Rhetorical Analysis of Antony’s Funeral Speech

On the Ides of March in 44 B.C., Roman Emperor Julius Caesar was stabbed to death by a group of prominent politicians led by Marcus Brutus. The sudden death of Caesar created a power vacuum which gave rise of a two factions, one headed by Brutus and Cassius and the other by Antony and the future triumvirs. Shortly after Caesar’s death, Antony spoke at his funeral and used the opportunity to lead the Roman people away from Brutus and back to believing in Caesar and consequently, the Second Triumvirate. By combining a subtle use of questions and interjections to keep audience engaged, a variety of rhetorical devices devices that dignify Caesar and himself, and an effective use of all three modes of persuasion, Antony is able to convert the audience to his cause while destroying the conspirators’ credibility.

While Mark Antony’s speech is a eulogy Caesar’s funeral, it gradually develops the energetic tone of an epideictic (praise-and-blame speech), which points to an ulterior motive. He draws in his audience with a solemn introduction that is meant to defer any bad feelings the Roman’s have towards him, and then he begins to exemplify Caesar’s good character. However, his tone soon becomes more passionate and he begins to use interjections to arouse the listeners. By shouting “O judgment!” as he questions the Roman’s loyalty, Antony is making use of ecphonesis to force a reaction: hopefully one that supports Caesar. Antony strategically spaces these throughout the course of the speech to ensure their enthusiastic spirit, yet hide his own zeal from the audience. Most notably, he exclaims “what a fall was there, my countrymen!” to emphasize the magnitude of Caesar’s death and in the last line he shouts to them “here was a Caesar!...

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...losing of his speech, where Antony outlines Caesar’s generous will to Rome. It is an appeal to the greedy side of the audience, who want to get something out of his death. While it does help to dissuade anybody else from supporting Brutus, it also stands to further persuade the listeners that Caesar was a good man who did not deserve his fate.

Having been given the opportunity to speak by Brutus, Mark Antony took full advantage of it and was able to accomplish his purpose of exalting Caesar and drawing the listeners away from Brutus. His energetic questions and exclamations allowed him to have an attentive audience, while Antony’s manipulation of rhetorical devices and well-rounded persuasion brought the audience to his side. Had he not been able to sway them from Brutus and the conspirators, Rome may have returned to a republic and never reached its potential.