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The nature of rhetoric
The nature of rhetoric
The nature of rhetoric
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When a close friend of somebody’s is murder and he or she cannot point his or her finger, literality, to the killer because he or she promised not to do so. What can he or she do? Well, Marc Antony accused Brutus, the murderer, using words, also known as rhetoric, as his weapon of choice. In the beginning Brutus murder Caesar, a close friend of Antony, in fear that Caesar will become Crown Emperor of Rome and become a corrupt leader. When he murder Caesar, Brutus use rhetoric, figures of speech, to win over the hearts of people, discredit Caesar’s reputation, and maybe gain some creditability for himself. When this occurred, Brutus announced that he would allow Antony to make a speech for the people after Brutus won over the crowd. In Brutus speech, he mentions to the people why Caesar was better dead than alive. This reason Brutus gave was Caesar was too ambitious and not fitted for a leader. Well, in Antony’s oration he did what he promised, not to point out who murder Caesar, however he wanted his fellow Romans to bring justice to Caesar and prove that Caesar was not ambitious but noble. Both men uses of rhetoric were superb and alike in a way that both men wanted to gain control over their fellow Romans and accused or defend Caesar’s creditability. However, in Antony’s oration his slight uses of figures of repetition, like the use of antistrophe, figures of address, rhetorical question, and figures of contrast, the use of irony, lead the people to the truth and turn them against Brutus by telling was noble and who was ambitious.
Antony’s speech for the people was phenomenal because he first established for what reasons did he came for. He came for his good friend Caesar. As Antony began his speech, he does not discredit Brut...
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...er the crowd by examples of irony and the power of repetitions like the ones above.
After great uses of irony, rhetorical question, and slight use of antistrophe Antony told the people who murdered their beloved Caesar. Brutus mistake was he made his point to vague that the people of Rome barely had an understanding of Caesar. Brutus mentions how Caesar was ambitious and why he deserves to die. However, in Mark Antony’s oration, he proved to the people why Brutus is wrong. Antony told the people Caesar was woeful. Antony told the people Caesar was noble. And last but not least, Antony told the people Brutus was ambitious and immoral. In the end, Antony convinced the people of Rome by use of figures of speech. Figures of speech is so powerful that even with odds stack-up against anyone, they can turn the table around what like Mark Antony did against Brutus.
Throughout his speech, Antony repeats the words “[Caesar] was ambitious” and “Brutus is an honorable man” to create a contrast between the two statements. (3.2.95-96). Through this repetition, Caesar successfully undermines Brutus. Everytime he calls Brutus an honorable man, he lists a positive trait of Caesar that contradicts Brutus’s claim that he was too ambitious. He tells the crowd about the times when Caesar showed compassion for the people and when he refused the crown thrice. Antony’s sarcasm about Brutus’s honor brings into question as to whether his honor deserved. This leads the audience to doubt their feelings upon Caesar’s ambition. Near the end of his eulogy, Antony uses apostrophe when he claims that “judgment ... art fled to brutish beasts” as a reason for why the Roman people believe Brutus. (3.2.114-115). Antony indirectly shames the crowd for their belief in Brutus in that Caesar was a tyrant. Fearing alienation of the crowd, he attributes this belief to a lapse in judgement that beasts have taken. Antony also makes a pun upon Brutus’s name when he comments “brutish beasts.” Antony implies Brutus has caused a lapse in judgement within the Roman people through his oration
Both speakers used an ethical appeal to the crowd and established their credibility first. Brutus starts off by saying he was Caesar’s friend, and he loved him, but because Ceasar was “ambitious” he had to “slew” him. Brutus knew that everyone in town thought he was an honorable man and he used that to establish his credibility, unlike Antony, who was thought to be a play boy, not serious about anything. He had to work harder to gain the crowd’s attention. The first sentence out of his mouth was that he was here to “bury Caesar, not to praise him” which is a great way to start since most of the people didn’t like Caesar at the time and didn’t want to listen to some silly friend of Caesar’s say wonderful things about him. Antony also mentioned many times that their hero Brutus is an “honorable“ man. This also helped get the crowd to listen to him, because they had just heard Brutus and were all fired up about the wonderful things he had said. So both the characters start off their speeches the same, gaining credibilit...
The book Julius Caesar is full of happiness, conspiracy, power, and betrayal. The people of Rome deeply loved julius Caesar and wished to make him their king. A group of senators however were not so fond of this idea and formed a conspiracy. The leader of this group was a man by the name of Cassius. In order to make sure that his scheme of killing Caesar would work and would look honorable he had to convince a senator by the name of Brutus to help. After being convinced that they had to kill Caesar to protect Rome from a tyrant Brutus joined the conspiracy and soon became the principal conspirator.On the day in which Caesar was to be crowned king he was on the way to the senate when he was stabbed by all the conspirators panic ensued and to convince Rome of their honorable intentions Brutus gave a funeral speech. Mark Antony, a very close friend of Caesar, gave his speech after Brutus had given his. Mark Antony’s speech is more persuasive to the Roman people because of his outstanding use of pathos, sarcasm, and logos.
Each ruler of Rome seemed to have made poor decisions, and this is exactly what occurred with Brutus. Brutus became very naïve. All of the conspirators confronted Brutus with the idea of killing Mark Antony. They believed he would continue Caesar’s legacy but Brutus thought differently. Brutus added, “And for Mark Antony, think not of him, for he can do no more than Caesar’s arm” (Shakespeare, 24). He proposed that Antony was too weak for them to worry about while this was actually what brought about his fall. When the murder of Caesar had concluded, Antony wished to speak in honor of Caesar. Brutus agreed with the idea but Cassius was hesitant. Cassius insulted, “You know not what you do. Do not consent that Antony speak in his funeral. Know you how much the people may be moved by that which he will utter” (Shakespeare, 44). Cassius feared that Antony’s persuasive speech would turn the citizens against the conspirators. Brutus continued to ignore Cassius’s warning, but was proven wrong immediately. The locals were influenced by Antony and led an angered march to end the conspirators. Brutus caused their arrangement to fail by lack of
Shakespeare uses dramatic pathos, ethos, repetition and logos in the case of Antony to make his speech memorable in his effectiveness to sway the audience’s opinion. William’s use of Antony having the last word and subterfuge powerfully displayed a moment of literature memorable for the art of persuasion and manipulation. He veiled the true intent. The weaker written speech for Brutus had one effective point. The point that he killed Caesar for Rome. The breakdown of Brutus’s speech makes readers feel the tension and
In William Shakespeare's play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, two speeches are given to the people of Rome about Caesar's death. In Act 3, Scene 2 of this play Brutus and Antony both try to sway the minds of the Romans toward their views. Brutus tried to make the people believe he killed Caesar for a noble cause. Antony tried to persuade the people that the conspirators committed an act of brutality toward Caesar and were traitors. The effectiveness and ineffectiveness of both Antony's and Brutus's speech to the people are conveyed through tone and rhetorical devices.
In Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, Brutus and Antony attempt to persuade the audience of their position on the death of Caesar. While Brutus explains that his death was necessary, Antony claims that Caesar was not deserving of his demise. However, though Brutus does have ample credibility and taps into the emotional link with his audience to some extent, he does not convey as powerful of an argument as Antony, as he fails to provide sufficient factual evidence. Antony, on the other hand, utilizes logical argumentation with solid evidence, creates an emotional connection with his audience, and maintains credibility in order to support his own argument. Through this, it can be seen that Antony’s use of rhetorical appeals and devices is superior to Brutus’s in its ability to persuade the Roman audience.
Firstly, Antony says a general statement that, “the evil that men do lives after them” (III.ii.74), when in fact he is subtly and sneeringly referring to the conspirators actions. The Roman commoners don’t realize that this general statement is swaying them, but the rest of Antony’s speech further convinces them of the evil the conspirators have done. Later, Antony talks about Brutus says that “sure, [he] is an honourable man” (III.ii.98), emphasis on the sure. Because he uses a scornful tone while sarcastically saying this statement, he is really beginning to show the audience his true feelings on the situation. Knowing that even Antony bitterly disagrees with the choices of the conspirators, it further persuades the common people of Rome to turn against Brutus and the rest of Caesar’s murderers. These occasions show Antony’s sour tone, especially towards the conspirators, and Antony’s tone also riles up the Roman citizens. His tone helps to exasperate the commoners with Caesar’s murder, and therefore assists Antony in achieving his purpose to manipulate the audience to turn against
Through the whole of his spectacular speech, Mark Antony influences the crowd using his distinct diction. He is able to inculcate a fired up anti-Caesar mass of people, and he makes the populace believe that Julius Caesar’s death was a true tragedy. Antony gracefully applies his proficiency with ‘logos’ and ‘pathos’ to his speech and is able to adroitly gain followers. His strong reasoning and explanations allow the Romans to buy what he has to say. Antony’s ability to speak in a roundabout way is a key constituent of his speech. Withal, he is extremely humble and the way he plays down his prowess is impressive. Mark Antony puts all the parts of his remarkable rhetoric together, and the result is a speech for the ages.
Actions at some moments in Julius Caesar speak louder than words. A prime example is when Cassius wants the men to make a pact to follow through with the murder, but Brutus speaks up and says that the pact is unnecessary. Brutus feels as though every man is a true Roman and each man is as trustworthy and noble as he. As for Antony's speech, this is a whole different story. The words Antony spoke to the public helped motivate the people to go against the conspirators. Thought the action of killing Caesar was a publicized one, Antony's speech was far from being unnoticed.
He pauses while speaking of Rome’s love for Caesar to give himself time to reflect on his own feelings of sorrow and loss for Caesar: “Bear with me;/ My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar,/ And I must pause till it come back to me” (913). So overcome with grief, Antony cries during this moment, showing his immense distress to the crowd: “Poor soul, his eyes are red as fire with weeping” (914). Antony and Caesar become sympathetic figures to the crowd, which begins to fin reason in Antony’s sayings. They begin to mock the conspirators, calling them traitors, villains, and murderers. Antony tells them to form a ring around Caesar’s body to read his will: “Shall I descend? And will you give me leave?” (916). Antony descends from the pulpit into the crowd, showing the bond the crowd has formed with Antony. Influenced by Antony’s continuing speech, the crowds respect for Antony soars and opinions on Caesar’s death begin to change: “Methinks there is much reason in his sayings./ If thou consider rightly of the matter,/ Caesar has had great wrong” (913). The crowd considers Antony the noblest man in Rome and while he descends down to their “level”, their respect for him ascends. By Antony’s actions and gestures, the crowd has grown more respect for him with a growing hatred for the
“Julius Caesar” by William Shakespeare is the story of the assassination of Julius Caesar. Two speeches were made after his death, one being by Mark Antony. He uses many rhetorical devices in this speech to counter the previous speech and persuade the crowd that the conspirators who killed Caesar were wrong. Rhetoric is the art of persuasion and these many devices strengthen this by making points and highlighting flaws. Antony uses many rhetorical devices, all of which are used to persuade the crowd that the conspirators are wrong and Caesar did not need to be killed.
A later example occurs during the funeral oration by Mark Antony. Brutus logically gives his reasons that necessitated Caesar’s death. He informs them that he acted out of love of Rome and his desire to prevent tyrants from controlling her. The citizens embrace his words with cheers and understanding. However, their mood alters when Antony offers his interpretation of the situation. He passionately described the deeds Caesar performed in behalf of the citizens of Rome, which clearly contradict the opinion of the conspirators that Caesar was too ambitious. Antony carefully uses irony in referring to Cassius and Brutus as honorable men; the strategy wins over the citizens and they listen with growing anger to his words. He leads the citizens to the body and begins to show the brutal results of the murder while simultaneously influencing them to believe that the conspirators are murderers and traitors. Ultimately, Antony reads Caesar’s will, which leaves his parks, private estates, and newly planted gardens to the citizens of Rome.
& respects the intelligence of the common people to understand a speech given in verse. Brutus's authoritative air is once again illustrated at the very opening line of his oration when he demands the attention of the people, "Romans, countrymen, and lovers, hear me for my / cause, and be silent, that you may hear. Believe me / for mine honor and have respect to mine honor, that / you may believe"(Act III, scene ii, lines 13-16). this one line, Antony uses Brutus's words to his advantage by changing them to make himself sound friendlier. By the very first word of Antony's speech, one can infer that he is about to give a humbling oration; he uses the ethical appeal to convince the people to believe in his cause rather than Brutus's. Finally, while the crowd is in awe of Brutus's raw power and booming authority, Antony uses sarcasm He is "an honorable man" (Act III, scene II, line 84) in a tone of biting mockery, therefore questioning Brutus's credibility. & nbsp; It is true that the Roman people have emotions that sway with the winds, but this is partly due to the great speaking skills of both Brutus and Mark Antony.
The speech made by Marcus Antonius, called Antony, in Act Three, Scene Two of Julius Caesar shows that despite being considered a sportsman above all else, he is highly skilled with the art of oratory as well. In the play by William Shakespeare, this speech is made at the funeral of Caesar after he is killed by Brutus and the other conspirators. Brutus claimed earlier, in his own funeral speech, that the killing of Caesar was justified. He felt that Caesar was a threat, and too ambitious to be allowed as ruler. Much of this sentiment, however, was developed by the treacherous Cassius. Antony, on the other hand, felt that the conspirators were traitors to Rome and should be dealt with. This speech used a variety of methods to gradually bring the crowd to his side, yet maintain his side of the deal with Brutus. This deal was that he, “shall not in your funeral speech blame us...” (3.1.245) for the death of Caesar. Antony holds his end of the deal for the majority of the speech, yet by doing so convinces the crowd of Brutus' and the others' disloyalty. In many ways, this speech can be seen as the ultimate rhetoric, and it includes all three of Aristotle's methods of persuasion. This are the appeal to credibility, called ethos, the appeal to emotions, called pathos, and the appeal to logic, called logos. All three of these devices are used to great effect during the speech of Marcus Antonius.