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All Site ContentJulius CaesarAct 1Scene 2
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"from their color fly"
Imagery
Act 1,
Scene 2
Lines 119-131

An explanation of the battle color imagery in Act 1, Scene 2 of myShakespeare’s Julius Caesar.

Cassius

He had a fever when he was in Spain,
And when the fit was on him I did mark
How he did shake.  'Tis true, this god did shake!
His coward lips did from their color fly,
And that same eye whose bend doth awe the world
Did lose his lustre.  I did hear him groan —
Ay, and that tongue of his that bade the Romans
Mark him, and write his speeches in their books,
Alas, it cried 'Give me some drink, Titinius,'
As a sick girl. Ye gods, it doth amaze me
A man of such a feeble temper should
So get the start of the majestic world
And bear the palm alone.

In Cassius' disdainful description of a very sick Caesar, you would expect him to say that the color had left Caesar's lips, which is a common symptom of illness. But Shakespeare has cleverly reversed the subject and object of the phrase in order to create another image entirely. Caesar's lips are like cowardly soldiers fleeing from their colors—the battle flag around which the soldiers should rally. The imagery conveys both Caesar's illness, and—more importantly—his lack of fortitude.

(Battle of Assaye, artist unknown, c. 1815)