ACT V, 1: WHY DO YOU CROSS ME?
Act V begins with a disagreement between Antony and Octavius. The battle is about to begin, and Antony directs Octavius to take the left side of the battlefield where he can there fight against the army of Cassius. Antony wants to take the right side against the bigger and superior army that is led by Brutus. Antony and his army are stronger and more experienced than Octavius’ army. So, Antony is correct in thinking that the Triumvirate will stand a better chance of success if he fights against Brutus on the right side of the battlefield.
Octavius disagrees, however. He wants to fight against Brutus on the right side, and he orders Antony to take the left side (lines 16-17). Antony is surprised by this, and he asks Octavius why he crosses (or disagrees) with him in regards to this decision. Octavius responds, “I do not cross you, but I will do so” (20). Octavius does not really want to explain his reason, and his obscure response relies upon a pun. The word cross does mean to disagree, and Octavius is disagreeing with Antony. But the word cross also literally suggests to cross over in front of another’s path. Octavius is saying that his army will not cross over or cut in front of Antony’s army on the battlefield. In other words, Octavius is telling Antony to keep to the left side and there will not be any problems. In the second part of Octavius’ response, the word will indicates a wish or desire. Essentially, Octavius is saying that he will fight on the right simply because he wants to do so.
Octavius realizes that he will gain more glory or prestige if his army fights against the superior forces belonging to Brutus. Octavius does not want to appear as if he is weaker or inferior to Antony. This argument, to some extent, foreshadows the conflict that will occur between Antony and Octavius in a later play, Antony and Cleopatra. Antony is a better and more experienced soldier, but he never is able to win an argument or a fight against Octavius. In this instance, Antony is also much wiser. For, as the audience will soon see, Octavius’ army will lose to those commanded by Brutus; but Antony will defeat the forces of Cassius and then rescue Octavius against Brutus’ army.
Before the armies of the Triumvirate engage in battle against the armies of the conspirators, the leaders of the army meet in the middle of the battlefield for a parley. A parley is a conference between enemies to discuss a possibly peaceful solution to the conflict. In this particular case, though, the parley is merely a meaningless (but dramatic) gesture. Peace is not possible between these enemies. Antony implies that Brutus is a hypocrite because he said kind words to Julius Caesar at the same time that he was assassinating him (lines 30-32). And Cassius responds by suggesting that Antony is also a hypocrite who uses honey-sweet words to the very people he intends to rob (lines 3435). Cassius’ comment should remind the reader of Antony’s sweet lines to the Romans in his speech during Caesar’s funeral. The discussion regresses into name-calling: Antony refers to the conspirators as villains, apes, hounds, bondmen (slaves), and flatterers (lines 40-45). Later, Cassius refers to Octavius as a foolish schoolboy (line 61). Obviously, peace between the two sides is impossible.
During the conversation, Cassius reminds Brutus of his fatal error in judgment regarding Antony: “This tongue had not so offended today if Cassius might have ruled” (47-48). Cassius is referring to the meeting of the conspirators before the assassination occurred (in Act II, 1: 155-57). Then, Cassius proposed that the conspirators should have killed Antony as well as Caesar; but Brutus thought that killing Antony was unnecessary. If they had killed Antony back then, none of their other problems would have taken place. Octavius would never have been able to fight against the conspirators on his own.