i have to do an interpretation from Julius Caesar i don't have a clue where to start.
(MUST INTPRETATE)
ANTONY. But yesterday the word of Caesar might
Have stood against the world. Now lies he there,
And none so poor to do him reverence.
O' masters! If I were disposed to stir
Your hearts and minds to muninty and rage,
I should do Brutus wrong, and Cassius wrong,
Who, you all know, are honorable men.
I will not do them wrong. I rather choose
To wrong the dead, to wrong myself and you,
Than I will wrong such honorable men.
But here's a parchment with the seal of Caesar.
I found it in his; 'tis his will.
Let but the commons hear this testament,
Which (pardon me) I do not mean to read,
And they would go and kiss dead Caesar's wounds
And dip their napkins in his sacred blood;
Yea, beg a hair of him for memory,
And dying, mention it within teir wills,
Begueathing it as a rich legacy
Unto their issue.
Antony. Have patience, gentle friends, I must not read it.
It is not meet you know how Caesar loved you.
You are not wood, you are not stones, but men;
And being men, hearing the will of Caesar,
It will inflame you, it will make you mad.
'Tis good you know not that you are hos heirs,
For if you should, O, what would come of it?
THANKS
Jessica
Jessica,
It depends on what your teacher means by 'interpretation.' Are you supposed to paraphrase it? put it in modern English? analyze it?
I would start by going sentence by sentence, rather than line by line, and trying to figure out, in modern English, what Antony is saying.
Here's an example--
"But yesterday the word of Caesar might have stood against the world. Now lies he there, and none so poor to do him reverence."
Modern--"Only yesterday, everyone would have believed something Caesar said. Now he's dead, and no one will honor or believe in him."
See where that gets you, and then come back with any more questions.
pam
Working from memory, I believe Antony was in a tough spot. He wanted to offer a tribute to Caesar, without offending those who were responsible for his death.