Rhetoric and Rebellion: Speeches in Julius Caesar

In The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, Brutus and Mark Antony both give influential speeches to the audience at Caesar’s funeral. After the conspirators murdered Caesar, Rome was in chaos. Brutus, one of the conspirators and one of Caesar’s trusted friends, decides to speak at Caesar’s funeral to appease the people of Rome. Following Brutus, another dear friend of Caesar’s named Mark Antony gives a speech that convinces the crowd to take action against the conspirators and get revenge on those who murdered their leader.

The main similarity between Brutus’ and Antony’s speeches was that they were based on what was good for Rome. Brutus justified his actions by explaining that he killed Caesar for the good of Rome, because Caesar was too ambitious and was becoming too powerful. The conspirators feared that Caesar would soon

Antony emotionally states, “You all did love him once, not without cause; What cause withholds you then to mourn for him?” (Shakspeare). He then uses irony and says, “If I were disposed to stir Your hearts and minds to mutiny and rage, I should do Brutus wrong and Cassius wrong, Who, you all know, are honorable men.” (Shakespeare). This quote, calling Brutus and Cassius honorable in almost a mocking way, acts as a call to action for the plebeians.

While both Brutus’s speech explaining himself and Antony’s speech about Caesar are powerful and convincing, Antony’s speech is much more compelling. Had Brutus used more literary devices to make his speech more convincing, perhaps he could have kept the support of the Romans. After listening to both, the people of Rome knew that they needed to listen to Antony and rise up against the conspirators. Each of these monologues help show how literary devices can help speakers and writers be more