Daniel Saarinen

A Political and Philosophical Critique of Brutus and Mark Antony

3/27/09
 Brutus

The thing that Brutus and Antony share that makes them tragic figures is a warped view

of the world they live in. Both are great men, and must be in order for their stories to be

considered tragedies. Their philosophic defects cause them to have an improper relationship

with the world. The false philosophies they follow encroach into the political and warp their

relationships to the political world as well. Their standards and obligations shift slowly over

time the way an orthodontist shifts the position of a tooth, until they are obviously flawed.

The vice of Brutus is Stoicism. In his mind Stoicism is a philosophy, and an ordering

principle of the world. He regulates his public and private behavior by measuring them against

the standards of Stoicism. This is not philosophic behavior. If Brutus were truly philosophic, he

would be constantly questioning himself and seeking after the truth. He would be able to

moderate his behavior and change his mode of proceeding when encountering new and extreme

situations. If he regarded nature highly, he would interact with the world on the basis of reason

for the most part. This would have led him to be prudent and do what was necessary to prevail.

Instead of a proper and healthy relationship to the world and the city respectively,

Stoicism blends them both in what turns out to be a less than virtuous way. Brutus often acts

stoically for selfish reasons. Many of his most important decisions are taken based on how the

public will view them. In this way he shares a defect with Alcibiades.1 Brutus needs to be seen

to be acting stoically in all things. This comes into effect first when Brutus ignores the pleadings

of his fellow conspirators to kill Antony along with Caesar. Cassius has the right idea, and wants

to remove a dangerous man with the same stroke as Caesar.2

 Brutus is worried about how people will view his actions but only in a certain way.

Brutus believes that people are only judging him against the standards of stoicism when they do

not really care. To Brutus, it is most important for the act to be viewed as being dispassionate.

To admit a very real fear of Antony and the vengeance he would certainly take would not be very

Stoic. It would be prudent, but not Stoic. To admit that he would love to cover himself in glory

for saving the freedom of the republic would violate the artificial moral structure he has created

around himself.

The second act of veritable self destruction that Brutus engages in is allowing Antony to

speak at the funeral, and speak second at that.3 To act prudently in any way would be to admit

having base political needs and motives which he considers himself to be far above. He is

choosing to act on a political stage, but will not act politically. As a result, Antony is able to

wrap his hands around the psyche of the mob like the reigns of a horse and ride it to victory.

The flaws of stoicism show through in times of extremis. Real philosophy is supposed to

be there for you in all situations. Towards the end Brutus gets to a place where stoicism has no

more answers for him. At this point he becomes disconnected from the world. All the time and

effort that he had spent in the service of stoicism was ill rewarded. He believes he will gain

glory in his death greater than that of Antony and Octavian in victory.4 In the end he seeks

victory in death in another world because he has been destroyed politically in this one.
 Antony

Antony finds himself as a great man with no more great cause to fight for. Rome is now

the empire of the universal landlord. Antony is a great Roman, and a great warrior, but his

ordering principle was personal loyalty. When his personal North Star was apotheosized, the

world became a dull and lifeless place for him. He finds in Cleopatra a woman he can invest his

personal devotion in. Enobarbus communicates her virtues to the audience in Act II Scene II.5

There are almost no intimate scenes in the play, and both of them enjoy this entirely public

celebrity romance.6 The proper relationship between man and woman is natural, and therefore

private. Antony makes his love of Cleopatra political, and therefore public. He takes actions in

the realm of the political for natural and private reasons.

“Let Rome in Tiber Melt!”7 This is hardly the statement of a political man. Antony sees

that Rome has become a place for a voluptuary without heart, and is no longer fit for a spirited

man like him. His passion and spirit is not just being sucked away by a succubus in the form of

Cleopatra. There is a real problem here. He has not merely imbalanced the public and private,

he has substituted them. His power is now measured simply by numbers of men and ships now.

He is just the head of a military machine that is a cold monster with no reason to exist but to kill

and loot. He has no real political cause anymore either.

This leads him to want to get beyond politics. He longs for a world where his passion for

Cleopatra can be affirmed like it should be in his mind. Cleopatra is to Antony like Rome was to

Coriolanus. Antony at various points can see his self destruction but is unable to arrest it as his

mania for Cleopatra takes hold of him once again. He never takes the time to know Cleopatra
though. He falls right back into the same cycle of the relationship that can never mature or be

completed in marriage. This frustration leads him to long for a world where it can be so. If

things will not work properly in Rome, then new heaven and new earth are needed.8

Antony still has outbursts of spiritedness, but it is a sad thing. After his reverses on the

battlefield, Antony wants to fight and kill Caesar in personal combat. It is a wistful thing,

because the age has passed him by. Caesar is an administrator and is fully aware of his own

shortcomings. Caesar has arranged himself to take advantage of his greatest strengths while

concealing his weakness in personal combat.9 This is a prudent thing to do if you really want to

win. The play has shown us that politics itself is dying. We see the gods of the city leaving or

fleeing under the strain of the circumstances. Physical courage and strength are the lowest of the

virtues and last to go, and when Hercules leaves, the last Roman sits down in Egypt.10

At the end, Antony and Cleopatra refer to each other by their spousal titles of husband

and wife. Of course, there has been no marriage in the play. Both of them have been married

multiple times, so no mere marriage under the laws of Rome could possibly do. Their love is

transcendent, and only a transcendent marriage will suffice. They can only accomplish this in

another world, and not in this one.

1
Alvis, John. Shakespeare’s Understanding of Honor. Durham: Carolina Academic Press, 1990. Chapter 5, page 137.
2
Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. New York: Penguin Group, 1998. 2.1, page
31, line 155.
3
Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. New York: Penguin Group, 1998. 3.2, page
61, line 75.
4
Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. New York: Penguin Group, 1998. 5.5, page
102, line 35.
5
Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Antony and Cleopatra. New York: Penguin Group, 1998.
2.2, page 39, line 240.
6
Alvis, John. Shakespeare’s Understanding of Honor. Durham: Carolina Academic Press, 1990. Chapter 6, page 169.
7
Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Antony and Cleopatra. New York: Penguin Group, 1998.
1.1, page 5, line 33.
8
Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Antony and Cleopatra. New York: Penguin Group, 1998.
1.1, page 4, line 17.
9
Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Antony and Cleopatra. New York: Penguin Group, 1998.
4.1, page 98, line 5.
10
Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Antony and Cleopatra. New York: Penguin Group, 1998.
3.11, page 85, line 24.