1. Passage: "You blocks, you stones, you worse than senseless things!"
Explanation: Marullus is expressing his frustration with the commoners for their fickleness. He compares them to inanimate objects to emphasize their lack of judgment in celebrating Caesar, whom he considers a threat to Roman liberty.
2. Passage: "O you hard hearts, you cruel men of Rome,
Knew you not Pompey?"
Explanation: Marullus scolds the crowd for forgetting Pompey, their former hero, so quickly. He is pointing out their inconsistency in loyalty and questioning their sense of history and respect.
3. Passage: "When could they say till now, that talk'd of Rome,
That her wide walls encompass'd but one man?"
Explanation: Marullus indicates that Rome has never been about just one man, aiming a criticism at those who are making Caesar into a single focal point of Roman life.
4. Passage: "Go, go, good countrymen, and, for this fault,
Assemble all the poor men of your sort;
Draw them to Tiber banks, and weep your tears
Into the channel, till the lowest stream
Do kiss the most exalted shores of all."
Explanation: Marullus is using irony to instruct the commoners to weep at the Tiber River, suggesting that their foolishness is so great that even their tears could raise the river's level.
5. Passage: "Disrobe the images
If you do find them deck'd with ceremonies."
Explanation: Flavius instructs to remove the decorations from statues of Caesar. This is a rebellious act against Caesar's rising power and an attempt to diminish the celebrations and public affection for him.
These passages capture the tension and diverging attitudes towards Caesar's growing influence in Rome.
