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Act 5
Act 5 scene 1
Brutus and Cassius make a military mistake.
Cassius regrets letting Antony live.
Octavius and Antony compete for control.
The final Act concerns the final conflict between the two sides and is compressed into 5 fairly short scenes. Again Shakespeare compresses time for dramatic purposes. There were actually 2 battles at Philippi and they were about 3 weeks apart. Shakespeare merges these into one continuous battle and brings Antony and Octavius face to face with Brutus and Cassius. Antony and Octavius appear first – they appear confident. They are delighted Brutus will meet them at Philippi; they believe this is a mistake. Antony seems to know exactly what the enemy will do and he thinks they are acting with ‘fearful bravery’ – mere bravado.
Brutus and Cassius’ tactics seem desperate. We know Antony is a ruthless commander and the audience is now shown a little more of Octavius. Lines 16-19 are a minor event but Octavius coolly yet firmly asserts his equality to Antony. The way he later speaks to Brutus and Cassius leaves us in no doubt about his confidence in his own power and ability.
The confrontation between leaders about to go into battle is common in Shakespeare. There is limited scope to show the battle on stage so the hostility is...
