AN. Hi guys. This is an added scene in Julius Caesar of Mark Antony writing the speech that he will give at Caesar's funeral and trying figure out how to say bad things about Brutus without actually breaking his promise to say nothing bad about him.
Scene I 3/4―Antony's Study
(Lights fade in.)
(Antony's study is very neat. There is a large bookcase against the back wall. All of the books are perfectly straight and sorted by author. Not even a single page is out of line. This perfect neatness carries out to the rest of the room. The oriental rug on the ground is perfectly centered. The interwoven reds, blacks, and blues, draw the eye as they add a splash of complex color to the otherwise simplistic room. An armchair rests in the corner with a perfectly folded blanket lying across it's back. In all, the room has the feel of a room that had been there for a long time and knew exactly its role in life. Yet under this guise of neatness something is amiss. Something so slight that at a glance, it is completely invisible, but it is still there, waiting just under the surface. The room is too perfect. All of the books are perfectly straight and sorted by author, as if no hands had ever flipped through them in search of a lost bit of information. Not even a single page is out of line. The oriental rug on the ground is perfectly centered, as if no feet had ever marred it's surface as they flew across the room with the passion of a new idea. An armchair rests in the corner with a perfectly folded blanket lying across it's back, as if no head had ever rested back on the blanket for just a moment to itself after a long day. And in this expanse of lonely perfection, there is the desk. It stands there like an island of chaos in the middle of a preternatural sea of neatness. There are papers strewn across it, legal records and the like. A pair of glasses lies discarded, having been left there after a long night of pouring over documents. A lone burnt out candle stands on the corner of the desk, a reminder of long nights spent alone at that desk. It is worn and old, but it tells the story of a man's struggle between perfect order of his past life and the chaos and uncertainty of the life that is now to come. It may not be as perfect as the rest of the room, but it knows its role and it belongs as much as everything else.)
Enter ANTONY and a Servant, with CAESAR's body.
ANT. Now here we shall lay great Caesar to rest.
Servant, be gone, thy help's no longer sought. [Exit Servant.]
O great Caesar, what have I done? Would you
Ne'r forgive me, knew you what I do now.
Yet have I stoop'd so low to have bargain'd
With those murd'rers who led you to your grave.
Agreed have I to say not words of praise
For you, nor scorn the mettle of those rogues.
So odious as this task is to me,
Yet still I am an honorable man,
And will stand by the promise I have made.
What, Perseus, ho! [Paces impatiently.]
Enter PERSEUS, out of breath.
PER. M' Lord? [Bows] How may I help?
ANT. Go fly with haste. Fetch me parchment and quill.
PER. As you wish. Your wish is my command. [Exits.]
ANT. My disconsolate soul begs naught of me
But to abandon this proposition
Of appealing to say ill of Caesar.
Yet as an honorable man, I stand
Resolv'd to respect the promise I've made. [Runs hands through hair.]
Re-enter PERSEUS, with parchment and a quill.
PER. Here, Sire. I have brought that for which you ask'd.
[Gives parchment and quill to ANTONY.]
ANT. I thank thee.
PER. Pray, do you wish for aught else?
ANT. Nay. For now that which you have brought suffic'th.
[Exit PERSEUS with a bow.]
How to begin? 'Friends, Romans, Countrymen'.
A simple way to start. And show that I
Am one of them in all ways that they know. [Writes on parchment.]
[Turns to address CAESAR's body.]
Before me, Brutus shall speak, and conjure
Such an image of you that you they'll hate.
And then must I bring to light his untruths.
But how? For I have sworn to speak no ill!
What of honor, nobility, courage? [Paces frustratedly.]
To break my word would be to abandon
All that for which I have worked so hard.
And yet I know in my heart, I can speak
No ill of Caesar for he was my friend.
Perchance… [Turns] I have sworn to say aught 'gainst Brutus.
Yet nothing swore I regarding the crowd.
It is not I, but they who will speak it. [Writes on parchment.]
An angry people is a puissant force.
This I shall use much to my advantage.
But still I must convince the good people.
Most oft does Brutus speak of demeanor
He speaks of a man: brutish, ambitious.
A man who scorned honor and virtue.
And yet I know, he was not always so.
I will not question Brutus… Not outright. [Walks forward excitedly.]
Not once will I say that Brutus is wrong.
And yet I will bring them to question him.
His morals, validity, honor. [Quickly writes on parchment.]
Even though I walk a perilous line,
He can do naught, for I broke not my word.
I will not say Caesar wasn't ambitious,
Just that he thrice refus'd the royal crown.
[Writing] 'And yet Brutus says he was ambitious;
And, sure, Brutus is an honourable man.'
To the citizens will I then offer
A choice betw'n fact and Brutus's honor.
They will choose right. Outrage is imminent.
[Turns away from desk towards CAESAR's body.]
As I do enter, so will you with me
Accoutered in garb fit for a king.
As you beside me lie, as cold as stone
I will the people entreate to join me
To avenge the injustice that fell'd you. [Walks away from desk.]
Another idea does befall me.
What, Perseus! I need your assistance.
Enter PERSEUS.
PER. M'Lord. [Bows] How may I help?
ANT. Do you remember
The will that great Caesar did gift to me
All of those long years ago.
PER. Yes, my Lord.
ANT. Fetch now that will and bring it here to me. [Exit PERSEUS with a bow.]
If I do merely mention Caesar's will,
The people will demand to now hear it.
Oft will I say, 'Friends, I must not read it"
And yet they will demand it without fail. [Writes eagerly on parchment.]
Re-enter PERSEUS with CAESAR's will.
PER. M'Lord. [Bows] I have brought that which you did request.
[Hands will to ANTONY with a bow.]
ANT. Thank thee. Thy service is no more needed. [Exit PERSEUS.]
I am struck with another idea! [Paces forward excitedly.]
As I speak, beside me lies his [Gestures to CAESAR] body, cold,
Lifeless. I will entreat the people's hearts
To feel my pain. My sorrow. My anger.
Then will I indicate every harsh wound
That does litter the great Caesar's body. [Kneels on the ground next to CAESAR's body.]
And I will name each hand that did hurt you,
Each hand that marr'd your body with offence.
So will the people's hearts ache for you.
Their honor will not allow them to rest,
And so they will join me to avenge you. [Stands up again.]
Many nights have I dream'd of Rome gone to war,
This presage which I did afore dismiss,
I see now shows a future soon to come.
Those traitors who did you kill in cold blood
Must be brought to justice. T'is the sole way
To bring order to great Rome and it's future.
In my dream, both Cassius and Brutus
Did perish, but by a sword of their own control.
What man of honor would so abandon
His men in such an act of cowardice.
If this dream does truly portend their fate,
The choice of the Gods must surely be war, [Turns to face CAESAR's body.]
And in this endeavour we will succeed.
The true ruler of Rome shall be restor'd. [Pause]
[Kneels down next to CAESAR's body.]
My dear friend. It seems so unfair that here
You now lie. Cold. Lifeless. Gone.
And here I stand on the verge of a war.
A war to restore Rome to its glory.
As I stare at your body on the ground.
I can think only 'that should have been me'. [Starts crying.]
My sole job was to protect you from harm,
And at this job, O, how have I failed. [Wipes away tear.]
Another thousand years I would have stood
By your side. My will would never falter,
Not even for a second would it fail.
It was not your time. You had a future.
A future you will never get to live.
Perhaps I go to war to defend Rome,
But in my heart, I go to war for you.
I go to war for the future
That you will never get to live. [Kisses CAESAR's forehead.]
(Lights fade to black.)
[Exit ANTONY.]