THEA 234 EXEGESIS The speech I have chosen is the famous Friends, Romans, countrymen speech made by Mark

Antony in the Shakespeare play Julius Caesar. The particular version of the speech I have chosen was the film adaptation of the play in 1953, where Marlon Brando portrays Mark Antony. In the Marlon Brando version of the speech, Brando is clear and concise with his voice, while keeping his stance strong and his expression neutral at the beginning of the speech. His gestures throughout the speech are kept to a minimum, with the biggest gesture being in the closing line Bear with me; My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar, And I must pause til it come back to me, where he turns his back to the audience.

Throughout the course of Brandos speech, his voice gets louder, as it would appear out of frustration with the Roman people for their lack of emotion towards Caesars death. It is during Antonys speech when he yells I thrice presented him a kingly crown, Which he did thrice refuse: was this ambition? and O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts, And men have lost their reason... that the most emotive power is received from Brandos voice as he is loud and very stern with his words in these lines of the speech.

Another perceivable moment of emotion in the speech is in the last line of the speech My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar, And I must pause til it come back to me, as Brandos voice falters and stammers on the word pause, and his defeated stance demonstrates how overwrought with emotion and sadness he is.

In reworking this speech for an audience here and now, I didnt think it would be appropriate to change the script, although Shakespeares English can be confusing. Instead I chose to focus on the way in which the speech is spoken, as I feel that the way in which the speech is spoken greatly aids

in conveying the meaning of the speech. In comparison to the opening sentence by Marlon Brando, where the line is perhaps a tad rushed, I instead chose to say this opening line slower and more emphatically, in order to attempt to make the line more emotive. I slowed the pace of the whole speech as I felt that the way in which I spoke would be better received by a modern audience if the speech was slower and more audible. However, I did emphasise and change pitch my volume and tone almost exactly as I attempted in the Marlon Brando version, though my body language was perhaps a little more scattered and unconvincing. I also attempted to soften my voice and tone a little differently in the concluding line of the speech, however, I believe Brandos version of this line was much more convincing and better received by the audience.

The main elements that differ between the two versions are the speed, volume, body language and facial expressions I used, and although I did not change the script and content of the speech I believe it still has relevance to a modern audience, permitted that it is performed and spoken in the correct manner.