Read the extract from 'Julius Caesar' Act 3, Scene 1, given below and answer the questions that follow: Antony: Pardon me, Julius! Here wast thou bay'd, brave hart; Here didst thou fall; and here thy hunters stand, Sign'd in thy spoil, and crimson'd in thy lethe. O world, thou wast the forest to this hart; And this indeed, O world, the heart of thee. How like a deer, strucken by many princes, Dost thou here lie! Cassius: Mark Antony — Antony: Pardon me, Caius Cassius: The enemies of Caesar shall say this; Then, in a friend, it is cold modesty.
Where was Caesar 'bay'd'? Explain the meaning of the words, 'Here wast thou bay'd, brave heart;'
Topic: Act 3 Scene 1 — the hunting imagery
Answer
Caesar was brought to bay in the Capitol, at the foot of Pompey’s statue, where the conspirators surrounded him and stabbed him.
"To be bayed" is a hunting term: it describes a stag cornered by the hounds and unable to escape. Antony is saying that Caesar, a brave-hearted creature, was hunted down and trapped in this very place. The pun on "hart" (a stag) and "heart" runs through the passage, and it turns the conspirators into hunters and the noble Caesar into their prey.
Two marks of this answer live in the imagery, so explain the metaphor rather than paraphrasing the line. Say plainly: Caesar is the hunted stag, the conspirators are the hounds and hunters, the Capitol is the place of the kill, and the pun hart/heart lets Antony call Caesar both a noble animal and the very heart of the world. Imagery questions always want the comparison named.