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What is the irony in the crowd's reaction to Brutus' first speech?

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The irony in the crowd's reaction to Brutus' first speech lies in their misunderstanding of his message. Brutus argues he killed Caesar to prevent any one leader from gaining too much power, yet the crowd immediately wants to elevate Brutus to a position of power. Additionally, their fickleness is evident when they later turn against Brutus after Antony's speech, showcasing their easily swayed nature.

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There are two main ironies in the crowd's reaction to Brutus's speech. First, Brutus explains to the crowd that the only reason he killed Caesar was that Caesar was too ambitious. Brutus says he participated in murdering Caesar in order to keep from getting too much power. Brutus loved Caesar as a friend, but he loved Rome more. Therefore, he put the need for Rome to be protected from a would-be tyrant ahead of his personal love for his friend.

The first irony is that though he Brutus has explained to the crowd that he assassinated Caesar to protect Rome from a leader with too much power, the crowd's response is to want to give Brutus more power. For example, the fourth plebeian says:

"Caesar’s better parts

Shall be crowned in Brutus!"

The irony is that the plebeians missed the point of the speech, which is that it is dangerous for Rome to have any one leader with too much power.

The second irony is that after applauding him and wanting to put a statue up in his honor, a few minutes later, after Antony's speech casts aspersions on Brutus, the crowd is ready to turn on Brutus. The crowd is fickle, and Brutus was a fool to let Antony speak. In the end, Brutus's stabbing of Caesar to save Rome results, instead, in subjecting Rome to a very harmful civil war—which is perhaps the biggest irony of all.

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