Question

Explain the significance of anthonys final speech, beginning with the line, this was the noblest roman of them all.

Answer 1

Answer:

rowseNotessearch

Search for any book or any question

HOME > STUDY GUIDES > SHAKESPEARE > SHAKESPEARE QUOTES

The noblest Roman of them all

Marcus Antonius:

This was the noblest Roman of them all:

All the conspirators, save only he,

Did that they did in envy of great Caesar;

He, only in a general honest thought

And common good to all, made one of them.

Julius Caesar Act 5, scene 5, 68–72

The noblest Roman of them all, according to Marc Antony, was Brutus—one of Caesar's assassins, and now a corpse at Antony's feet. The note of regret here is ironic, to say the least, because Antony raised the army which has destroyed Brutus.

Yet Antony now comes to praise Brutus, not to bury him. Of all the conspirators, only Brutus thought of the "common good," and had honest intentions toward the general populace [see THE SERPENT'S EGG]. The rest merely envied Caesar's greatness; Brutus thought it a real threat to the Republic.

Antony's words once again reveal his penchant for superlatives. "The noblest Roman of them all" directly echoes "The most unkindest cut of all" [see p. 173]. In effect, he paints Brutus, at different times, both as a superlative villain and as a superlative Roman. In both cases, Antony is supremely aware of the rhetorical necessities of the situation.

Answer 2

Brutus says he will not kill himself. Instead he will go to Rome in chains because he doesn't want to be seen as a dishonorable man. How does Cassius die? Explain the significance of Antony's final speech, beginning with the line, "This was the noblest Roman of them all