Julius Caesar Comparative Essay: Mark Antony and Marcus Brutus

The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, written by William Shakespeare, is a tragic drama that takes place in the 1st century BC in Rome, Italy. The play covers events surrounding and including the death of Julius Caesar. Mark Antony is his trusted friend and supporter. Another friend of Caesar, but much less of a supporter, is Marcus Brutus, who is a leader of the conspiracy against Caesar. While Antony and Brutus are both friends of Caesar, other character traits including courage, loyalty, and sincerity set them apart from each other.

Antony and Brutus are both admirably courageous. It took great courage for Brutus to kill Caesar, for he was his best friend. He shows the complications in the decision when he tells the plebeians

"As Caesar loved me, I weep for him. As he was

fortunate, I rejoice at it. As he was valiant, I honor

him. But as he was ambitious, I slew him." (p. 405)

After Caesar's death, Antony shows courage in betraying the conspirators. Brutus claims he has "found no man but he was true to [him]" (p. 430), which shows how well liked and well respected Brutus is. For Antony to go against such a figure and turn the public toward mutiny took a great deal of audacity. Brutus has more honorable courage. Before committing suicide, he says to Volumnius, "It is more worthy to leap in ourselvesThan tarry till they push us" (p. 430), thinking that he had been beaten. Brutus then asks Strato to help him kill himself, not to do it for him: "Hold then my sword…While I do run upon it" (p. 430). Here he shows he is worthy of this noble death, and he is courageous to execute it himself. Antony is also courageous for a killing, but not a noble one. When Antony says to Octavius, "we take down his load, and turn him off" (p. 414), he means to kill Lepidus. Any killing takes courage, but Brutus' reasons were far more justified and for a better cause than Antony's.

Great loyalty is a trait that both Antony and Brutus also share, but who or what they are loyal to differs greatly. Throughout the play, Brutus remains solely loyal to Rome, while Antony's loyalty gradually shifts. At first Antony is loyal to Caesar; but he is an opportunist, and soon becomes more concerned with himself. Brutus' devotion to Rome even causes him to kill for the great city. In his speech to the plebeians, Brutus states, "Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more" and "I slew my best love for the good of Rome" (p.405). As Antony is speaking with the conspirators after Caesar's death, he continually looks at and talks to the body, calling it "the ruins of the most noble manThat ever lived" (p. 403). After Caesar is out of the way; however, Antony sees an opportunity to become leader himself. As mentioned before, Antony plans to kill off Lepidus (p. 414). This shows how Antony wants all the power to himself, as he has "seen more days" (p. 414) than Octavius, and therefore feels superior to him. Brutus, on the other hand, never wanted to be the leader of Rome; he only wanted to save it from poor rule. Regarding the assassination of Caesar, he says to the plebeians, "I have the same dagger for myself, when it shall please my country to need my death" (p. 405). Brutus has noble loyalty to his city and country, while Antony becomes selfishly loyal to himself as soon as the opportunity arises.

Sincerity is a trait that differs between Antony and Brutus. When Antony mourns the body of Caesar, he is thoroughly sincere; however, when he talks to Caesar's killers, he is thoroughly insincere. He says to the body,

"Shall it not grieve you dearer than your death

To see your Antony making his peace,

Shaking the bloody fingers of your foes,

Most noble, in the presence of your corpse?" (p. 402)

Yet he calls the men "gentlemen" (p. 402) and "friends" (p. 403). Brutus is always sincere with Antony. When Antony asks the conspirators why they killed Caesar, Brutus is open and honest with him: "we will deliver you the causeWhy I, that did love Caesar when I struck him,Have thus proceeded" (p. 402). Antony is also insincere in his speech to the plebeians. He claims "I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him" (p. 406) but throughout the speech he does just the opposite. Near the end of the speech he says, "I come not, friends, to steal away your hearts.I am no orator, as Brutus is" (p. 410), but that's what he did the whole time. He made Brutus look bad by repeating his sarcastic remark of "Brutus is an honorable man" (p. 406). This further shows his insincerity to Brutus, as Antony agreed to his condition that "[He] shall not in [his] funeral speech blame us" (p. 403), and yet he repeatedly calls the conspirators "traitors" (p. 409). Brutus' speech to the plebeians was quite different. He simply states why the conspirators did what they did, and establishes that he has done no wrong. His speech is sincere. The only time Antony is sincere with Brutus is at the very end, after Brutus has died. Antony calls him "the noblest Roman of them all" (p. 431). This he truly means. While for the majority of the play, Antony is only sincere in his grieving of Caesar, Brutus is sincere with everyone he encounters throughout the play.

Both Antony and Brutus are courageous, and both are loyal, but Brutus is the one who is more sincere. Brutus is the stronger individual, as he stays loyal to his original cause, and does not give in to the temptation of power. He didn't even want to lead the conspiracy; in a way, he was forced into it. Antony is manipulative, especially in how he influences the crowd in his speech at Caesar's funeral. Brutus suffers much inner conflict, and his extreme loyalty to Rome also makes him seem very noble. He is a tragic hero and his tragic flaw is that he is over trusting. Antony's flaw is his selfishness and his anger toward the conspirators. While the men have their strengths, they also both have their weaknesses.