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 Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

'': "Cry 'Havoc!', and let slip the dogs of war."

Synopsis

In the scene, Mark Antony is alone with Julius Caesar's body, shortly after

Caesar's assassination Julius Caesar, the Roman dictator, was assassinated by a group of senators on the Ides of March (15 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 ti ...

. 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."

Interpretation

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.From the fourteenth century an unauthorised call to "havoc" during battle was punishable by death. 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. 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". 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. 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"), 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.

In popular culture

The phrase has entered so far into general usage that it is now regarded as a

cliché A cliché ( or ) is an element of an artistic work, saying, or idea that has become overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect, even to the point of being weird or irritating, especially when at some earlier time it was consi ...

. 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:'' 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 In the ''Star Trek'' franchise, the Klingon, Klingon Empire makes use of several ship class, classes of starships. As the Klingons are portrayed as a warrior culture, driven by the pursuit of honor and glory, the Empire is shown to use warships alm ...

attacking the USS ''Enterprise''. 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 Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in 1983 in Sayreville, New Jersey. It consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarist Phil X, and bassist Hugh McDonald (American musician), Hugh McD ...

lyric here." Sterling Archer misquotes the phrase before embarking on a rampage to find the chemotherapy drugs for his aforementioned breast cancer. Kevin Spacey on 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. 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. 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. The title of the 2000 PlayStation 1 game,

Hogs of War ''Hogs of War'' is a 2000 turn-based tactics video game developed by Infogrames Sheffield House and published by Infogrames for the PlayStation and Microsoft Windows. The game is set in the First World War-era where anthropomorphic pigs eng ...

(a turn based 3D tactics game with similarities to Worms, but with pigs of many national stereotypes) was a direct reference. The

Troy University Troy University is a public university in Troy, Alabama. It was founded in 1887 as Troy State Normal School within the Alabama State University System, and is now the flagship university of the Troy University System. Troy University is accredi ...

Marching Band announcer reads the passage as part of the band's pregame show at every home football game.

References

Bibliography

* * 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.

External links