Question

CAESAR. Let me have men about me that are fat,

Sleek-headed men, and such as sleep a-nights.

Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look:

He thinks too much: such men are dangerous.



ANTONY. Fear him not, Caesar, he’s not dangerous.

–The Tragedy of Julius Caesar,
William Shakespeare

What is this scene’s impact on the audience?

It adds humor because Antony is telling the truth to Caesar.
It adds suspense because Antony is telling the truth to Caesar.
It adds humor because the audience knows that Cassius is dangerous.
It adds suspense because the audience knows that Cassius is dangerous.

Answer 1

It adds suspense because the audience knows that Cassius is dangerous.

Antony’s reassurances create dramatic irony (Caesar is misled while the audience knows Cassius’s threat), which builds tension about what will happen.