her tongue—the swan’s-down feather,
That stands upon the swell at the full of tide,
And neither way inclines.
Her tongue will not obey her heart, nor can Her heart inform her tongue—the swan’s-down feather, That stands upon the swell at the full of tide, And neither way inclines.
Her tongue will not obey her heart, nor can Her heart inform her tongue—the swan’s-down feather, That stands upon the swell at the full of tide, And neither way inclines.
her tongue will not obey her heart, nor can her heart inform her tongue—the swan’s-down feather, that stands upon the swell at the full of tide, and n
The Lepidus joke is brief and devastatingly efficient. Two men who serve different masters — Enobarbus serves Antony, Agrippa serves Caesar — share a laugh at the expense of the third triumvir. The joke is affectionate on the surface ('noble Lepidus,' 'very fine') but the escalating absurdity (Caesar as Jupiter, Antony as the god above Jupiter, Lepidus as the dung beetle under both) reveals exactly what everyone knows: Lepidus is not a real power. He is maintained because eliminating him would require Caesar and Antony to directly confront each other. The comedy has a clock in it.
So is he, being a man.
So is he, being a man.
So is he, being a man.
so is he, being a man.
When Antony found Julius Caesar dead,
He cried almost to roaring, and he wept
When at Philippi he found Brutus slain.
When Antony found Julius Caesar dead, He cried almost to roaring, and he wept When at Philippi he found Brutus slain.
When Antony found Julius Caesar dead, He cried almost to roaring, and he wept When at Philippi he found Brutus slain.
when antony found julius caesar dead, he cried almost to roaring, and he wept when at philippi he found brutus slain.
What willingly he did confound he wailed,
Believe ’t, till I weep too.
What willingly he did confound he wailed, Believe ’t, till I weep too.
What willingly he did confound he wailed, Believe ’t, till I weep too.
what willingly he did confound he wailed, believe ’t, till i weep too.
No, sweet Octavia,
You shall hear from me still. The time shall not
Outgo my thinking on you.
No, sweet Octavia, You shall hear from me still. The time shall not Outgo my thinking on you.
No, sweet Octavia, You shall hear from me still. The time shall not Outgo my thinking on you.
no, sweet octavia, you shall hear from me still. the time shall not outgo my thinking on you.
Come, sir, come,
I’ll wrestle with you in my strength of love.
Look, here I have you, thus I let you go,
And give you to the gods.
Come, sir, come, I’ll wrestle with you in my strength of love. Look, here I have you, thus I let you go, And give you to the gods.
Come, sir, come, I’ll wrestle with you in my strength of love. Look, here I have you, thus I let you go, And give you to the gods.
come, sir, come, i’ll wrestle with you in my strength of love. look, here i have you, thus i let you go, and give you to the gods.
Adieu, be happy!
Adieu, be happy!
Adieu, be happy!
adieu, be happy!
Let all the number of the stars give light
To thy fair way!
Let all the number of the stars give light To thy fair way!
Let all the number of the stars give light To thy fair way!
let all the number of the stars give light to thy fair way!
Farewell, farewell!
Farewell, farewell!
Farewell, farewell!
farewell, farewell!
Farewell!
Farewell!
Farewell!
farewell!
The Reckoning
Two conversations run in parallel: the sycophantic comedy of Lepidus (whom both lieutenants find hilarious) and the genuine grief of a farewell that everyone knows is fragile. Caesar's speech to Octavia is as much a warning to Antony as a goodbye to his sister — every warm word has a political edge. The audience watches Octavia, caught between two men, unable to form a single sentence.
If this happened today…
Picture the HR-managed farewell at a merger company where the CEO's sister has just married the rival CEO to seal the deal. The company blog post is warm and optimistic. In the break room, two middle managers are doing a dead-on impression of the CFO, who keeps saying both men are amazing. Meanwhile the actual sister stands at the airport security line trying to say something to her brother and can't find the words. The glass door closes. Nobody says what they mean.