At the games which coincide with the Feast of Lupercal,
audiences briefly meet Antony, who is a participant in these games and has a brief
dialogue with Caesar. As Brutus and Cassius observe, a troubled and conflicted Brutus
states, "I am not gamesome. I do lack some part/Of that quick spirit that is in
Antony." In this case, Brutus's use of the word "spirit" refers to Antony's energy,
liveliness, or drive--characteristics that will be important later in the
play.
Later, and once Brutus agrees to join the conspiracy,
he and the other conspirators revisit the relationship between Antony and Caesar. It is
during this discussion that audiences become aware of the two very different perceptions
that Brutus and Cassius have of Antony. While Cassius is wary of him and thinks he will
be a threat to the success of the conspiracy:
I think it is not
meet
Mark Antony, so well beloved of
Caesar,
Should outlive Caesar. We shall find of
him
A shrewd contriver; and you know his
means,
If he improve them, may well stretch so
far
As to annoy us all. Which to
prevent,
Let Antony and Caesar fall
together.
Brutus, on the
other hand, thinks that killing Antony will make the conspirators appear to be cruel
murderers:
Our course will seem to bloody, Caius
Cassius,
To cut the head off and then hack the
limbs,
Like wrath in death and envy
afterwards;
For Antony is but a limb of
Caesar.
Brutus ends his
speech by assuring Cassius that Antony is no threat. He calmly states, "And for Mark
Antony, think not of him;/ For he can do no more than Caesar's arm/ When Caesar's head
is off."
It is obvious, from Antony's success in turning
the Romans against the conspirators during Caesar's funeral speech, that Brutus grossly
underestimates Antony's intelligence, shrewdness, and ability to function on his own
without Caesar. This error ultimately leads to the ultimate downfalls of both Brutus
and Cassius.
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