How Does Shakespeare Use Persuasive Language In Julius Caesar

Within the play, “Julius Caesar” by William Shakespeare, a ploy is created to murder Julius Caesar by several members of the senate. This is fueled by the fear that Caesar's power is growing to great and is leading to him possibly taking power as king of the Roman empire. In the beginning, the group of conspirators is made up of Cassius and several other senators, who feel they would be more successful with the support and the help of Brutus, a close friend of Caesars.

Shakespeare uses persuasive language in Cassius’s monologue in Act 1, Scene 2 to demonstrate Cassius’s manipulative qualities.

In Act 1, Scene 2 Shakespeare characterizes Cassius as manipulative. In the second scene of the first act of the play, “Julius Caesar”, Cassius pulls

Brutus aside to talk to him about his growing fear of Caesar’s power: “There was a Brutus once that would have brooked/ Th’ eternal devil to keep his state in Rome/As easily as a king”(Act 1, Scene 2, lines 167-170). In this quotation, Cassius uses manipulation through discussing the past. By mentioning this other Brutus who saved Rome from the tyranny of a single, all powerful leader, he is suggesting a challenge to Brutus to do the same. This quotation also illuminates that Cassius is placing bait for Brutus to take, that Rome is being threatened by a man with lots of power who could be seeking to gain more. This is directly seen with the mention of the other Brutus prefering to have a devil on the throne before a monarch. Adding on, Cassius is questioning Brutus’s honor to Rome and if it rises above his friendship with Julius Caesar. This can be seen as Cassius trying to manipulate Brutus into wanting to assist in the disposal of Caesar. To further develop the idea of Cassius being manipulative, Shakespeare uses persuasive language.
Shakespeare uses rhetoric to deepen the characterization of Cassius as manipulative.

Near the middle of Brutus’s monologue, he expresses to Brutus his surprise of the potential for someone like Caesar who is frail to single handedly rule the Roman Empire: “A man of such a feeble temper should/So get the start of the majestic world/And bear the palm alone”(Act 1, Scene 2, lines 136-138). In this quotation, Shakespeare's use of both pathos and ethos can be seen. Cassius uses anti-ethos in the phrase, “a man of such feeble temper” to illuminate that Caesar is weak and in turn break his credibility as a good leader. This is due to the fact that weakness is not a desired trait in a leader and if this trait is prevalent in a leader, it can decrease their support. Moreover, Cassius uses pathos to manipulate Brutus by creating anger through highlighting the weakness in the leader of the Roman Empire. Anger is also created because of the thought of a single, all powerful leader ruling over the Romans, especially one who is weak. The use of this rhetoric is intended to manipulate Brutus into assisting Cassius and the conspirators in the murder of Caesar. Around the end of Cassius’s monologue, he questions why Caesar is allowed to act as a god while everyone else is bellow him: “Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world/Like a Colossus, and we petty men/Walk under his huge legs and peep about/ To find ourselves dishonorable graves”(Act 1, Scene 2, lines 142-145). In this quotation,

Cassius uses both ethos and logos when stating that Caesar is big and controlling. He is giving a fact of the way that Caesar acts, which decreases Caesars credibility in the process. This is because someone who sees themselves as better than everyone and above them, who is also in charge of an entire empire is a less appealing candidate to let continue to rule. Furthermore, the phrase “To find ourselves dishonorable graves”, which uses pathos, is intended to inspire fear in Brutus. This is because Cassius is saying that if they do not do anything, then they will not have lived honorable lives. Cassius is able to influence Brutus into joining the conspirators by arming himself with persuasive language. To sum it up, in this scene Shakespeare uses persuasive techniques to display Cassius’s manipulative attributes.
All in all, in Act 1, Scene 2 of William Shakespeare's play, “Julius Caesar”, rhetorical devices are used to develop Cassius’s character. The idea that is developed, is that Cassius is manipulative, which is seen as he gives his monologue to Brutus. In this monologue he uses ethos, pathos and logos to manipulate Brutus into joining the conspirators in disposing of Caesar. If Cassius had not used his manipulative trait to sway Brutus, would the outcome have been the same?