Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar
Is Marc Anthony a Machiavellian schemer or a loyal friend? What is your opinion of Marc Anthony?

What makes Marc Anthony a very controversial figure in history is not his political ambitions but rather his ability to act very quickly in desperate times.   It is very brilliant of him to send his servant before his big theatrical performance in front of the senate pleading for his live. “Brutus is noble, wise valiant, and honest: Caesar was mighty, bold, royal and loving….” Here we see a carefully plotted scheme not by a man who was mourning for the lost of a close friend and a brother but by a person, who prepared himself for these crucial moments; it almost is too good to be true. Marc Anthony was the farthest thing from honour looking at the way in which he chose to deal with issues or confront them. He was nothing more than a hypnotic charmer; he swayed the crowd with his words and charm just like a magician till the end of his show. His calmness, tone, vivid imagination, flattery and the content of his speech was all too thick to swallow, he spoke passionately of Caesar yet his conduct was too ambiguous and only attracted further attention.

“Shaking hands with the murderers and not the sacrificers” confirms our doubts about his nature and motives. Even the chronological pattern in which he chooses to shake their hands (Marcus Brutus, Marcus Decius, Metellius Cinna, Casca and trebonius) was a well studied strategical tactic. He was more absorbed with the thought of saving his neck “My credit now stands on such slippery ground, that one of two bad ways must conceit me” so may be after all he wasn’t a Machiavellian schemer nor a loyal friend but a human being guided by his survival instincts. This Mark Anthony definitely has the aura of a Machiavellian if not the notion of one, playing both sides is that notion. Repetitive bringing up of Caesar’s memory before his conspirators is used to make his position stronger and also to bring about a sense...