Julius Caesar Rhetorical Analysis

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When constructing an effective argument, the triple rhetoric must be considered. In the tragedy of Julius Caesar, both Brutus and Antony attempt to persuade the people of Rome. They each take a different approach while trying to convince them. In the end, one speech is more successful than the other in the way that the crowd agrees with one. In the first speech, which is Brutus’s, he is telling the people of Rome that he had no animosity against Caesar, he wanted only to save the republic from demise. Brutus tries to use logos, or logic (Dictionary.com), to justify why he committed the crime. By this, he says “as he was ambitious, I slew him (Elements of literature, 831)” to explain his reasoning for joining the conspiracy. To ingeminate his statements, Brutus repeats that the crowd should trust him for his honor, for they have trusted him previously. …show more content…

He knowly is manipulating the crowd by saying how honorable all of the conspirators were. As said in westsidetoastmaker.com, “people react based on emotion, then justify their acts with logic.” Furthermore, he also was sharing all the achievements of Caesar and all he had done for the people of Rome. The first major difference was the way they first addressed the crowd. While Brutus begins his allocation with “Romans, countrymen, lovers (Elements of Literature, 831)” Antony starts his with “Friends, Romans, countrymen (Elements of Literature, 834).” By each of these choices, or starting statements, it shows how how they each are about to start addressing the crowd. Brutus talks above the people, in which he talks to the educated part of Rome, meanwhile Antony speaks at the level of the people. The starting statement sets the tone for the rest of the

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