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O-LevelLiterature in EnglishDramaMay/June 2012Paper 1 Q725 Marks

Read this extract, and then answer the question that follows it: Brutus: Mark Antony, here, take you Caesar's body. You shall not in your funeral speech blame us, But speak all good you can devise of Caesar; And say you do't by our permission; Else shall you not have any hand at all About his funeral. And you shall speak In the same pulpit whereto I am going, After my speech is ended. Antony: Be it so; Brutus: Prepare the body then, and follow us. [Exeunt all but Antony. Antony: O, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth, That I am meek and gentle with these butchers! Thou art the ruins of the noblest man That ever lived in the tide of times. Woe to the hand that shed this costly blood! Over thy wounds now do I prophesy Which like dumb mouths do ope their ruby lips To beg the voice and utterance of my tongue – A curse shall light upon the limbs of men; Domestic fury and fierce civil strife Shall cumber all the parts of Italy; Blood and destruction shall be so in use, And dreadful objects so familiar, That mothers shall but smile when they behold Their infants quartered with the hands of war, All pity chok'd with custom of fell deeds; And Caesar's spirit, ranging for revenge, With Até by his side come hot from hell, Shall in these confines with a monarch's voice Cry 'Havoc!' and let slip the dogs of war, That this foul deed shall smell above the earth With carrion men, groaning for burial. [Enter Octavius' Servant. You serve Octavius Caesar, do you not? Servant: I do, Mark Antony. Antony: Caesar did write for him to come to Rome. Servant: He did receive his letters, and is coming, And bid me say to you by word of mouth – O Caesar! [Seeing the body. Antony: Thy heart is big, get thee apart and weep. Passion, I see, is catching; for mine eyes, Seeing those beads of sorrow stand in thine, Began to water. Is thy master coming? Servant: He lies to-night within seven leagues of Rome. Antony: Post back with speed, and tell him what hath chanc'd. Here is a mourning Rome, a dangerous Rome, No Rome of safety for Octavius yet; Hie hence and tell him so. Yet stay awhile; Thou shalt not back till I have borne this corse To the market-place. There shall I try, In my oration, how the people take The cruel issue of these bloody men; According to the which thou shalt discourse To young Octavius of the state of things. Lend me your hand. [Exeunt with Caesar's body. Explore how Shakespeare makes this moment in the play so powerfully emotional.

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About This O-Level Literature in English Question

This structured question appeared in the Cambridge O-Level Literature in English (2010) May/June 2012 examination, Paper 1 Variant 2. It tests the topic of Drama and is worth 25 marks.

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