DRAMATIC IRONY

Quote: "CAESAR: The ides of March are come. SOOTHSAYER: Ay, Caesar; but not gone" (pp. 40, III, i, 1-2).

Paraphrase/Context: Caesar is bragging to the soothsayer that the date he was warned about has come without any danger, but the soothsayer tells him there's still time. The soothsayer had previously warned Caesar to beware this day, but Caesar doesn't pay attention and thinks it's foolish.

Analysis: This represents dramatic irony because the reader/audience knows what lies in store for Caesar, but Caesar des not. The dramatic irony is heightened even more by the fact that Caesar is even told directly many times that something is going to happen, but he refuses to believe what the audience knows to be true. It is an important way to open the scene of Caesar's murder, and makes his death more bitter and tragic because it could have been avoided.

SARCASM

54, III, ii, 86 and 93).
Paraphrase/Context: Marc Antony says this in his speech at Caesar's funeral. He continually repeats that Brutus and the other senators that killed Caesar are "honorable," while at the same time listing Caesar's virtues and making it very clear that he does not agree with what was done. The phrase literally means that Brutus is noble and acts in a moral manner, but Antony most likely does not mean this.

Analysis: Though it would be up to the actor/director to decide how overt the sarcasm is here, it is fairly evident that Marc Antony thinks Brutus and the other senators are anything but honorable. This makes the statement a sarcastic way of getting the citizens to turn against Brutus, and to ridicule him. This is very important to the scene because it shows Antony subverting the senators, and affects the characters by rousing their anger.