#mark Antony’s speech

[dragons-and-pandas]

I always felt like the crozier/hickey speeches before the hanging in ep8 mirrored the Brutus/mark antony speeches from Julius Caesar except I can’t decide which is which

In terms of role and purpose crozier is more Brutus and hickey is mark antony I guess… But crozier’s refrain of “that was Mr hickey” reminds me of mark Antony’s “but Brutus said he was ambitious, and Brutus is an honourable man”

[pupkinpumpkin]

EVERYONE WAKE THE FUCK UP

[certifiedcoffeeaddict]

going absolutely feral over julius caesar by shakespeare

[panicbones]

there is smthn very special abt getting fucked up on classical literature. et tu brute is an incredibly famous line but seeing an annotation that said a writing which inspired the play wrote this line as "you too, my child?" is like getting hit in the head with rocks i think. add in the common belief that brutus is caesars son. plus the fact brutus was unequivocally caesars favorite. and brutus had to convince himself (on very shaky logic) to even go through with it. rocks to the skull attack attack attack

[tweedfrog]

Not to (once again) mine Ancient Roman history for ASOIAF content but someone should draw Joffrey Lannister with Ned Starks head in the style of Fulvia with the head of Cicero (esp where she's sticking golden hairpins in his mouth):

Like Joffrey was furious at Ned's implication that he wasn't Robert Baratheons son. I feel like he was angrier at that than at the bastardy and incest allegations somehow!!! Which uh. Is interesting someone should explore that.

[attila-werther]

literally richard burton's mark antony is everything to me

[neverwalka1one]

Why does this work so well???

this is targeted tumblr content

[mona-no-lisa12]

I JUST REALISED THAT IN THE FIRST PART OF MARK ANTONY'S FORUM SPEECH TO THE ROMAN CITIZENS

Antony says 'honorable' and 'ambitious' five times each. In Greek mythology, 5 is the number of Hermes, who's the messenger god and the god of communication and stuff.

Interesting detail?

Never ever thought I'd use Percy Jackson knowledge for Shakespeare 💀

[overtakemerchant]

In honor of my pookie bear JC getting whacked, here is my favorite excerpt about him and one of his husbands (that also *gave* away his kingdom to Julius when he died because he was so lustily down bad for him), King Nicomedes of Bithynia.

And here is Cicero being *so* mad JC was getting slammed by Nicomedes at 19, that he wrote a letter

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Notes: Irony

In general, irony involves a contradiction between appearance and reality

In literature, irony is a deliberate gap between the language used and what is being discussed

Irony results when there is a difference in point of view between a character and the narrator or reader

4 Major Types of Irony

VERBAL IRONY

Verbal irony refers to spoken words only

Occurs when a character says one thing, but suggests or intends the opposite

The contrast is between what the speaker says and what he actually means.

For example, in Julius Caesar, Mark Antony repeats the words "and Brutus is an honorable man" in the famous “Friends, Romans, countrymen” speech

Mark Antony’s meaning, however, is that Brutus is completely dishonorable because Brutus, Caesar’s best friend, joined the other conspirators and plunged a knife into Caesar’s chest

Note: Verbal irony may be confused with sarcasm, but sarcasm is harsh and direct, while verbal irony is implied.

DRAMATIC IRONY

Dramatic irony involves more than just spoken words

Occurs when the meaning intended by a character's words or actions is opposite of the true situation

The contrast is between what the character says, thinks, or does and the true situation

Further, the character cannot see or understand the contrast, but the audience or reader can

For example, in Othello, dramatic irony occurs when Othello refers to Iago as “honest Iago”

Unknown to Othello, Iago is a villain who deceives him into thinking that Desdemona (Othello’s wife) has been unfaithful

For this, Othello unjustly kills his wife, believing the whole time in Iago’s honesty

Note the difference in examples for verbal and dramatic irony: Antony calls Brutus “honorable” and knows he is not honorable, while Othello calls Iago “honest” and does not know of Iago’s deceit.

SITUATIONAL IRONY

Situational irony defies logical cause/effect relationships and justifiable expectations

For example, if a greedy millionaire were to buy a lottery ticket and win additional millions, the irony would be situational because such a circumstance cannot be explained logically

Such a circumstance seems “unfair”

This sense of being “unfair” or “unfortunate” is a trademark of situational irony

Because people cannot explain the unfairness, it causes them to question whether or not the world makes sense

COSMIC IRONY (or IRONY OF FATE)

Some irony goes beyond being unfair and is morally tragic

Such irony is often so severe that it causes people to question God and see the universe as hostile

For example, if an honest, hard-working, and generous person buys a lottery ticket and wins ten million dollars, only to die in an auto crash two days later, the irony would reach tragic proportions

Such irony typically suggests that people are pawns to malicious forces

If these writing notes help with your poem/story, do tag me. Or send me a link. I'd love to read them!

Writing Notes & References

[ancientcharm]

'I only long for a couple of things: first, to free, upon my death, the Roman people; This will be the greatest favor that the immortal gods can grant me; the second, that what happens to each one is what he deserves according to the good or evil he has done to the republic. ' (M. T. Cicero, Philippicae, II)

Cicero wrote this Philippic when he already knew that he would soon be executed by the Second Triumvirate.

Marcus Tullius Cicero (January 3, 106 BC - December 7, 43 BC) was a Roman politician, philosopher, writer and orator. He is considered one of the greatest rhetoricians of the Roman Republic.

Following Caesar's assassination, in which Cicero had no part, he became an enemy of Mark Antony, attacking him in a series of speeches. He was proscribed as an enemy of the state by the Second Triumvirate - Octavian/ Augustus, Mark Antony and Lepidus- and executed by soldiers after being intercepted while trying to flee to the Italian peninsula. On 7 December 43 BC the Triumvir Mark Antony ordered his assassination and that his head and hands be displayed on the rostra in the Forum.

Cicero, consul in 63 BC, depicted in an 1889 fresco by Cesare Maccari, denouncing Catiline's conspiracy to overthrow the Republic and exposing his conspiracy before the Senate. When conspirators within the city were later arrested, Cicero referred their fate to the Senate, triggering a debate in which Caesar as praetor-elect participated.

Cicero, like Cato the Elder, was a so-called Homus Novus (new man). In ancient Rome, this was the name given to a politician, specially a Consul, who had no one in his family who had held public office; that is, he made his career not through family influence but on his own.

During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance Cicero was held in high esteem and his prestige increased during the Enlightenment of the 18th century. His works are among the most important from the last days of the Roman Republic.

[backjustforberena]

something playing on my mind is this:

I love that you can easily play it as Cleopatra mollifying: of her comforting and pleading and valiantly trying to calm Antony down from his rage (he's just had a bloke whipped). As her swearing her love, of putting herself at his feet, prostrating and sighing. You know, Cleopatra would rather die than it be true, if her love is false then bring a plague, let her be damned and punished if she grows cold - she is only true and loyal and all of that. Just trying to make Antony believe her and that being her singular aim, super typically "feminine" of bending to his might. Or, at the very least, making it a quiet scene or a sad exchange. Just reading it, you can totally play it as that: as Cleopatra seeking to satisfy Mark Antony's doubts and him having power in that moment. And then you've got Eve Best taking the speech and being about ready to deck Antony for even suggesting that Cleopatra is "cold-hearted" towards Antony. That maybe it'd be easier if she was but sure, sure, let's go with that and let the whole world go into chaos. If that's true, let the Gods prove it, but it's not true, is it? He doubts her passions, she'll show him her passions! once again, I love the versatility of Shakespeare.

[whencyclopedia]

Legio IX Hispana

Legio IX Hispana served with Julius Caesar in Gaul and against Pompey in the Civil Wars. Later, it fought alongside Augustus in his Cantabrian Wars and was one of the four legions Claudius took with him in his invasion of Britain in 43 CE. It survived mutiny and near decimation twice, only to recover. Although suffering heavy losses during the revolt of Boudicca, the legion rebounded and accompanied Agricola in his war against the Caledonians. The legion disappeared sometime after 120 CE.

Caesar's Ninth Legion

In the time of Caesar (100-44 BCE) and Pompey (106-48 BCE), legions of the Roman army were known by a number, not a name. A Ninth Legion served under Caesar during his time as governor of Further Spain (Hispania Ulterior) and later in both his Gallic Wars and against Pompey in the Civil Wars. It was during the legion’s time under Caesar that it initiated a mutiny, and it almost cost the Ninth its existence. At Placentia in northern Italy, the army protested their meager pay and lack of spoils of war that often supplemented a Roman legionary's meager pay.

According to Philip Freeman’s Julius Caesar, he chose to address the legions as a whole. Considered by many to be a wise but firm leader, he spoke to them as spoiled children, telling them they were proud soldiers, not a horde of ravaging barbarians. Freeman considered the incident an example of Caesar’s style of leadership. He threatened to decimate the entire Ninth as both a punishment and a warning. In a decimation, every tenth man is executed. After his speech, the legionaries made a plea to save the guilty legion, a legion that had served him proudly in the past. He agreed only if given the names of the ringleaders of the mutiny. Twelve of them were chosen by lot and then executed.

The incident forgotten, Caesar and his legions continued on against Pompey. Although some sources claim the legion was disbanded, a Ninth was raised by Octavian (the future Roman emperor Augustus, r. 27 BCE - 14 CE) from Caesar’s veterans and used in his war against Mark Antony. Later, under Augustus, the Ninth (with the title of Macedonica) participated in his Cantabrian Wars (27-19 BCE), earning the new title of Hispaniensis (stationed in Spain) which was later shortened to Hispana. After its time in Spain, it was sent to the Balkans with Aquileia as its base.

Continue reading...

[cakemoney]

also is it bad that the minute amethar described the ceresian political scene as vacillating between ineffectual democracy and imperatorships i just immediately started imagining a production of julius caesar in which all of the characters are bread

watching a crown of candy makes me want to write so much because despite being an idiot who would be super bad at political intrigue i just really really love writing and thinking about writing political intrigue. it takes me forever because i'm a dumbass who has to take time to figure out what supersmart political machinations would look like but it's fun, dammit

[weirdly-specific-but-ok]

julius caesar but i've never watched it

...either the play or the actual man. I am not a time-travelling voyeur. Why does that give Doctor Who vibes? I haven't watched that either.

Anyway, happy Ides of March, tumblr. I am about as enthusiastic about the celebration as Neil Gaiman is, but here we are. Doing what I do worst, making a summary of things I have no authority to summarise... WAHOO LET'S GO. Whatever it is I know about the play:

Caesar was vibing sometime around the '40s. 0040s, not 1940s.

He has a wife named Calpurnia. A maggot wants to be her because and I quote 'no one ever listens to me either'.

She tells him not to go to some kind of coronation or speech or something on the Ides. He's like nah wifey 'sall gucci.

I regret saying that sentence. As did Caesar, because he went and got stabbed in 44. Spoiler alert.

People ship Mark Antony with Caesar but some ship Brutus and Caesar. *youtuber voice* Comment below with your favourite ship.

Don't do it I don't want to know. Anyway, he's also married to Cleopatra, who is killed by snake venom that may not have been snake venom or something.

Idk they were cute. They had a kid that ran away and Asterix and Obelix had to take care of him. Caesarian?

WAIT IS A C-SECTION CALLED A CAESARIAN BECAUSE YOU CUT IT OPEN AND CAESAR WAS STABBED? WHAT?

There is a soothsayer. He tries to soothwarn Caesar.

Caesar does not soothlisten. Caesar is a lil bitch.

On the Ides of March, Caesar goes up to the soothsayer who is lurking on the steps of the maybe-coronation place. He soothsays The Ides of March are come!

The soothsayer soothsighs and soothsays Aye, Caesar, but not gone.

The senators, otherwise known as the soothslayers, have been plotting for a while. Brutus is a very dear friend of Caesar. He thinks Caesar slays.

But the other senators convince him this is what's best for Rome. So he thinks Caesar should be slayed.

So now the soothslayers at the maybe-coronation gather around Caesar and start stabbing him. Et tu, Brute? and all that (though I remember something about that phrase not meaning the same thing as it does in popular context...).

The soothslayers are a bit extra. Like bro. One stab to the heart would have soothsufficed.

Anyway, Caesar is soothslayed like the soothsayer soothsaid.

There is a funeral thing. The People of Rome are cranky.

A maggot once said Moots, maggots, countrymen! and it lives rent-free in my head.

Anyway what Mark Antony actually says is a whole ass speech. FRIENDS, ROMANS, COUNTRYMEN, LEND ME YOUR EARS. I COME TO BURY CAESAR, NOT TO PRAISE HIM! THE EVIL THAT MEN DO LIVES AFTER THEM, THE GOOD IS INTERR'D WITH THEIR BONES (I THINK I HAVEN'T HEARD THE SPEECH IN A WHILE OK) SO LET IT BE WITH CAESAR.

So he gives the soothspeech and everyone is emotional. IF YOU HAVE TEARS, PREPARE TO SHED THEM NOW. Damn bro. It's like playing villain music just as the camera focuses on the villain.

Anyway then there is a lot of chaos and blah blah blah Mark Antony does some stuff Caesar's adoptive son Octavian does some stuff.

There's some bloke named Augustus who may or may not be Octavian (if he was sorry for the deadname Auggy my bad).

Brutus is killed? Or he kills Mark Antony? One of them die.

They were totally not fighting over who was a better lover to Caesar.

Roman Republic gone byebye as I say to Roxie. Roman Empire starts. The end.

Er.

That was a thing. I rather like summarising my homeboy Shakespeare haven't read him in a while and I only read his comedies. Maybe I should do more in honour of the Globe Theatre Maggots.

Happy Ides. Please don't soothslay me. I've been a good Maggot Prince to you, haven't I?

*runs just in soothcase*

[attila-werther]

okay, tomorrow I'm going to finish writing a draft of the scene between antony and trebonius where trebonius will later realize is a crack in the antony-caesar dynamic