Julius Caesar Lesson Plan

What are the various qualities ascribed to death in Act III?

Death, particularly in Act III, is often connected with an intense corporeality. After Caesar has been killed, there is a fixation with his corpse and blood, both by Antony and the conspirators, who smear their hands with his blood. Antony’s soliloquy in Act III, Scene 1 and his description of Caesar’s wounds Act III, Scene 2 are marked by physical language that conjures the embodied realities of death and decay. Caesar’s body becomes the lightning rod for Antony’s provocation of the plebeians. Caesar’s body is almost made sacred, especially when Antony suggests to the crowd that they kiss Caesar’s wounds, dip...