Question

Read the excerpt from act 3, scene 2, of Julius Caesar. [ANTONY.] For Brutus is an honourable man, So are they all, all honourable men— Come I to speak in Caesar’s funeral. He was my friend, faithful and just to me. But Brutus says he was ambitious, And Brutus is an honourable man. He hath brought many captives home to Rome, Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill. Did this in Caesar seem ambitious? When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept. Ambition should be made of sterner stuff. Yet Brutus says he was ambitious, And Brutus is an honourable man. You all did see that on the Lupercal I thrice presented him a kingly crown, Which he did thrice refuse. Was this ambition? Yet Brutus says he was ambitious, And sure he is an honourable man. How is the word honourable used in the context of Antony’s speech? It is used as a public expression of praise toward Brutus. It is used as a negative and ironic word to describe Brutus. It loses its power because of Antony’s repeated use of it. It is used with ambitious to change the connotation of ambitious.

Answer 1

Answer: It is used as a negative and ironic word to describe Brutus.

Explanation:

In Act III, Scene I of Julius Caesar, Caesar is brutally murdered by jealous conspirators.

In Act III, Scene II, Antony, a friend of Caesar's, argues that Brutus and his accomplices are 'honorable'. However, the constant repetition of this attribute creates the opposite effect.

Antony states that Brutus, an honorable man, said that Caesar was ambitious, and that Caesar has paid the price for this serious flaw. In this context, the word honorable is contrasted with the underlying accusations of murder, and thus carries the completely opposite meaning - that Brutus and his accomplices are murderers and are dishonorable.