The dogs of war is a phrase spoken by Mark Antony in Act 3, Scene 1, line 273 of English playwright William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar : "Cry 'Havoc!', and let slip the dogs of war."
The dogs of war is a phrase spoken by Mark Antony in Act 3, Scene 1, line 273 of English playwright William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar : "Cry 'Havoc!', and let slip the dogs of war."
In the scene, Mark Antony is alone with Julius Caesar's body, shortly after Caesar's assassination. In a soliloquy, he reveals his intention to incite the crowd at Caesar's funeral to rise up against the assassins. Foreseeing violence throughout Rome, Antony even imagines Caesar's spirit joining in the exhortations: "raging for revenge, with Ate by his side come hot from hell, shall in these confines with a Monarch's voice cry 'Havoc!' and let slip the dogs of war." [1]
In a literal reading, "dogs" are the familiar animals, trained for warfare; "havoc" is a military order permitting the seizure of spoil after a victory; and "let slip" is to release from the leash. [2] [3] [4] Shakespeare's source for Julius Caesar was The Life of Marcus Brutus from Plutarch's Lives , and the concept of the war dog appears in that work, in the section devoted to the Greek warrior Aratus. [5] [6]
Apart from the literal meaning, a parallel can be drawn with the prologue to Henry V , where the warlike king is described as having at his heels, awaiting employment, like hounds "famine, sword and fire". [7]
Along those lines, an alternative proposed meaning is that "the dogs of war" refers figuratively to the wild pack of soldiers "let slip" by war's breakdown of civilized behavior and/or their commanders' orders to wreak "havoc", i.e., rape, pillage, and plunder. [8] [9] [ unreliable source ][ unreliable source ]
Based on the original meaning of "dog" in its mechanical sense ("any of various usually simple mechanical devices for holding, gripping, or fastening that consist of a spike, bar, or hook"), [10] the "dogs" are "let slip" as an act of releasing. Thus, the "dogs of war" are the political and societal restraints against war that operate during times of peace.
The phrase has entered so far into general usage that it is now regarded as a cliché. [11]
Many books, films, video games, songs, and television episodes are titled using variations of the phrase "Dogs of War."
Victor Hugo used "dogs of war" as a metaphor for cannon fire in chapter XIV of Les Misérables:
Another cannonade was audible at some distance. At the same time that the two guns were furiously attacking the redoubt from the Rue de la Chanvrerie, two other cannons, trained one from the Rue Saint-Denis, the other from the Rue Aubry-le-Boucher, were riddling the Saint-Merry barricade. The four cannons echoed each other mournfully. The barking of these sombre dogs of war replied to each other. [12] [13]
Lex Luthor wielded the expression against his father in an argument during the Season 1 finale of Smallville. [14]
The phrase was used by Christopher Plummer's character General Chang in the film Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country , in a scene which featured Chang's Klingon Bird of Prey attacking the USS Enterprise. [15]
Jeremy Clarkson used the phrase during a Top Gear special, before attempting a speed run at the Bonneville Salt Flats in a Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1, adding "They probably think that's a Bon Jovi lyric here." [16]
Sterling Archer misquotes the phrase before embarking on a rampage to find the chemotherapy drugs for his aforementioned breast cancer. [17]
Kevin Spacey in his role as Frank Underwood in the Series House of Cards used the phrase as he began a political attack to undermine the power of the President of the United States and move forward on his silent plan to take control of the White House and the executive power.
The phrase is spoken by Alexander Skarsgård portraying Sergeant Brad 'Iceman' Colbert in the Series Generation Kill as Bravo Company drives towards the enemy lines in Episode 6.
In 2017, it was used on a tifo at the King Power Stadium during the Champions League last 16 match featuring Leicester City and Sevilla FC. The tifo displayed a person holding onto dogs via a chain, with the phrase "Let Slip the Dogs of War" underneath. [18]
The term "Dogs of War" is used in the boardgame Warhammer as a colloquial for various mercenary groups selling their swords for loot, plunder, and adventure. [19]
The title of the 2000 PlayStation 1 game Hogs of War (a turn based 3D tactics game with similarities to Worms, but with pigs of many national stereotypes) was a direct reference.
The Troy University Marching Band announcer reads the passage as part of the band's pregame show at every home football game. [20]
The 2008 video game Wizard101 added enemies named "Dog of War" in 2022. After defeating an enemy named Brutus, a reference to the origin of the phrase, players earn the badge "Let slip the dogs of war." [21]
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar (First Folio title: The Tragedie of Ivlivs Cæsar), often shortened to Julius Caesar, is a history play and tragedy by William Shakespeare first performed in 1599.
Antony and Cleopatra is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The play was first performed around 1607, by the King's Men at either the Blackfriars Theatre or the Globe Theatre. Its first appearance in print was in the First Folio published in 1623, under the title The Tragedie of Anthonie, and Cleopatra.
The Battle of Philippi was the final battle in the Liberators' civil war between the forces of Mark Antony and Octavian and the leaders of Julius Caesar's assassination, Brutus and Cassius, in 42 BC, at Philippi in Macedonia. The Second Triumvirate declared the civil war ostensibly to avenge Julius Caesar's assassination in 44 BC, but the underlying cause was a long-brewing conflict between the Optimates and the Populares.
In Greek mythology, Ate is the personification of moral blindness and error. She could blind the mind of both gods and men leading them astray. Ate was banished from Olympus by Zeus for blinding him to Hera's trickery denying Heracles his birthright. Homer calls Ate the daughter of Zeus, while Hesiod has Ate as the daughter of Eris (Strife).
Carrion, also known as a carcass, is the decaying flesh of dead animals.
The Dogs of War or Dogs of War may refer to:
The Latin phrase Demortuisnilnisibonumdicendumest, "Of the dead nothing but good is to be said." — abbreviated Nil nisi bonum — is a mortuary aphorism indicating that it is socially inappropriate for the living to speak ill of the dead who cannot defend or justify themselves.
Veterans Memorial Stadium at Larry Blakeney Field is a stadium in Troy, Alabama. It is primarily used for American football, and is the home field of the Troy University Trojans. The seating capacity is 30,470. The stadium was originally built in 1950, and has regularly been expanded, renovated and improved since then. The stadium was named in honor of the college students and local residents who gave their lives during World War II. The field received its name from retired head coach Larry Blakeney, the coach with the most wins in Troy history.
"The Dogs of War" is the 174th and penultimate episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the 24th of the seventh season. It is the eighth of the nine-episode story arc concluding the series. This episode was written by René Echevarria and Ronald D. Moore, based on a story by Peter Allan Fields, and was directed by Avery Brooks, who also played the role of Captain Benjamin Sisko.
The Dogs of War is a 1980 British war film based upon the 1974 novel of the same name by Frederick Forsyth. Largely filmed in Belize, it was directed by John Irvin and starred Christopher Walken and Tom Berenger. In it a small mercenary unit of soldiers is privately hired to depose the president of a fictional African country modeled on Guinea-Bissau, Guinea-Conakry, Equatorial Guinea and Angola, so that a British tycoon can gain access to a platinum deposit. The title is based on a phrase from William Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar: "Cry, 'Havoc!', and let slip the dogs of war."
Cry 'Havoc' is a 1943 American war drama film, produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and directed by Richard Thorpe. It stars Margaret Sullavan, Ann Sothern and Joan Blondell, and features Fay Bainter, Marsha Hunt, Ella Raines, Frances Gifford, Diana Lewis, Heather Angel, Dorothy Morris and Connie Gilchrist.
Julius Caesar was assassinated by a group of senators on the Ides of March of 44 BC during a meeting of the Senate at the Curia of Pompey of the Theatre of Pompey in Rome where the senators stabbed Caesar 23 times. They claimed to be acting over fears that Caesar's unprecedented concentration of power during his dictatorship was undermining the Roman Republic. At least 60 to 70 senators were party to the conspiracy, led by Marcus Junius Brutus, Gaius Cassius Longinus, and Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus. Despite the death of Caesar, the conspirators were unable to restore the institutions of the Republic. The ramifications of the assassination led to his martyrdom, the Liberators' civil war and ultimately to the Principate period of the Roman Empire.
Marcus Favonius was a Roman politician during the period of the fall of the Roman Republic. He is noted for his imitation of Cato the Younger, his espousal of the Cynic philosophy, and for his appearance as the Poet in William Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar.
"Cry 'Havoc!', and let slip the dogs of war" is a quotation from William Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar. The phrase "cry havoc" also appears in two other Shakespeare plays, Coriolanus and King John.
The last words of the Roman dictator Julius Caesar are disputed. Ancient chroniclers reported a variety of phrases and post-classical writers have elaborated on the phrases and their interpretation. The two most common theories – prevalent as early as the second century AD – are that he said nothing or that he said, in Greek, καὶ σύ, τέκνον.
The Star Trek franchise, begun in 1966, has frequently included stories inspired by and alluding to the works of William Shakespeare. The science fiction franchise includes television series, films, comic books, novels and games, and has material both Star Trek canon and non-canon. Many of the actors involved have been part of Shakespearean productions, including Patrick Stewart and Christopher Plummer.
Heil Caesar is a 1973 BBC television drama. It was an adaptation by John Bowen of Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar which was produced by Ronald Smedley. The production designer was Humphrey Jaeger. The adaptation is listed as one of Bowen's achievements in his obituary in The Guardian newspaper It was originally made in three parts for use with schools and colleges but it was shown again a year later on BBC 2 on 21 October 1974 in a single 90 minute slot. In 1975, the BBC made a further introductory programme for schools to add to the original three episodes which examined the series in more detail for schools and which included comments from the original cast.
Dogs of War is a dystopian sci-fi, cyberpunk novel by UK author Adrian Tchaikovsky, published in 2017 by Head of Zeus. It forms the first part of the Dogs of War duology, and is followed by Bear Head (2021).
esp[ecially] in Shakespearian phr[ase] the dogs of war
In military operations of old, the word 'havock; signified that no quarter should be given. By the 'dogs of war,' are probably meant famine, sword, and fire. As in 'KING HENRY V.:'— 'Leashed in like hounds, should famine, sword, and fire, Crouch for employment.' ... [SINGER].Note: The "Notes" for "Julius Cæsar" chapter in the Cornwall edition close with the signature "SINGER.", apparently referring to contributions based on the work of Samuel Weller Singer.[ citation needed ]
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