At the end of the play Mark Antony proclaims that Caesar was the noblest of them all, I would like to argue that Antony was for he was the one who did not leave Caesar’s side and conspire to kill him. While this is one of Antony’s strengths, however, I will also illustrate how it is one of his weaknesses due to the fact Caesar was developing into more of a king or a dictator instead of an emperor as he obtained more and more power. Thus this paper will examine both the strengths and weaknesses of Mark Antony’s character as it proves how he was the noblest character of them all.
As noted before, one of Antony’s strengths is that he will not betray Caesar even after he is dead and the conspirators urge him to join them in the pretense that what they just did was the honorable thing to do. He even goes so far as to tell them to kill him for the truly honorable thing would be to die at his emperor’s side, “No place will please me so, no mean of death,/As here by Caesar, and by you cut off,/The choice and master spirits of this age” (Shakespeare III.I.161-163). This level of devotion is a stark contrast to that of the conspirators which Shakespeare utilized to show how even though the number of those who opposed Caesar was greater than those who stood with him, there would always be that one noble person who would stand by his ruler no matter what because he was faithful in his devotion.
Now while his unwavering devotion is commendable, one of Antony’s weaknesses is that he did not see, nor want to admit, that his emperor was more of a conqueror than a ruler of a democratic society. He even describes in his speech to Brutus instances which are clear proof Caesar was abusing his power, “O mighty Caesar! dost thou lie so low?/Are all the conquests, glories, triumphs, spoils,/Shrunk to this little measure? Fare thee well” (Shakespeare III.I.148-150). One would think when saying goodbye to the noblest Roman of them all, Antony would have referred to traits like kindness, sincerity and intelligence not the fact that Caesar liked to conquer and take spoils of war for it does not make him appear very noble. Thus this piece of dialogue illustrates how naïve Antony was.
Nevertheless, Antony remains faithful as he continues to oppose the conspirators who will eventually flee before coming back thinking they can gain control through force but find Antony is more difficult to remove than they thought. For even though Antony is naïve, he does not fall for the conspirators’ emphasis that they killed Caesar for the sake of Rome and not for personal gain which he reveals as he stands over the emperor’s corpse, “O, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth,/That I am meek and gentle with these butchers!/Thou art the ruins of the noblest man/That ever lived in the tide of times” (Shakespeare III.I.254-257). Antony demonstrates his cleverness through this monologue as he reveals he is playing the murderers in order to exact revenge for Caesar thus giving the reader another one of the military man’s strengths as he proves he is not as naïve as one may think.
Overall I think Mark Antony is the noblest of all the characters in the play not only for his love of Caesar but because of the lengths he goes to which prove just how devoted he was. He even goes so far as to turn the people against the conspirators which show not only his devotion but his ability to think strategically. I also believe that Shakespeare wanted the reader to view Antony as the noblest character for why else would he be illustrated in such a light as he remained true to his beliefs and took the lives of those who did not.
Work Cited
Shakespeare, William, and Lawrence Mason. The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. New Haven: Yale UP, 1919. Print.
