Giving a successful speech, in any language, is a difficult yet gratifying skill. Great speeches can be inspiring, compelling, and even revolutionary – indeed, these speeches are deliberate, succinct, engaging, and unforgettable. Two examples of such great speeches in both literature and in history are Mark Antony’s eulogy in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar and Robert F. Kennedy’s On the Death of Martin Luther King. Through the speakers’ use of parallel structure, caesuras, and personal references – three stylistic devices and techniques – not only were both speakers able to embellish their speeches; it also allowed each speaker to deliver an even more powerful speech. In these speeches, the use of repetition through the anaphoral and epiphoral structure in both speeches accentuates the purpose of the speech, while the use of caesuras adds texture and tone to the speech, and the use of personal references engages and stimulates the audience.
Mark Antony’s speech, whose aim is to counter Brutus’ speech, enlightens the crowd on the unjust murder of Caesar. Though he never directly communicates to the crowd of his feeling towards the conspirators, Antony was able to effectively convey to the crowd, through the use of verbal irony and other stylistic devices/techniques in his speech, his true views of the assassination. Moreover, Antony was able to shrewdly emphasize his belief of the undeserved assassination of Caesar through the wide use of epiphoral and anaphoral structure in his speech. Antony emphasizes the wrongdoings of Brutus and Cassius through the ingenious use of the epistrophe along with verbal irony as he notes that “I should do Brutus wrong, and Cassius wrong” (III, ii, 125). Moreover, he stresses the importance of punishi...
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...n my own heart the same kind of feeling. I had a member of my family killed, but he was killed by a white man.”
Although both Mark Antony’s and Robert F. Kennedy’s speeches were successful largely due to the strength of their arguments, their careful choice and placement of their words and sentences is also an important factor in the delivery of their messages. The clever use of stylistic devices and techniques of both Antony and Kennedy’s speeches is a testimony to their much admired speaking styles. The use of repetition, caesuras, and personal references augment their speeches so that it is concise, purposeful, memorable and emotionally engaging. The influential nature of both Mark Antony and Robert F. Kennedy is in part due to their high level of skill in speech-making, a rewarding skill to have in any language, and an important asset required for any leader.
To accomplish a great movement these men needed their audience to be awoken and come to action. Getting people to get up and act according to your words is a trait that Kennedy and King alike possessed. Kennedy knew his facts and was an educated man. When speaking to his audience he
Playwright, William Shakespeare, in the play Julius Caesar, utilizes many instances of rhetorical devices through the actions and speech of Caesar's right-hand man, Mark Antony. In the given excerpt, Antony demonstrates several of those rhetorical devices such as verbal irony, sarcasm, logos, ethos, and pathos which allows him to sway the plebeians. The central purpose of Mark Antony’s funeral speech is to persuade his audience into believing that Caesar had no ill intentions while manipulating the plebeians into starting a rebellion against their new enemies, Brutus and the conspirators.
Since the beginning of mankind, humans always use their skills of persuasion in order to prove a point to an audience. John F. Kennedy and William Shakespeare, though it is a 362 year difference, wrote and announced work displaying persuasion values. John F. Kennedy, in his Inauguration Speech, and Antony, a character in the William Shakespeare play Julius Caesar, uses the tools of language and persuasion in order to deliver the audience their intended reasoning. In both of the speeches, some of the tools that make these speeches effective is the tone, the rhetorical devices, and persuasive appeals.
The most predominate and important aspect In the play Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare are the speeches given to the Roman citizens by Brutus and Antony, the two main charaters, following the death of Caesar. Brutus and Antony both spoke to the crowd,using the same rhetorical devices to express their thoughts. Both speakers used the three classical appeals employed in the speeches: ethos, which is an appeal to credibility; pathos, which is an appeal to the emotion of the audience; and logos, which is an appeal to the content and arrangement of the argument itself. Even though both speeches have the same structure Antony’s speech is significantly more effective than Brutus’s.
Words have power. However, for them to have the desired impact on the audience, some styles have to be incorporated in articulating them out. Orators of the time are best known for their ability to touch people through words. One such person is President Obama. He has a way of making people remember what he has said. This is because; he has styles that he uses in his speech which capture the interest and emotions of the listener. Oppositely, a speaker may want to bring out a certain point, but the choice of technique may impede the passage of such a point to the audience. Basing on this, it is vital for speakers not just to come with word they think are appropriate but also make a choice of the techniques that will influences the delivery of the desired message. Information regarding the styles and techniques utilized by the speaker cannot be gathered unless thee speech is critically analyzed. Accordingly, one of the speeches by President Obama is going to be analyzed.
By delivering his inaugural speech, President Kennedy mentioned not only the American people, but also people from all over the world including new states, old allies, and the Soviet Union. He also sought to inspire the nation after a long, divided election; to alleviate the growing fear of drawn-out cold war, and to bless the hope for peace in the nuclear age. By using the extensive use of rhetorical devices, the President successfully completed and fulfilled the goals of his speech. Therefore, after reading his inaugural speech, I strongly want to choose this speech as an analysis for my research paper. I will analyze John F. Kennedy’s inaugural speech based on the idea of social cohesion about liberty, give evidence and number how this speech has influenced thousands of people based on its eloquence and persuasiveness.
Leaders during times of great unrest would give their people hope through well written, poetic speeches. Those who were truly gifted with amazing speaking skills could turn entire groups against their enemies. Mark Antony in The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by Shakespeare is a wonderful example of someone who is not only a gifted speaker but is also a very poetic speaker. The best example of Mark Antony’s skills is during his monolog at Caesar’s funeral. In The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by Shakespeare, Mark Antony used to structure, diction, figurative language, and imagery to sway the crowd to believe that Julius Caesar was innocent.
In Julius Caesar, Mark Antony performs a very touching and successful speech. After the conspirators kill Caesar, Antony carries Caesar’s body out onto the steps of the senate house in front of the civilians of Rome. Before the speech, the people are happy that Caesar has been killed and are completely
ii. This quote also shows how determined Robert Kennedy is when he speaks about his speech to the audience
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare is a historic tragedy about the brutal murder of the Roman senator, Julius Caesar. Within the play, Caesar has two close friends—Brutus and Antony. Antony is a loyal friend, supporting Caesar and encouraging him in his climb to kingship; Brutus is a king-fearing traitor who leads the plot to murder Caesar. After Caesar is murdered, both friends make speeches—Brutus to justify his actions and Antony to passive-aggressively disprove his claims. In the speeches, they use three rhetorical literary devices: ethos, the appeal to gain the crowd’s trust; pathos, stirring the crowd’s emotions to influence behavior; and logos, the use of logic to reason with the crowd. By comparing the use of ethos, pathos, and logos in each speech and by
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.
Antony asks rhetorical questions and lets the audience answer for themselves. Brutus uses ethos by stating that he a noble man and that is why the people should believe him but infact Antony questions his nobility by saying what Brutus said,” Brutus is an honourable man”(III.ii.79). In a way, Antony states what Brutus states to convince the audience by using examples that Brutus is wrong. Antony himself knows what kind of man Brutus is but lets the people figure it out on their own. In addition, Brutus uses logos by expressing that fact that Caesar died because of his ambition. This argument is severely under supported because his reasons are invalid and simply observations. Antony uses “did this in Caesar seem ambitious” to question Brutus’ argument (III.ii.82). Antony gives examples backing his argument like when Caesar refused the crown thrice to prove his humbleness. The way Antony convinces the people to rebel is by using pathos. He brings the audience in by stepping down to their level and showing them the body of Caesar. While Antony talks at Caesar's funeral, he pauses because” heart us in the coffin there with Caesar “(III.ii.98). When Antony becomes emotional, he reminds the audience about what injust event happened to the much loved
In William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, Mark Antony—a loyal friend to Julius Caesar, the former emperor of Rome—gives a speech to the Roman commoners in order to persuade them to turn against Brutus, for Brutus and the conspirators had slain Caesar. Antony’s uses rough and sharp diction, a scornful tone, and honest anecdotes in order to achieve his purpose of manipulating the common people to take his side.
Brutus repeatedly says, “If any, speak, for him have I offended,” (III.ii.25). Brutus’ tactic is to try to force someone, or dare them, to disagree with him, which no one ends up doing. Brutus tries to make people fear him, which works for a brief period of time. Mark Antony, on the other hand, goes on the attack, rather than the defense, by repeatedly saying, “Yet Brutus said he was ambitious; And… he is an honourable man.” (III.ii.89-90). By going on the offensive side, Mark Antony uses the repetition of this extreme usage of irony and sarcasm to make the audience understand that all of this is Brutus’ fault and that he should be punished for his crimes, no matter his intentions. Both groups use similar rhetorical strategies to prove that Caesar should or should not be dead for what he has done, with differing results. Brutus and Mark Antony also use emotional appeals to persuade their audience that they are correct in the matter of the death of their esteemed
“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.