Well, clearly one of the biggest examples of irony in this
scene emerges from the way that Cassius misconstrued what happened when he sent Titinius
to see what was happening. Cassius thought that Titinius had been captured and that the
shouts of joy were from the opposition soldiers at having captured him, whereas in fact
it was the shouts of joy from Brutus's soldiers at being victorious. Brutus had given
Titinius a victory garland to give to Cassius, but ironically, the shouts of joy that
heralded Cassius's victory resulted in his death.
Secondly,
I would say that it is ironic how reference is made yet again to how Julius Caesar's
might and power outlives his mortal body. When Brutus discovers what has happened and
how Cassius has died, he attributes the disaster immediately to the power of
Caesar:
O
Julius Caesar, thou art mighty yet!Thy spirit walks
abroad, and turns our swordsIn our own proper
entrails.
Ironically, Caesar
only seems to have been made more powerful through his assassination, whereas obviously
the conspirators thought that his death would be the end of
him.
Lastly, I would say by far the keenest irony lies in
the character of Cassius. Throughout the play, he shows himself to be an incredibly
shrewd reader of situations and characters. He knows just how to manipulate Brutus to
get him to join the conspirators. He recognises the danger of Antony and recommends he
be killed, and then he also advises Brutus to not let him address the crowd at Caesar's
funeral. However, in this one fatal incident, he reads the situation badly, and dies as
a result.
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