To achieve a specific outcome, individuals oftentimes use certain methods of manipulation to influence their peers or adversaries. One such method of manipulation is propaganda. As Merriam-Webster defines it, propaganda is the “spreading of ideas, information, or rumor for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person.” A legendary playwright and actor, William Shakespeare practiced techniques of propaganda all throughout his play, Julius Caesar. Julius Caesar was an extraordinary military leader who ruled Rome in a triumvirate. After being the only survivor of the three, he was assassinated by his friends because they feared his behavior. Propaganda played a vital role in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar with the following techniques: …show more content…
Name Calling, Flag Waving, and Emotional Appeal. Propaganda is used to a great extent in the play. During Antony’s funeral speech, Antony constantly calls Brutus names. This propaganda technique is called Name Calling. Name Calling is described as when someone is called names which, as a result, manipulates others’ judgments about them.
Throughout Antony’s speech, Antony calls Brutus “honorable” (Shakespeare 142) repeatedly, but with a sarcastic tone. Furthermore, even though he had accomplished numerous things for the Romans, Antony calls Caesar “ambitious” (Shakespeare 142) in the same sarcastic tone implying that he was not an ambitious leader.. This technique helped Antony manipulate the Plebeians’ opinion of Caesar. In another dramatic monologue, Brutus uses Flag Waving to justify the assassination of the beloved Julius Caesar. Flag Waving is described as a display of being patriotic or nationalistic towards one’s country. Brutus says Caesar must be killed because his insidious actions will bring Rome to ruin (Shakespeare 138). He tells the Romans that Caesar is too powerful and egoistic. As a result, the Plebeians are easily influenced by Brutus’s words and turn against Caesar. Finally, a propaganda technique used by Portia, Brutus’s wife, persuades Brutus to reveal his secret. Portia discovers that Brutus has been keeping something from her and is frantic to find out what it is. She uses the technique of Emotional Appeal to persuade Brutus. The technique of Emotional Appeal attempts to make an
individual decide between choices using their heart instead of their logical thoughts. Ever since Cassius, another conspirator, offers Brutus to be a part of the plot to kill Caesar, Brutus has been unable to sleep and behave the way he normally does. Portia proclaims to Brutus that he has not been himself lately and he doesn’t treat her the way a husband should treat his wife. She gets on her knees and wounds her thigh to show Brutus how strong she is. She states that she is stronger than the other women and can handle a secret. Brutus, who is moved by Portia’s words and actions, reveals his secret to her about the plot to kill Caesar. Behaving the exact opposite of what she had said, Portia gets infuriated and becomes dour. (Shakespeare 88). Portia used the propaganda technique to confide Brutus’s secrecy. She found out what she had wanted to, but was not strong enough to handle the truth. These are just a few examples of the propaganda techniques that were used effectively throughout the play, Julius Caesar. The technique of Propaganda never failed to manipulate any of the characters in the play. It was used by the different characters to get what they wanted. Propaganda can be used for both good and evil. Portia uses propaganda to find a secret that was not intended for her to know, while Brutus uses it to justify the murderers’ actions. It is up to us to decide whether we will use it only for our benefit or everyone’s benefit.
In William Shakespeare's, Julius Caesar, rhetorical devices are used throughout Decius Brutus’s speech to Caesar to persuade him to attend the senate, and ultimately meet his demise. Decius Brutus uses repetition to directly play into Caesar’s ego and convince him to show at an event he was previously very unsure of. Decius first uses repetition to make Caesar feel as if he were an irreplaceable addition to the senate. He addresses Caesar as, “most mighty Caesar…” (2.2.74) multiple times throughout his oration. The repetition of “mighty” draws Caesar’s attention away from the fact that he really must not go to the senate and instead focuses on why he must. Caesar is known to be easily persuaded by the promise of attention or rewards. Decius
(877) in order to make the crowd feel complete and utter guilt for their betrayal and anger towards the conspirators who killed their beloved idol. Brutus and Antony’s use of Ethos, Logos, and Pathos throughout the novel are just examples of the everyday persuasion used around us daily, when reading the play it does look like one giant competition to see who is the most persuasive and influential character. Even in today’s economy, companies have to compete for the attention of consumers’ worldwide and politicians who argue their beliefs and views to millions of voters in order to get what they want, because the art of persuasion is just one big game. Works Cited Shakespeare, William. The.
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.
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.
In the play Julius Caesar by Shakespeare, Brutus and Antony both display their sides of Caesar in hopes of getting the Plebeians to support them. Mark Antony, a friend of Caesars, effectively persuades the crowd that the conspirators are traitors rather than heroes while technically keeping his promise to avoid saying anything negative about them. Antony convinced the mob that Caesar cared for the common people by manipulating the definition of the words “honorable” and “ambitious,” and using props, thereby delivering the more effective speech in the end.
Two powerful leaders, one power hungry whose ambitious ideas lead to his downfall, the other mindful of people who deserve their higher positions. A true leader is someone who has a vision, a drive and commitment to achieve what's best. In the play written by William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, Brutus and Caesar are one of the main characters. They demonstrate leadership qualities that are still relevant to today. They are both very ambitious characters; however, they do so for different reasons and differ in their openness to others. There are many similarities and differences that lie between them. Both are noble and great men with loyal followers and neither man questions the rightness of his own path. Both made crucial mistakes that resulted in their death. However, Caesar acts out of love for for himself, his country, and to retain his power as ruler of Rome. Brutus on the other hand acts out of love for freedom of Rome. This essay will discuss and compare their qualities as leaders as well as their styles and how they are effective/ineffective in the play.
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
Antony reminds the plebeians about the time when he, himself “presented [Caesar] a kingly crown, / Which [Caeasar] did thrice refuse” (III. ii. 97-98). Using logic and reasoning, Mark Antony explains to his crowd that the fallen Caesar couldn’t possibly have been ambitious if he had refused the ticket to become King multiple times. Immediately afterward, Antony made sure to remind the plebeians that Brutus is an honorable man. This use of logos with verbal irony proves to be extremely effective. Since Antony presented the crowd with a compelling fact supporting that Caesar was not ambitious, the phrase “Brutus is an honorable man,” would be even more effective in allowing his audience to realize that Brutus and the conspirators may not be honorable (III. ii. 83). According to Brutus, the conspirator's sole reason to kill Caesar was because they believed he was ambitious, Antony’s statement would then be incredibly useful to turn the crowd against Brutus and his people. The plebeians would start to realize that noble Brutus and his conspirators might not be honorable and could potentially have their own, personal reasons to assassinate Julius Caesar. Once the crowd realizes that Brutus and the conspirators could have murdered their leader for no valid reason, they would begin to feel anger which are the building steps to starting a rebellion just like how Antony
In the play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar is murdered by a group of conspirators under Brutus’ direction wishing to rid Rome of Caesar’s power. At his funeral, Brutus provides Mark Antony, an ally to Caesar, a chance to speak under certain terms: he cannot arouse chaos in the crowd by putting fault on Brutus and the conspirators for the murder of Julius Caesar, and he may only speak well of Caesar. Antony’s speech, however, does stir chaos and disorder in the fluctuating crowd, what he originally intended to do, and they do turn against Brutus. Antony uses appealing language, influential gestures, and significant props to sway the defensive crowd to uprising and rebellion.
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’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.
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
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.
Throughout history, the world has seen a copious amount of emperors, but Julius Caesar was a historic model to the society of Rome. According to McKay, Hill, Buckler, Crowston, Weisner- Hanks, and Perry, (2014), born in 100 B.C. to an honorable family, Caesar went to school and received an outstanding education, which he later advanced by studying in Greece with some of the famous Greek teachers we learn about today. Caesar’s first wife Cornelia was the daughter of the consul at the time, Lucius Cornelius Cinna. His original plans were to marry the daughter of a wealthy business class family, but considering he wanted to be the flamen he had to marry a patrician. Even though he fulfilled the requirements and married Cornelia, consul Cinna never