Most would agree that logic should overcome emotion when making decisions, but as studies have shown, up to 90 percent of the decisions we make are based on emotion. In “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar” by William Shakespeare, this is very evident. In this play, we follow the Roman Senate members, Mark Antony, Marcus Brutus, Caius Cassius, and the soon-to-be king of Rome, Julius Caesar. After secretly conspiring against Julius Caesar with other Senate members, Cassius convinces Brutus to aid in the killing of Caesar. Their justification for this decision was their fear of Caesar’s ambition once he was king. They all agreed and believed that Caesar could do much harm if he was crowned, and although they all cherished him as a friend, they ultimately went through with killing him. After killing Caesar, Brutus gave a speech to the people of Rome explaining why the Senate members killed the Roman’s beloved Caesar. Following this …show more content…
Although simple, this is very effective in persuasion in general. Using this clever appeal to emotion, Antony very effectively persuaded the crowd, especially compared to the logos of Brutus. When trying to persuade a crowd against another, discrediting one’s opponent can always be helpful. In both Antony’s speech and Brutus’ speech, they each equally used their ethos to build their credibility with the Romans. Antony, however, discredits Brutus, leaving his speech much more effective. Antony’s speech’s effectiveness is much due to Antony’s tactical discrediting of Brutus and his character. How does Antony discredit Brutus you may be asking? Surprisingly enough, he discredits Brutus using sarcasm and repetition. Throughout his whole speech, Antony repeats the phrase, “yet Brutus is an honourable man,” (Antony, Section 1). This seems like a compliment, but in context one can see that it is actually
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
In speechcraft, orators have reverted to three basic concepts to persuade an audience; ethics, logic or emotion. All views are powerful, the path of emotion, or pathos, has stirred men to riots, the path of ethics, or ethos, has reminded people of the basest of their knowing and the path of logic, or logos, has calmed the savagest of beasts to men. No matter how human's develop, they retain the remnants of their not so distant cousins, animals. This is apparent when one takes note in the brain's ability to overcome human speech with basic emotions, to ‘render one speechless’ if you will. In these cases, much like animals, humans are propelled into action, leaving behind civilized concepts,
Imagine yourself listening to a political debate, undecided as to which leader you agree with. One candidate begins to speak about unjust societal issues, such as the horrifying amount of people in the world that do not have food on their table. The candidate also begins to touch upon the topic of taxes and how he will lower them if he is elected. You find yourself being persuaded in the direction of emotions and morals. The power of language used to appeal others is not only present in the modern world, but also in the play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, written by famous English playwright William Shakespeare. The Tragedy of Julius Caesar portrayed a story of how an aspiring leader, Julius Caesar, is assassinated by a group of schemers, lead by Marcus Brutus, who disagreed with Caesar’s decrees and ways of governing. Over the course of the text, it demonstrated the use of two rhetorical charms: ethos and pathos. While ethos refers to the moral and ethical appeal and pathos invokes to the emotional aspect, each one was evidently shown in the funeral speech for Caesar given by his best friend, Mark Antony. Prior to Antony’s speech, Brutus had given the plebeians a synopsis of what had occurred. However, Mark Antony knew that what Brutus had told the plebeians was false. In such manner, he allured the plebeians onto his side of the tragedy by touching upon ethical and emotional appeals.
Rhetorical devices have been around for many centuries, and they are used to convince and persuade people to believe in their cause. These strategies exploit individuals by influencing them to feel sympathy or trust the speaker. In Julius Caesar, a historic tragedy written by the prominent Shakespeare, Antony’s brilliant rhetorical strategies are used to trump Brutus and prompt the Roman people to unite with his rebellion against the unjust butcher of the beloved Julius Caesar.
In this day and age, persuasion can be seen on almost any screen. The average American views thousands of advertisements every week. Most ads are simply pushed out of a person’s mind, but the successful advertisements are the ones that resonate with people. Some forms of ads are very annoying to those who put up with them constantly. Online pop-up ads, for example, are proven to do worse for products and business than no advertising at all! This is because this form of advertising does nothing to convince or persuade the person viewing the ad, and no effort is put into actually put into proving what it’s worth to make a point. Pop-ads make zero use of something known as “rhetorical devices”. In Julius Caesar, Brutus and Mark Antony both try to convey their point of view to a large audience of Roman citizens. One had a better speech than the other since he used “rhetorical devices” more effectively. Logos (logical; what makes sense), Ethos (ethics and morals; portraying similar beliefs and values), and Pathos (emotions; natural feelings that can be counterintuitive to logos) are the rhetorical devices that Aristotle
Julius Caesar was one of the most important political and military leaders in the history of Rome, with many major achievements. Caesar is known to have never lost a single war. His most honorable conquests include the capture of Gaul that extended the Rome boundaries to the Atlantic Ocean; and the Roman invasion of Britain. Julius was also a historian and an incredible orator. He authored many comprehensive journals, named Commentaries that provided the details of his military campaign. Caesar is also said to have produced Acta Diurna, which is the first newspaper that let the public know about the actions of the Assembly and the Senate. He was a successful statesman and changed several laws for the wellbeing if the public. He was the one who fixed the calendar because the days weren’t in pace with the seasons and suggested the science behind it. He was clearly one of the most important political and military leaders in the history of Rome
Rhetorical devices can be seen being used in history, such as William Shakespeare’s dramatic play “Julius Caesar”. In Shakespeare’s play Brutus and Antony conspire to lead a group to assassinate Caesar. Rome is in a panic as they find out that their first emperor Octavian who went by the name Julius Caesar has been stabbed to death. Brutus and Antony in an effort to achieve Rome’s support use rhetorical devices to try to receive support for their actions. You can see how they use ethos, pathos, and logos to eventually achieve their goal of persuading the citizens of Rome.
In his play Julius Caesar, Shakespeare employs various rhetorical strategies such as direct address, repetition, and apostrophe in Antony’s eulogy to convince the crowd into believing that Caesar was a good ruler. His excellent use of rhetoric begins before he starts his speech through the establishment of familiarity. Before Antony begins his speech, he refers to the crowd as “friends, romans, [and] countrymen” to establish a personal connection, indicating the use of direct address (3.2.82). By referring to the crowd as “friends,” Antony removes any separation between him and the audience, establishing a close bond by choice. As it came first on his list, it emphasizes the importance of his friendship with the audience as friendship implies
Draft Eight In Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar, the climactic, bloody battle between the forces of Brutus and Cassius and those of Antony and Octavius is preceded and precipitated by the verbal battle between Antony and Brutus at Caesar’s funeral. As the first to address the public at Caesar’s funeral, Brutus justifies Caesar’s murder on the grounds of ambition and despite the admiration the public held for Caesar in life, they are quickly swayed by Brutus’ rhetoric and accept his justifications. Aware that he has neither the support of the people nor nobility, in his response, Antony implicitly argues that Caesar was unjustly slain by disparaging Brutus’ honor and discrediting his assertion that Caesar was ambitious. Despite skillfully employing rhetorical
The death and murder of a beloved ruler worldwide can cause heartbreak and strong feelings of betrayal. Such things can cause trauma, especially when the person who betrayed you was someone you could depend on to respect you, keep you safe, and never violate your trust. Mark Antony, was a victim of heartbreak and betrayal once his beloved ruler, Julius Caesar, was slain by an honorable man named Brutus. When Brutus was questioned by Antony, he told him and the people the death was for the good of Rome as Caesar was too ambitious. People believed him, however, Antony did not, but still asked if he could give a speech at the funeral.
Emotions don’t lie, it has been shown by scientists that emotion is one of the strongest ways to persuade someone. In the play ‘The tragedy of Julius Caesar’ Mark Antony is shown as a close friend of Julius Caesar and Marcus Brutus is seen as a friend of his too, however further down in the story it is seen that Brutus becomes jealous of Caesar for the power he now holds. So, he decides to kill Caesar in order to prevent him from becoming king of Rome. After this event occurs, Antony wants to get revenge on Marcus Brutus for killing Julius Caesar. This turns into an emotional rollercoaster for Mark Antony as in his funeral speech he goes back and forth that Marcus Brutus is a liar, but he should not be disrespected, and he expresses his grieve
The play Julius Caesar has many different themes as well as views behind it. One famous character, Mark Antony, was seen as being Caesar's friend. But, when Caesar fell, Antony rose to gain a leadership spot to which he led the Roman Republic to its own fate and the rise of the Roman Empire. Throughout Julius Caesar, Mark Anotony had several wants and shifting desires that he got through manipulations and other persuasive techniques for the duration of the play. In the beginning, Mark Antony held Caesar close and remained loyal to him, both Caesar and Antony were friends.
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.
Ignorance: The People of Rome In Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, Antony’s ability to persuade the audience with his speech that both he and Brutus had spoken to, is far superior to his opposition. The way Antony went about giving his speech and the rhetorical devices that are used and the way he used to appeal to people's emotions and make them side with him. Whereas Brutus, on the other hand, his appeals to the crowd were to engage the audience within the speech, asking rhetorical questions to make it seem like the people were a part of this matter. Antony's rhetoric ultimately proves more compelling. While Brutus relies on a straightforward appeal to the Roman people's sense of logic and duty, presenting himself as an honorable man acting in
In William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, persuasion and rhetoric play a crucial role in a myriad of events and outcomes that occur. In Act one Cassius is trying to convince Brutus to turn against Caesar and join the conspiracy. Later, in Act three, Brutus and Antony speak at Caesar’s funeral. Brutus convinces the Roman people that what he and the conspirators did was for the good of Rome. Antony then persuades the plebeians that the conspirators had no reasonable judgement to kill Caesar and that all Caesar’s future plans were to help Rome. Though many characters appear to be rhetorical, Antony could be considered as the most. Persuasion and rhetoric are used throughout Julius Caesar when Cassius is trying to coax Brutus to join the conspiracy, and when Brutus and Antony convince the crowd at Caesar’s funeral.