Julius Caesar Rhetorical Analysis

In William Shakespeare’s, Julius Caesar, Mark Antony pleads to his “Friends, Romans, (and) countrymen,” to lend them their ears in effort to pardon Caesar from the insincere accusations made against him. The conspirators of Caesar’s death portray and sway the crowd into thinking that the deed was for the good of the Roman people; they named him ambitious, and tyrant. Brutus appeals to ethos, his honour and authority, and influences the crowd into believing his perspective of the deed. However, Antony’s oration expertly manipulates the crowd through the use of overwhelming pathetic appeals, controls subtly the emotions of the crowd, and allows them to reach their own ultimate resolution. Antony refutes Caesars accused ambition, and exploits

the emotions of the crowd.

Caesar’s untimely and unnecessary death creates an ironic situation, in which Mark Antony is able to seize, and control the crowd against the conspirators.

Brutus states that the death of Caesar was necessary and beneficial to the Roman republic, whom all indisputably conjoined with his accusation that Caesar was ambitious, and needed to be killed. As he ascended the pulpit, Antony began his oration with the objective of refuting the claim that Caesar was ambitious. Antony begins to address, “I thriced presented him a kingly crown, Which he did thrice refute, Was this ambition? Yet Brutus says he was ambitious, And, sure, he is an honourable man.” – Act 3 Scene 2 Page 5. He reminds the public that, three times has Caesar been offered the crown and rule over Rome, but three times did he refuse it. As Antony implies, an ambitious man would undoubtedly accept the offer of ruling over Rome. Antony uses the rhetorical claim, “Was this ambition?” to coerce the crowd into forming their own personal opinions. This is a key factor in Antony’s way of appealing to Pathos, and is maintained throughout his oration. Antony desires the crowd to form their own opinions on the accusations of Caesar, rather than to force his ideals onto them. This subtle way of manipulation played great affect on the emotions of the

crowd.

Throughout Antony’s oration he draws attention to the honour of Brutus, and questions wether he is truly honourable.

Antony begins his speech with, “Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears,” – Act 3 Scene 2 Page 4; he creates a common bond between him and the crowd by equating their social standing, and by describing Brutus and his fellow conspirators as honourable men, he wins the affection of the crowd. This slowly translates into a harsh tone, directly aimed at falsifying the “honour” of Brutus, and by comparing the words of Brutus to the actions of Caesar; Antony forms juxtaposition and presents a dichotomy. The lines, “He was my friend, faithful and just to me… Yet Brutus says he was ambitious and Brutus is an honourable man,” – Act 3 Scene 2 Page 4-5, illustrate Antony contradicting Brutus’ accusations that Caesar was ambitious and tyrannous. By doing so, Antony instills motives, bit by bit, into the crowd, and incite for them to form their own judgments; Was Caesar really ambitions, or Was Caesar truly a tyrant. The crowd falls for Antony’s subterfuge, they side with him, and against the

conspirators.

Mark Antony presents the crowd Caesars’ corpse to further inspire their growing desire to rebel against the conspirators and Brutus. Antony appeals to pathos, and displays the corpse and its wounds to the crowd. The brutal way in which Caesar was murdered is literal proof that Antony uses to further show how dishonourable the murderers were. At the sight of Caesars’ bloody, battered body, it becomes blatant that his murder was not for the greater good of Rome, rather for other, dishonourable, motives. The crowd begins to realise that is was not the ambition of Caesar that led to his death, but rather the ambition of the conspirators, assassinating Caesar in cold blood. Antony supports his claim during lines, “For Brutus you know, was Caesars’ angel. Judge, o you gods, how dearly Caesar loved him! For when the noble Caesar saw him stab, Ingratitude, more strong than traitor’s arms, Quite vanquish’d him: then burst his mighty heart.” Antony proclaims that is was not the brutal stabbing that did kill Caesar, but rather the brutal betrayal of his best friend, Brutus.

Mark Antony’s eulogy of Caesar cleverly hid his agenda as he tried to clear the name of his murdered leader, and manages to sway the public opinion from one extreme to another. His pathetic appeals to the crowd incite an angry mob, hunting through Rome all those that were related to the murder. Antony’s words portrayed the ill intentions of the assassins for what they were, and brought glory to the memory of Caesar.