Following Brutus’ assassination of Caesar, the massive crowd of Roman citizens are searching for answers. Now, Antony, a loyal colleague of Caesar, must address the crowd with his funeral speech. Antony’s funeral speech reminds the citizens of Rome of what an honorable and empathetic leader Caesar was in order to avenge his assassination and degrade the conspirators. Antony uses the speech to appeal to the crowd and show Caesar’s greatest qualities and why his killing was unjust. He thinks back to the time “When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept.” Antony’s use of emotional forms an emotional appeal to the crowd’s sense of loyalty. The crowd now realizes that Caesar was not only their leader, but also their friend in need and now respect …show more content…
However, because Caesar also cried with them, it shows his empathy with the struggles of the people. Antony’s reasoning, therefore, is that Caesar’s death takes away the soul of a once generous and loving leader. Then, Antony remembers that he had tried to give Caesar the “crown,/ which he did thrice refuse. Was this ambition?” This rhetorical question shows a logical appeal to the crowd’s sense of judgement and reasoning. The crowd now has more trust in the transparency of the intentions of their beloved leader, who was to lead without being a dictator. Antony points out that Caesar denied the crown three times even if it would raise the value of his glory. The transition into a rhetorical question is crafted to emphasize that Caesar couldn’t have been ambitious if he refused what would give him power. Since no one is defiant of the question, the assassination, therefore, was unjustified and even ineffective because Caesar would have never become a dictator in the first place. After, Antony expresses to the crowd that his “heart is in the coffin with Caesar”. The hyperbole …show more content…
Antony repeats many times that Caesar did not want authoritarian power and “yet Brutus says he was ambitious”. This use of repetition serves as a logical appeal to the reasoning of the crowd and, with the introduction of the evidence above, helps solidify Antony’s case against Brutus and sways the crowd. Antony points out the multiple contradictions of Brutus’ justification of the assassination by deliberately and repetitiously questioning of Brutus’ motives. He points out that Caesar did not accept the crown and was a leader of the people. As a result, he repeats that Brutus is the only one of the Roman citizens that did not comprehend the acts of generosity and heroism that Caesar did and, therefore, is unjustified in his killing. Next, Antony reminds the crowd that “Brutus is an honorable man”. This irony is an ethical appeal to Brutus’ status as a respected man now being brought down by Antony. The crowd now understands that although Brutus might have been respected before, his actions should now be seen as the exact opposite of “honorable”. The appeal to Brutus’ great status is actually just a sarcastic comment referring to Brutus, in fact, as a foolish man whom he despises for killing Caesar. Furthermore, it acts as a well crafted rebuttal to publicly accuse Brutus of betraying the people of Rome. Finally, after providing overwhelming evidence to support his
... Antony also mixes Logos and Pathos when he says that “when the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept” (873) to show that Caesar was a noble and caring leader of the public and would never try to hurt or harm their liberties. Unlike Brutus, Antony’s logo requires the people to think on what he says, which only helps in winning his argument. He continues this mix when he says that “[they] all did love him once, not without cause” (873) in order to put guilt on the crowd for switching sides on the man they loved and admired so dearly. Antony, with full support of the crowd, uses his sense of loss and anger to guilt the public says that “[his] heart is in there with Caesar”(873) and after reading the contents of Caesar will to the public which gives each citizen 70 drachmas and various other gifts he asks “when comes another [as great as Caesar]?”
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...
In the account, “The Assassination of Julius Caesar”, written by Marcus Brutus, does not much speak on Caesar himself but by the will of so many whom conspired against him gives the impression that Caesar was seen by the majority as a “selfish dictator”. Although is seems as though he was not thought of in high regard...
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.
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.
“When the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept. Ambition should be made of sterner stuff,” says Antony (950). It takes an honorable man to shed tears, but to weep? That takes the honor. Caesar’s actions, as Antony describes them, create the image of a wildly sympathetic character that many audiences can relate to.
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.
At the funeral oration Brutus gives Mark Antony permission to speak, in doing so the crowd turns on Brutus, in favor to what Antony has to say about Caesar. As Mark Antony gives his clever speech, the crowd turns on Brutus and is in favor of Antony.
Greed, ambition, and the possibility of self-gain are always constant in their efforts to influence people’s actions. In Julius Caesar, Marcus Brutus, a venerable politician, becomes a victim of the perpetual conflict between power-hungry politicians and ignorant commoners. He is a man of honor and good intentions who sacrifices his own happiness for the benefit of others. Unfortunately, his honor is strung into a fine balance between oblivion and belief and it is ultimately the cause of his downfall. His apparent obliviousness leads him to his grave as his merciful sparing of Mark Antony’s life, much like Julius Caesar’s ghost, comes back to haunt him. Overall, Brutus is an honest, sincere man who holds the lives of others in high regard while he himself acts as a servant to Rome.
Antony’s goal was to persuade the crowd of plebeians that the conspirators acted impetuously and Caesar did not need to be killed. He uses many rhetorical devices to strengthen his speech and gain the support of the crowd. From rhetorical questions to the use of pathos, Antony masters the art of persuasion. His speech moves the crowd from believing Brutus’ reasoning for killing Caesar, to understanding that Caesar did not have to die.
After the murderous confrontation, it was not too late to prevent the anger of Caesar’s allies and the citizens or, even, to avoid future civil war. But it was here that Brutus made his second and third mistakes. Marcus Brutus rose before the Roman populace and attempted to offer a justification of Caesar’s murder. His flawed judgment came when he deemed Antony trustworthy and allowed him to speak at Caesar’s funeral. Brutus naively let Antony draw the mob in his favor. No one could dare refute Antony’s impassioned pleas in behalf of Caesar.
The author inquires the honorable characteristic of Brutus by the question whether Brutus’ words are true. Moreover, Shakespeare’s questions ‘Was this ambition?’ allows the orator to persuade the audience into believing Brutus was wrong to kill the ambitious Julius Caesar. Therefore, the author uses rhetorical question in Mark Antony’s funeral speech to persuade the citizens to view the assassination of Caesar as an act of deception by Marcus
Mark Antony's Speech from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar Mark Antony’s funeral oration over the body of Julius Caesar in act three, scene two is the most important speech in the play and effects the development of the play as a whole in many ways. Firstly this speech falls in the play where we have seen Antony’s distraught reaction to the murder of Caesar and his letter vowing allegiance to Brutus in return for being able to live. Act three, scene one prepares us for Antony’s rhetoric as here he states that ‘Brutus is noble, wise, valiant and honest’ which fits in with him repeatedly stating ‘Brutus is an honourable man’. It becomes evident in this scene that Antony has an ulterior motive for forming this allegiance and asking to do the funeral oration when he is ‘swayed from the point by looking down on Caesar’ and then states that ‘friends am I with you all, and love you all’ but still wants to know ‘why and wherein Caesar was dangerous’. Thus we the audience are aware that Antony is not being honest with the conspirators especially when he speaks in a soliloquy of the anarchy he will create when he states ‘blood and destruction shall be so in use…that mothers shall but smile when they behold/
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.
Antony also uses the power of his speech, similar to Cassius, to influence the plebeians of Rome by carefully structuring his words together and using various tones to appeal to the audience. Antony uses repetition, such as this quote, “I thrice presented him a kingly crown,/ Which he did thrice refuse. Was this ambition?/Yet Brutus says he was ambitious,/And sure he is an honourable man.”(III.ii.94-97) Antony uses this repetition of giving evidence to the people of what Caesar’s characteristics were really like, showing them that Caesar was not as ambitious as Brutus said, and calling Brutus an honourable man. The repetition allows for the plebeians to realize the truth because of Antony’s multiple exposures of verification that Caesar was not ambitious and how Brutus and the other conspirators are at fault. It also influences the plebeians to believe that Brutus is not noble at all because of how deceitful he acts when justifying his causes to murder Caesar. Antony then says, “[...]Bear with me./My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar,/and I must pause till it come back to me.”(III.ii.103-105). Antony indicates how close his relationship to Caesar and that he feels so heartbroken that he chokes up from all the overwhelming emotions he feels. The tone of his speech elicits sympathy from the plebeians due to the