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All Site ContentJulius CaesarAct 1Scene 3
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"pleasing night to honest men”
Irony
Act 1,
Scene 3
Lines 42-52

An explanation of the irony in the phrase “pleasing night to honest men” in Act 1, Scene 3 of myShakespeare’s Julius Caesar.

Casca

Your ear is good. Cassius, what night is this!

Cassius

A very pleasing night to honest men.

Casca

Who ever knew the heavens menace so?

Cassius

Those that have known the earth so full of faults.
For my part, I have walked about the streets,
Submitting me unto the perilous night,
And thus unbracèd, Casca, as you see,
Have bared my bosom to the thunder-stone;
And when the cross blue lightning seemed to open
The breast of heaven, I did present myself
Even in the aim and very flash of it.

What Cassius means here is that honest men would be pleased that the gods are expressing their anger with the corrupted state of affairs in Rome through the violent storm. The irony, as we'll find out, is that Cassius is hardly an honest man.