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Act 3, scene 3
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Julius Caesar, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Manhood and Honor
Logic and Language
Public vs. Private
Politics and Morality
Fate
Summary
Analysis
Antony, Octavius, and Lepidus enter. They are discussing which members of the conspiracy ought to be executed. When they send Lepidus on an errand to fetch Caesar’s will—they’re planning to change some of the provisions it contains—Antony explains to Octavius that Lepidus is only there to be “led or driven, as we point the way.”
This is a very different image of Antony from two scenes ago. Rather than Caesar's passionate friend, he is now a cold and sly politician, willing to use others as he sees fit. Octavius, by the way, is paying attention—he will eventually betray Antony and take sole power in Rome, as shown in Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra.
Themes
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