When Mark Antony (David Morissey) says this line, the loud sound of an explosion can be heard in the distance. The staging of the explosion as Antony marks the name of his sister's son is a dramatic effect use to emphasis the impending doom of the conspirators once their name is marked. The way how it appears Antony marking his name down, resulting in the explosion, makes appear as such a simple action like marking a name can result in much larger consequences later. This shows the true military power that Mark Antony possesses over Brutus in this civil war.

The NTLive version of the dialogue has Octavius references Lepidus as a "tried and valiant friend". This simple word change changes the relationship between both Octavius and Lepidus. Whereas in the play where Octavius merely sees Lepidus as a fellow soldier, in the production, Octavius sees Lepidus as more of a companion. In comparison to Antony's more maturer views of seeing people for their worth and wisdom, Octavius sees people for the connections he shares with them. Antony compares Lepidus as an animal due to his simple mindedness, in contrast to the mature Mark Antony, Octavius only comments on his experience in battle, not his skills and talent on the battlefield.

Shakespeare's use of symbolism to 'mark' the conspirators against Caesar shows the brutality of the civil war and the situation that the conspirators find themselves in. The symbol of 'pricking down their names' can be taken figuratively as Antony and his army murdering the last conspirators against Caesar. This symbol is reference to Act III, Scene I when Mark Antony shook the hands of the conspirator. Ironically, the handshake which normally is a symbol of agreement was to mark the people who Antony must kill.

My favourite change in the NTLive production. The character of Strato is completely written out in the production and replaced with Lucius (Fred Fergus). The decision to take out majority of the officers in the final act is a decision well made on Hytner's behalf. It seems almost befitting that Lucius, the boy who had followed and served Brutus for almost all his life, would be the one to kill him. Not aware of the conspiracies against Caesar, his loyalty led him into battle among his master Brutus. When Lucius runs to flee the gunfire, Brutus calls for him to come back. Lucius risking his life to serve his master is one of the most enduring moments in the production in my opinion. While it may be historically inaccurate from Plutarch's account, the change makes Brutus' demise both somewhat bittersweet and enduring.

Shakespeare scripts Brutus to whisper his demands to kill himself to both Clitus and Dardanius in this scene as oppose to announcing it on stage. The slow realization of his inevitable defeat is done in a way so that the audience finally realizes the grief within Brutus, so much so that he wants to end his life. This can be seen as almost shocking or even a plot twist as Brutus, who was a noble Roman, had lost so much that not even his own passion for Rome could stop from ending his life.

The juxtaposition between Brutus' 'noble vessel' and his grief shows the character arc that Brutus has undergone through the story. In the beginning of the play, Brutus has been described as a 'noble Roman'. His decisions to spare Mark Antony and only kill Caesar support this trait of his. However, during the course of the civil war Brutus becomes more panicked. Eventually the shell of his former glorious self is now seen as a man full of grief and sorrow over the loss of his friends and his empire.

The costume design for both Flavius and Marullus in the NTLive adaptation represents the status of the two politicians in contrast to the costuming of the commoners. The two politicians sport coats and scarves showing of the high wealth. Meanwhile the commoners who are much poorer simply wear dirty vests and jackets. Ironically, Marullus comments on how this is supposedly their "best attire" with one of the commoners to react in disbelief.

Shakespeare has utilized the metric line of iambic pentameter [a line of verse with five metrical feet, each consisting one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable] when Marullus and Flavius are speaking. This contrasts with the style of prose [ordinary speech with no real pattern] that the commoners speak with. The contrast between the free flowing style of prose and the repetitive style of iambic pentameter shows the difference between the two characters. The wealthy elected officials are more sensible and emotional speaking with a robotic rhythm whereas the commoners who are more laid back speak with an almost uneducated style of prose.

Abraham Popoola's delivery of this line is both chilling and compelling for a character with minimal dialogue in the play. The slow pan as Trebonius declares his intents with conviction shows the evil intentions swelling up in each of the conspirators. However, it is Popoola's chilling smile after his inner monologue that hides his true intentions. The mask that Trebonius wears conceals his thoughts draws the thin line between private and public personas, showing how one isn't always who they seem on the inside.

In the NTLive production of the play, Caesar (David Calder) comments on the way Cassius' (Michelle Fairley) personality forbids her to smile with conviction. Fairley plays the character of Cassius to seemingly smile in an innocent but grudging way. This perfectly captures the character's inner turmoil as Caesar, the man she despises so much, seemingly mocks and belittles her. This grudging smile contrasted her earlier energetic performance when confronting Brutus (Ben Whishaw) about the weaknesses of Caesar. The mere expression of a smile reveals so much about the character of Cassius that mere words can't even reveal.

The metaphor of 'falling sickness' used by Cassius to reflect upon the failures of Brutus, Casca and Cassius to act upon Caesar's image on the public. The idea of sickness reveals the inner turmoil inside of Cassius' head as he feels his failures have resulted in the fall of Rome. This metaphor can also be intepreted as irony due to Caesar's health condition. Despite the three's perfect health, it is Caesar who holds more power above them. Ironically despite literally having the 'falling sickness', it is Caesar's who rules over and the three of them who are weaker in power.

Shakespeare's usage of the metaphor of a glass (mirror) connects to Cassius' influence on Brutus' actions and thoughts. It is through Cassius in which Brutus sees his own worthiness and goes to kill Caesar. Cassius' distorted image of Brutus' worthiness results in Brutus' demise in the final act of the play. Cassius' sly character traits of manipulation are shown through his/her willingness to act as a 'mirror' to Brutus and deceive him into going against his friendship with Caesar for the betterment of Rome.