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 …show more content…
The rhetorical question is used to make Caesar feel as if he is being immature and difficult for not wanting to take the chance of meeting his end. He addresses Caesar by saying, “If Caesar hide himself, shall they not whisper/’Lo Caesar is afraid.” (2.2.105-106). The rhetorical question intentionally draws to light the matter of what the people will believe if the mighty Caesar chooses not to arrive. Resurfacing on his policy of inflating Caesar’s ego, he contradicts his earlier claims of how mighty he is. Caesar has been told frequently and for a long period of time just how great he is by nearly every soul he comes across. The sudden declaration of his frailties shocks Caesar to the reality of his predicament, that being that it is only a matter of time before his power will run out. Caesar feels that if he waits too long or makes the wrong moves he will never receive the opportunity to fulfill his one wish in life, to become king. The ultimate goal of Decius’s sermon was to unknowingly lead Caesar to his death. This goal is reached due to Caesar’s unwavering desire for power. The use of repetition, inversion, and rhetorical questions helped push Caesar towards his dismal
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.
While giving speeches, people use certain rhetorical devices with the intention of obtaining a certain outcome. In Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, Mark Antony stands on the capitol steps, addressing Rome’s countrymen. He speaks on the demerits of Brutus on March 15, 44 B.C. at the capitol building in Rome, just after Brutus assassinated a beloved ruler. In his speech, Antony urges the Romans to recognize Julius Caesar’s merits and Brutus and the conspirator’s immoral act, all while adopting the persona of an emotional friend of the people.
In the beginning of the play, one important aspect of the theme is when Cassius tries to persuade Brutus to join sides with the party against Julius Caesar. Cassius needs to be clever and convincing, and he achieves that by using cunning words that persuade Brutus into thinking defeating Julius is for the good of Rome. “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, / But in ourselves, that we are underlings. / Brutus and Caesar: what should be in that “Caesar”? Why should tha...
Decius uses flattery and persuasion when speaking to Brutus. Decius is an active member of the Conspirators so he is very motivated into getting Caesar to go to the Senate House. The first thing that Decius says when he walks into Caesar's house is "Caesar, all hail! Good morrow, worthy Caesar" (II, ii, 30). Decius also goes on and calls Caesar "most mighty". Decius is already on Caesar's good side. After catching up on Calpurnia's dream, he uses his quick wit to distort Calpurnia's foreshadowing dream by saying it is "misinterpreted". He explains that the dream "Signifies that from (Caesar) Rome shall suck/Reviving blood, and that great men shall press/for tinctures, stains, relics, and cognizance" (II, ii, 31). Caesar seems to be amazed by this version of the interpretation; in fact, he likes this version a lot better mainly because Decius uses so much flattery.
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
The Shakespearean play Julius Caesar, tells the behind the scenes story of the conspirators plan to kill the influential ruler, Caesar. In the play Caesar makes a speech referring to himself and describes his method of ruling Rome while comparing himself to the North Star. Prior to the speech the conspirators have come to the Senate to convince Caesar to forgive and restore Cimber after his banishment. But Caesar responds with this speech about him being persistent about his decisions. The speech that Caesar makes about himself can be considered an Epideictic or a Forensic speech, for the reason that he commends himself while creating an opinion of his past actions. This excerpt from the play leads up to the devious conspirators plan unfolding and the upsetting death of Caesar. Rhetoric is used throughout the speech in order to manipulate and convey how invincible Caesar is as well as express the overall theme of the play, be means of delivery, disposition, and style.
Playwright, William Shakespeare, in the play Julius Caesar, utilizes many instances of rhetorical devices through the actions and speech of Caesar's right-hand man, Mark Antony. In the given excerpt, Antony demonstrates several of those rhetorical devices such as verbal irony, sarcasm, logos, ethos, and pathos which allows him to sway the plebeians. The central purpose of Mark Antony’s funeral speech is to persuade his audience into believing that Caesar had no ill intentions while manipulating the plebeians into starting a rebellion against their new enemies, Brutus and the conspirators.
“Sometimes the people who you love the most do the most damage.” This theme is seen in the play when Brutus, one of Caesar’s most faithful companions, literally stabs him in the back. Leading up to the murder, Caesar is unaware of Brutus’ true intentions. He has no idea that one of his best friends is plotting to kill him. Ultimately, this shows Caesar’s naivety. The warning signs regarding his murder were obvious, but he chose not to see them. If it were anybody else, perhaps they would have been able to see who their true friends were. (7)
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.
Julius Caesar, a very famous play written by William Shakespeare, is known for it’s great use of rhetoric. The general plot is a story of two senators, Brutus and Cassius who have come to a realization that Caesar is not good with his power and they fear what he will do for Rome; so they plan his death. Once they go through with the plan, they have a funeral speech held for Caesar in which Brutus speaks attempting to persuade the citizens that Caesar deserved his death, whereas Antony believes he did not deserve it and gives the people reasons why, causing a hostile audience. With the use of ethos and pathos, Antony’s rhetorical strategy was more effective than Brutus’.
In his Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Shakespeare uses a metaphor, aside, antithesis, and rhetorical questions to craft Brutus as an honorable and noble man manipulates by the conspirators in order to kill Caesar with the belief that Caesar’s death will benefit Rome. He is a loyal person who believes in the doing good for Rome and for his friend Julius Caesar. But in order to save Rome, he chooses his country, Rome over his friendship with Caesar. This task is hard on Brutus but killing a friend was what he had to do to save Rome.
“Julius Caesar” by William Shakespeare is the story of the assassination of Julius Caesar. Two speeches were made after his death, one being by Mark Antony. He uses many rhetorical devices in this speech to counter the previous speech and persuade the crowd that the conspirators who killed Caesar were wrong. Rhetoric is the art of persuasion and these many devices strengthen this by making points and highlighting flaws. Antony uses many rhetorical devices, all of which are used to persuade the crowd that the conspirators are wrong and Caesar did not need to be killed.
To the ancient Romans, their leaders were the men to which they gave their utmost respect and trust. One leader in particular, Julius Caesar, left a true Roman legacy; he came, he saw, and he conquered. Caesar may have been like a god to many--but, in reality, his life was just like everyone else’s. People tried to persuade him to do one thing or the other; however, Caesar, being the self-obsessed person he was, needed a fairly compelling argument. In Shakespeare’s re-enactment of the ruler’s downfall, readers see precisely this. By using various rhetorical devices, Calpurnia tries to convince Caesar to stay home, and Decius attempts to persuade Caesar to come to the Capitol.
Julius Caesar is a Shakespeare play that is famous for its use of rhetorical devices which are used to persuade. In the play, Julius Caesar has just been assassinated and the crowd is confused and very scared. His so-called "friends" have just betrayed him including his long-term friend Brutus who took place in the assassination. Mark Antony was another friend of Caesar 's that didn 't take place in the assassination and was also shocked, scared, and confused on why people would do such a thing. After Caesar 's death, he was able to convince Brutus that they should have a proper funeral and that he should be allowed to speak on his behalf. Brutus agreed on two conditions, the fact that he would be able to speak first and also that Mark Antony
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare is a work of literature that describes the rhetorical art of persuasion. Throughout the play we see characters use the art of rhetoric in the wrong way. Cassius uses it to kill Caesar, Brutus uses rhetoric as a way to justify the death of Caesar and Antony use it to get the people of Rome to go against Brutus and Cassius. Shakespeare writes of these events to prove a major point to his readers. He wants to reveal the dangers of rhetoric.