Character Analysis of Mark Antony in Julius Caesar

William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, often abbreviated as Julius Caesar, is one of his most popular historical tragedies. It revolves around the conspiracy to kill Julius Caesar in order to stop him from gaining too much power. In this play, Mark Antony plays a crucial role.

A Brief Summary of Julius Caesar

The play begins with Julius Caesar’s triumphant return to Rome after defeating his enemies in Spain. But the festive mood doesn’t last long as the conversations between Flavius and Marullus hint at conspiracies against Caesar.

Though Julius Caesar is warned to be cautious of the “ides of March” by a soothsayer, he doesn’t pay them much heed and leaves to participate in games to celebrate the feast of Lupercal. After his departure, only Brutus and Cassius remain. Brutus has been Caesar's friend for a long time, but that doesn't stop him from not being opposed to an uprising against Caesar that Cassius hints at.

The revolt against Caesar is already in the works as Cassius has gathered several aristocrats who wish to assassinate Caesar. Upon Cassius’ insistence, Brutus agrees to lead the revolt.

On the date of the assassination, Caesar's wife, Calphurnia, begs him to stay away from the Capitol since she is fearful of the horrible nightmares that had plagued her mind the previous night. But when Brutus and the other conspirators arrive to accompany Caesar, he shrugs off his wife's concerns and goes along with the conspirators, not knowing their true intentions.

At the Capitol, the conspirators murder Caesar in front of the shocked spectators and senators. At Caesar's funeral, Brutus delivers a speech that convinces the audience that killing Caesar was the right decision. But Antony takes the stage after Brutus and uses his skilled rhetoric to turn the audience against the conspirators. Fearful of the audience’s demands for the conspirators’ blood, the group flees.

However, Antony, Octavius (Caesar’s adopted son and grandnephew) and Lepidus (a wealthy banker) form the Second Triumvirate to gain control of Rome during this chaos and pursue the killers.

After months of being pursued, Brutus and Cassius decide to fight Antony’s army head-on. During the fight, the conspirators have the upper hand initially. But due to a misunderstanding, Cassius believes they will lose and takes his own life. Brutus is left to fight a losing battle, and in the end, kills himself to avoid humiliation.

The play ends with Antony delivering a eulogy over Brutus' body and peace being restored to Rome.

An Introduction to Mark Antony

Mark Antony is a general in the royal army and a loyal friend of Julius Caesar. He has been described as being extremely loyal to Caesar, his country, and all Romans. Though Caesar often teases Antony for staying out late partying, he trusts Antony and often confides his secrets to him. Antony is also a connoisseur of art and music. He is also a skilled rhetorician, and he doesn't hesitate to use his skills to incite the Romans against the conspirators who backstabbed Caesar.

A Critical Character Analysis of Mark Antony in Julius Caesar

Shakespeare’s portrayal of Mark Antony in Julius Caesar provides the readers with one of the most interesting and complex characters of his tragedies. Early in the play, Antony is portrayed as Caesar's loyal friend. On the one hand, he is a lover of the arts. But on the other hand, he is renowned for his lavish lifestyle and staying out late, partying with the Roman elites. He also enjoys being Caesar’s confidante, trusted advisor, and a potential candidate for the throne after Caesar.

Antony appears a few times in the play before Caesar’s murder. Once, during the Lupercal, Caesar shared his concerns regarding his political rival Cassius, describing him as a dangerous man. But Antony does not possess Caesar's insight and fails to see Cassius’ true nature.

But his character shines after Caesar’s assassination.

Antony plans to exact revenge on Brutus and Cassius for Caesar's murder and uses all kinds of cunning to achieve his goals. He does not hesitate to use flattery and half-truths to his advantage and gain Brutus' trust. Though Cassius and the other conspirators view him with suspicion, he does not pay them much mind.

Antony doesn’t mind resorting to lies and deceit to get what he wants. Following Caesar’s death, he wants to gain power for himself. And to fulfil his dreams, he convinces Brutus and Cassius to let him speak at Caesar’s funeral. In one of his most infamous speeches, he uses his power of emotional rhetoric to sway the Romans to cry for the conspirators’ blood. He is shrewd enough to realize that using logical reasoning won’t work because the audience is already in high emotions after Brutus' speech. So, he uses that heightened emotion to sway the people from their earlier opinion and manipulate them. He doesn’t care if the Romans get caught up in a civil war as long as he gets to control most of Caesar’s kingdom.

Even though Antony had joined hands with Caesar's adopted son Octavius and a banker, Lepidus, to overthrow the Republicans, he does not always meet eye-to-eye with Octavius. But he is willing to put aside their differences in order to get what he needs.

Antony is quite good at hiding his real intentions and using other people to suit his needs. Despite teaming up with Octavius, he doesn’t bother trying to save him. He also openly declares that he will do away with Lepidus when he won’t be of any use to him.

Antony is quite observant and never hesitates to make the most of any opportunity presented to him to further his own ambition. If Cassius and Brutus' excuse for assassinating Caesar was to stop him from becoming a tyrant, their action only opened the doors of opportunity for Antony.

Characteristic Traits of Mark Antony

Mark Antony is anything but a simple, one-dimensional character. Throughout the play, he shows innumerable qualities that prove he is a force to reckon with. Some of his characteristic traits are –

1. Loyalty

Mark Antony is the complete opposite of Brutus. Though both are Caesar's long-time friends, Brutus lets his ambition take control of his heart and forgets about the bond that he shared with Caesar. But Antony is not easily swayed. He values his friendship and loyalty to Caesar so much that he is willing to compromise his political ideals for him. The thought of betraying Caesar has never crossed his mind. In fact, after the assassination, Antony took it upon himself to seek revenge for his friend’s murder.

2. Cunningness

Antony’s cunningness becomes apparent after Caesar is murdered by Brutus and the other conspirators. He feels enraged by Brutus' betrayal and wants revenge for his friend's death. Using his cunning, he makes the conspirators believe he is on their side and manages to learn the reason behind the assassination.

He knows that Brutus wants him to make him part of the team of conspirators. So, he turns those expectations to his advantage. Antony uses flattery on Brutus and convinces him to let him speak at Caesar's funeral. He uses the moment to turn the audience against the conspirators and remove the power from the Republicans' hands.

3. Ambitiousness

Before Caesar’s murder, ‘ambitious’ wouldn’t be the best word to describe Mark Antony. He has always been faithful and a trusting friend of Caesar's. Unlike Macbeth, whose vaulting ambition urged him to murder his king, Antony shows no such desire. He is content to be by Caesar's side, aiding him during his rule.

But as soon as Caesar is murdered, the readers finally understand Antony’s true character. He doesn’t hesitate to use Caesar’s death to further his own ambitions of controlling Rome. Antony uses lies, half-truths and flattery to convince the conspirators he is on their side, and later on, emotionally manipulates the Romans at Caesar’s funeral to go against them.

4. Respectfulness

Mark Antony has always been respectful of his friends and enemies. Despite having different political opinions, he never openly criticizes Julius Caesar. Even after the assassination of Caesar, Antony doesn’t behave like the hot-headed Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet. Instead, he is calm and collected and never insults his enemies.

For example, Antony knows that the conspirator Caska is shifty. But he still calls him “valiant.” Meanwhile, he also addressed the “good” Trebonius, even though Trebonius had distracted Antony so the other conspirators could assassinate Caesar.

When he finally defeats Brutus in battle, he claims that Brutus was "the noblest Roman of them all, as if admitting that, out of all the conspirators, Brutus was the only person who acted thinking about the betterment of Rome.

5. Skill as a politician

No politician is complete without good rhetorical skills. First, he uses his oratory prowess to deceive the conspirators. Since Cassius and his group aren’t quick to trust him like Brutus because he was Caesar’s friend, Antony hints at the absurdity of him trying to be friends with Caesar’s murderers if he didn’t support them.

His true skills as a genius orator and skilled politician are expressed when he gives his speech at Caesar’s funeral. Brutus has already given a speech before him, highlighting the assassination of Caesar was a necessity. Antony knows the audience respects him and is already emotionally swayed. So he doesn't use logic and reasoning but relies on emotion to sway their opinion.

He deems the conspirators “honorable men” because he knows the audience isn’t convinced to side with Caesar yet. Antony calls himself an orator of lesser stature than Brutus to invoke sympathy from the audience. He flatters the audience and makes it seem as if he wants his best to prevent a riot while simultaneously implanting the idea of a revolt against the conspirators in the audience's heads. The final nail in the coffin for the conspirators was Antony reading Caesar's will.

This speech perfectly demonstrates that Antony is more of a statesman instead o a dictator. He hints at ideas and lets the audience decide on the action instead of demanding they rise up against the conspirators.

Mark Antony’s Relationship with Other Characters

Mark Antony is a complex character, which comes out best during his interactions with other characters.

1. Relationship with Julius Caesar

Initially, in the play, Shakespeare depicts Mark Antony as a loyal and trusted advisor and friend of Julius Caesar. He is privy to Caesar’s secrets and offers him good counsel. He is extremely loyal towards Caesar, and after his assassination, plots to kill the conspirators who had murdered his friend.

However, many believe that Antony’s loyalty towards Caesar made it easier for him to hide his own selfish ambition and desire for power. He was already in line for the throne after Caesar, and he didn’t hesitate to use his friend’s death to gain control over Rome.

2. Relationship with Brutus and Cassius

Antony had a good relationship with Brutus and Cassius at the beginning of the play. Even when Caesar shared his misgivings about Cassius, Antony was quick to dismiss his fears. However, he is furious after learning of their treachery. Compared to Brutus, who uses logic and reasoning as the base of his political philosophy, Antony uses rhetoric and emotion.

In conclusion,

Mark Antony is one of the most complex characters in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. He is a loyal subject, a trusted friend, a lover of the arts, and an ambitious Roman who doesn’t hesitate to make the most of the advantages given to him, even at the cost of using his friend’s death to advance his plans. He plays a key role in avenging Caesar’s assassination.