Antony's Speech Causes Trouble In The City Of Rome
By Leah Mycofsky
Rome, March 15- Mark Antony gave a moving speech to Roman citizens at Caesar's funeral. This speech greatly upset the audience, and soon they were rioting around the city. The supporters of Antony planned on going throughout the city and finding and killing every conspirator they found.
The unorganized crowd quickly spread chaos throughout the Capital. The first person the mob found was Cinna the Poet. They were nice to him until they learned his name was the same as Cinna the Conspirator. They thought he was a conspirator so they decided to kill him, and they cried out, "Tear him to pieces! He is a conspirator." (Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, act 3, scene 3, line 29).
The angry citizens were uncontrollable. The killers of Cinna the poet should have known that he was not a conspirator because he shouted, "I am Cinna the poet, I am Cinna the poet!" (Act three, scene three, line thirty) to the plebeians, but they decided to murder him anyway. "Tear him for his bad verses, tear him for his bad verses!" (act three, scene three, lines thirty one to thirty two). One wild plebeian cried, "It is no matter. His name is Cinna. Pluck his name out of his heart, and turn him going." (act three, scene three, lines thirty four to thirty six).
The mob split into groups, each group going to a different conspirator’s house. Some went to the house of Decius while other conspirators went to the homes of Brutus, Cassius, Casca and Lingarius. All of these people would have been considered honorable men before the conspiracy. However, they were forced to flee from their homes.
This belligerent crowd caused much trouble for the Roman Empire. Their rioting caused Rome to be an unsafe place, and Roman senators were hunted down by vicious rioters. The destruction they are creating in the city itself will take a long time for slaves to repair. The speech of Mark Antony seems to have persuaded everyone to side with him.
Antony was seen leaving Caesar's funeral carrying Caesar's will and laughing ominously. He is planning the future of Rome with Octavius and Lepidus. Their army plans to march to Philippi to meet the armies of Brutus and Cassius. The outcome of that battle is sure to affect the future of Rome.