Wednesday, July 20, 2016

OP322. Caesar teaser, or, Antony Averse

There is a resemblance between the fictionalized oration delivered in Rome on March 15, 44 B.C., and the work of fiction uttered by U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz in Cleveland, Ohio, this evening.  In each case the speaker was forbidden to openly denigrate the Powers-that-Be.  Could Cruz similarly turn the tables using the rhetorical irony of Marc Antony?

Here’s how “Lying Ted” Cruz hatched a plan
To tonight flout the “Bash Donald” ban.
     He’ll rely on The Bard
     To provide this petard:
“Liar says, ‘Trump’s an hon’rable man.’”

“Brush up your Shakespeare” (but don’t Kiss Me, Caitlyn) by reviewing Antony’s clever elegy from Julius Caesar, Act III, scene ii, lines 79-113.

3 comments:

  1. Good job, little brother. I especially like your "irony of (Marc) Antony" just before the lim.

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  2. A farmer lived in ancient Rome. He was working in the fields one day when he came across a giant strawberry, about one foot wide and 18 inches high. He thought this would be a novelty that many would want to see, so he took it home, washed it off, and set up a display.

    He advertised the giant strawberry far and wide, and people came from all over to see the exhibit. He charged admission and made a pile of money.

    However, he failed to report his earnings to the tax authorities, so they came to his farm to shut him down. When they arrived at his door, he said, "Are you here to admire my exhibit?"

    "No," they said. "We've come to seize your berry, not to praise it."

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  3. There's that word 'petard' again! Gotta laugh once more!

    Clever limerick and footnotes, by the way.

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