tion. Antony in a soliloquy
shows his determination to avenge Caesar, and the first scene of the
falling action closes with the announcement that Octavius is within
seven leagues of Rome.

_Act III, Scene ii--Scene iii._ The orations of Antony, in vivid
contrast to the conciliatory but unimpassioned speeches of Brutus, fire
the people and liberate fresh forces in the falling action. Brutus and
Cassius have to fly the city, riding "like madmen through the gates of
Rome." In unreasoning fury the mob tears to pieces an innocent poet who
has the same name as a conspirator.

_Act IV, Scene i._ Antony, Octavius, and Lepidus, having formed a
triumvirate of which Antony is the master spirit, agree on a
proscription list and join forces against Brutus and Cassius, who "are
levying powers."

_Act IV, Scene ii._ Brutus and Cassius, long parted by pride and
obstinacy, meet to discuss a plan of action.

_Act IV, Scene iii._ This is one of the most famous individual scenes in
Shakespeare (see note, page 123). Its intensely human interest is always
conceded, but its dramatic propriety, because of what seems a 'dragging'
tendency, has been often questioned. The scene opens with Brutus and
Cassius bandying recriminations, and the quarrel of the two generals
bodes disaster to their cause. As the discussion proceeds, they yield
points and become reconciled. Brutus then quietly but with peculiar
pathos tells of Portia's death by her own hand. In all the great
tragedies, with the notable exception of _Othello_, when the forces of
the resolution, or falling action, are gathering towards the denouement,
Shakespeare introduces a scene which appeals to an emotion different
from any of those excited elsewhere in the play. "As a rule this new
emotion is pathetic; and the pathos is not terrible or lacerating, but,
even if painful, is accompanied by the sense of beauty and by an outflow
of admiration or affection, which come with an inexpressible sweetness
after the tension of the crisis and the first counter-stroke. So it is
with the reconciliation of Brutus and Cassius, and the arrival of the
news of Portia's death."--Bradley. While the shadow of her tragic
passing overhangs the spirits of both, Brutus overhears the shrewd,
cautious counsel of Cassius and persuades him to assent to the fatal
policy of offering battle at Philippi. That night the ghost of Caesar
appears to Brutus.

_Act V, Scene i._ The action now falls rapidly to the quick,