Shakespeare

Hamlet 3/1 To be , or not t o be : tha t i s the ques t i on : Whether ' t i s nob le r i n the mind t o su f fe r The s l i ngs and ar rows o f out rageous f o r tune , Or t o t ake arms aga ins t a sea o f t roub les , And by oppos ing end them? To d ie : t o s leep ; No more ; and by a s leep t o say we end The hear t - ache and the thousand natu ra l shocks That f l e sh i s he i r t o , ' t i s a consummat ion Devout l y t o be wish 'd . To d ie , t o s leep ; To s leep : perchance t o dream: ay , the re ' s the rub ; Fo r i n tha t s leep o f death what dreams may come When we have shu f f l ed o f f th i s mor ta l co i l , Must g ive us pause : the re ' s the respec t That makes ca lami ty o f so l ong l i f e ; Fo r who wou ld bear the wh ips and sco rns o f t ime , The oppresso r ' s wrong , the proud man 's con tume ly , The pangs o f desp i sed l ove , the l aw ' s de lay , The i n so lence o f o f f i ce and the spu rns That pat i en t mer i t o f the unwor thy t akes , When he h imse l f might h i s qu ie tus make

With a bare bodk in? who wou ld f a rde l s bear , To grun t and sweat under a weary l i f e , But tha t the dread o f someth ing a f te r death , The und i scover 'd count ry f rom whose bourn No t rave l l e r re tu rns , puzz les the wi l l And makes us ra the r bear those i l l s we have Than f l y t o o thers tha t we know not o f? Thus consc ience does make cowards o f us a l l ; And thus the nat i ve hue o f reso lu t i on I s s i ck l i ed o 'e r wi th the pa le cas t o f thought , And ente rp r i ses o f grea t p i th and moment With th i s rega rd the i r cu r ren t s tu rn awry , And l o se the name o f ac t i on . - So f t you now! The f a i r Ophe l i a ! Nymph, i n thy or i sons Be a l l my s ins remember 'd .

"Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears! I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him." --From Julius Caesar (III, ii, 78-79) [Jump to the quote in the text of the play]

Mark Antony mounts the pulpit to deliver this famous eulogy for Julius Caesar who has just been assassinated by a group of conspirators led by Brutus. Brutus has addressed the crowd, and gained their support for the action, which was done in the name of freedom and the Republic of Rome. Antony, who had no part in the assassination, has been allowed by Brutus to deliver a eulogy, and it is at this point that he reveals himself as the clever statesman he is. While seeming to agree with the conspirators, and their reasons for the act, Antony uses irony, innuendo, and constant repetition to achieve a verbal victory and turn the mob against Brutus and his fellow assassins, until every last man in the crowd becomes frenzied with anger. Themes/keywords: Eulogy, assassination, ambition