What, are the brothers parted?
Have the brothers parted ways?
Did the brothers split up?
did the brothers leave?
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've finished with Pompey; he's gone. The other three are sealing their alliance. Octavia weeps at having to leave Rome. Caesar is sad, and Lepidus, according to Menas, has been troubled with sickness since Pompey's feast.
They're done with Pompey—he's gone. The other three are finalizing the deal. Octavia's crying about leaving Rome. Caesar's unhappy, and Lepidus has been sick ever since Pompey's party.
done with pompey the other three are sealing the deal octavia's crying to leave rome caesar's sad, lepidus got sick at the party
’Tis a noble Lepidus.
He's a noble Lepidus.
He's a good guy, Lepidus.
lepidus is noble
A very fine one. O, how he loves Caesar!
A very good one. Oh, how he loves Caesar!
A really good one. Man, he loves Caesar!
yeah he's great loves caesar so much
Nay, but how dearly he adores Mark Antony!
But he adores Mark Antony even more dearly!
But actually, he adores Mark Antony way more!
mark antony tho way more
Caesar? Why he’s the Jupiter of men.
Caesar? He's the Jupiter among men.
Caesar? He's like the king of the gods compared to men.
caesar's like jupiter among men
What’s Antony? The god of Jupiter.
What about Antony? He's the god above Jupiter.
Antony? He's like the god above Jupiter himself.
antony's like the god above jupiter
Spake you of Caesar? How, the nonpareil!
You spoke of Caesar? He's the one without equal!
You're talking about Caesar? He's incomparable!
you mentioned caesar he's unmatched
O, Antony! O thou Arabian bird!
Antony! You're like the Arabian bird!
Antony! You're like the mythical phoenix!
antony you're like the legendary bird
Would you praise Caesar, say “Caesar”. Go no further.
If you want to praise Caesar, just say his name. Stop there.
If you want to praise Caesar, just say his name—that's enough.
praise caesar just say his name stop
Indeed, he plied them both with excellent praises.
Indeed, he praised both of them excellently.
Yeah, he praised them both really well.
he praised them both great
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; still, he loves Antony. Listen! Hearts, tongues, likenesses, scribes, bards, poets cannot think, speak, draw, write, sing, or count his love for Antony. But as for Caesar, kneel down, kneel down, and marvel.
But he loves Caesar most; still, he loves Antony so much that no human expression—no heart, voice, image, writing, song, or number—can capture it. But for Caesar, you should just kneel and be amazed.
he loves caesar most but loves antony so much no heart tongue image bard poet can express it but caesar kneel and wonder
Both he loves.
Both he loves.
Both he loves.
both he loves.
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.
They are his shards, and he their beetle.
They are his wings, and he's the beetle that lifts them.
They're his wings, and he's the beetle that carries them along.
they're his wings he's the beetle
So,
This is to horse. Adieu, noble Agrippa.
So, It's time to mount my horse. Goodbye, noble Agrippa.
Well, I'm heading to my horse. Goodbye, noble Agrippa.
time to go. goodbye noble agrippa
Good fortune, worthy soldier, and farewell.
Good fortune to you, worthy soldier, and goodbye.
Good luck out there, soldier. Goodbye.
good luck soldier bye
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're taking away a great part of myself. Treat me well in this. Sister, be the wife that I think you are, and let my deepest bond commit to your approval. Most noble Antony, don't let Octavia, the virtue who stands between us as the cement of our love, be used as the ram to break down the fortress of it. We could have loved better without this arrangement, if on both sides this bond is not cherished.
You're taking a huge part of me away. Use me well in this. Sister, be the wife I believe you are, and let everything I hold most dear depend on your approval. Most noble Antony, don't use Octavia—the good woman between us who holds our love together—as a weapon to destroy what we're building. We could've loved each other without needing this arrangement, but only if we both truly value it.
you're taking part of me sister be who i think you are antony don't use her as a weapon against us we need to both protect this
Make me not offended
In your distrust.
Don't offend me with your suspicion.
Don't hurt me with your doubt.
dont make me feel bad about this
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 won't find, no matter how closely you look, the least reason for what you seem to fear. So may the gods protect you, and make all Romans' hearts serve your ends. We'll part here.
You won't find any reason to worry, no matter how hard you look. May the gods keep you safe, and make every Roman's heart work for you. This is where we'll part.
you won't find anything to fear may gods protect you may all romans serve you we part here
Farewell, my dearest sister, fare thee well.
The elements be kind to thee, and make
Thy spirits all of comfort! Fare thee well.
Goodbye, my dearest sister, goodbye. May the elements be kind to you, and may your spirit be full of comfort! Goodbye.
Goodbye, my dearest sister, take care. May nature be kind to you and fill your heart with peace! Goodbye.
goodbye sister may you be at peace
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.
Her eyes show April, spring itself. Those are the showers that bring love into bloom. Be cheerful.
Her eyes have spring in them, that fresh beginning. Those tears are like spring rain. Be happy.
her eyes are like april spring those tears are spring rain be happy
Sir, look well to my husband’s house, and—
Sir, take good care of my husband's house, and—
Sir, please make sure my husband's household is well looked after, and—
take care of my husband's house ok—
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.
What, Octavia?
What, Octavia?
What, Octavia?
what, octavia?
I’ll tell you in your ear.
I'll tell you privately.
Let me whisper it to you.
ill say it to you only
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 cannot express her heart, nor can her heart guide her tongue—she's like a swan's-down feather floating on the swell at full tide, leaning toward neither side.
She can't speak what she feels, and her heart can't guide her words—she's like a feather floating perfectly balanced on the ocean at high tide, pulled in no direction.
her tongue won't speak her heart her heart won't guide her tongue like a feather floating balanced on the tide
[_Aside to Agrippa_.] Will Caesar weep?
Will Caesar cry?
Do you think Caesar's going to cry?
will caesar actually cry
[_Aside to Enobarbus_.] He has a cloud in ’s face.
He has sorrow written across his face.
He looks miserable.
he looks sad
[_Aside to Agrippa_.] He were the worse for that were he a horse;
So is he, being a man.
If he were a horse, that would make him worse off. He's a man, and it's the same for him.
A horse would be shameful for showing such weakness. He's a man, and it's just as bad.
that weakness would make a horse look bad he's a man so it's just as shameful
[_Aside to Enobarbus_.] Why, Enobarbus,
When Antony found Julius Caesar dead,
He cried almost to roaring, and he wept
When at Philippi he found Brutus slain.
Look, Enobarbus—when Antony learned of Julius Caesar's death, he wept so intensely he nearly roared. And he grieved bitterly when he discovered Brutus dead at Philippi.
Listen, Enobarbus—when Antony heard Julius Caesar was dead, he sobbed so hard he almost roared. And he grieved deeply when he found Brutus dead at Philippi.
antony cried hard when julius caesar died nearly roared from grief wept again for brutus at philippi
[_Aside to Agrippa_.] That year, indeed, he was troubled with a rheum;
What willingly he did confound he wailed,
Believe ’t, till I weep too.
That year, certainly, he was troubled with watery eyes. Whatever he willingly ruined, he wailed over—I swear, I can barely keep from weeping myself.
That year he definitely had watery eyes from grief. Anything he messed up through his own choices, he mourned it dramatically. I'm about ready to cry listening to him.
that year his eyes were always wet everything he ruined he cried about i can barely hold back my own tears
No, sweet Octavia,
You shall hear from me still. The time shall not
Outgo my thinking on you.
No, sweet Octavia, you'll continue to hear from me. Time won't prevent me from thinking of you.
Sweet Octavia, you'll hear from me. Nothing will stop me from thinking of you.
octavia i'll write you i'll always think of 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, come, I'll show you my love through a strong embrace. Look, I have you here; now I let you go and entrust you to the gods.
Come on, I'll hold you with all my love. Here you are in my arms; now I'm letting you go and putting you in the gods' hands.
come let me hold you i've got you now i let you go to the gods
Adieu, be happy!
Goodbye, be happy!
Farewell, be happy!
bye. be happy
Let all the number of the stars give light
To thy fair way!
May all the stars give light to your fair journey!
May every star light your way!
may the stars light your 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.