Julius Caesar Rhetorical Analysis

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Rhetoric is the art of persuasion. Whenever it is used by speakers, it is used to change people’s minds. The idea of rhetoric was introduced by Aristotle. He introduced the ideas of logos, ethos, and pathos, which are the components of rhetoric. Shakespeare uses Rhetoric in Julius Caesar in both Brutus and Antony’s speeches. They use the different elements of Rhetoric to get the people to agree with them. Brutus attempts to get the people to realize that Caesar was ambitious and dangerous, and that his death was a good thing. Antony, on the other hand, attempts to get the people to realize that Caesar was doing things for the good of Rome, and that Caesar did not deserve to die. Logos is persuasion through the use of facts, evidence, and logic. In Antony’s speech, he uses logos to convince the people that Caesar was not ambitious. He does this by reminding the people of how he refused the crown offered to him. “You all did see that on the Lupercal I thrice presented him a kingly crown, which he did thrice refuse. Did this in Caesar seem ambitious?” (Shakespeare, 3.2.5. 94-96). He also references how Caesar felt compassion for the citizens when they were grieving. “When that the poor have cried, Caesar …show more content…

Antony uses pathos when he talks about how he and Caesar were close friends. “He was my friend, faithful and just to me.” (Shakespeare 3.2.4. 84-85) When Antony speaks of how men have become beasts and lost their reason, the people begin to agree with Antony. “O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts, and men have lost their reason.” (Shakespeare 3.2.5. 103-104) However, Antony does not fully persuade the people until he is forced to leave the stage because he has a breakdown. “Bear with me. My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar, and I must pause till it come back to me.” (Shakespeare 3.2.5. 104-106) After leaving the stage and weeping, the people realize that Caesar truly loved Rome and that Antony was

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