Julius Caesar Rhetorical Analysis Essay

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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. During the speech, Antony is very capable of using different rhetorical devices in order to show that Caesar was …show more content…

He starts with an ethos because he must establish credibility towards the crowd to get them to listen to what he has to say about Caesar as well as the conspirators. The very first word Antony speaks to his fellow Romans is, “I come to bury Caesar, not praise him” (3.2.72). Ethos helps Antony show the crowd why he’s speaking to them right now. Although Antony's initial ambition is to get the plebeians to praise Caesar once again, Brutus was capable in getting the citizens to praise him for the murder. He had to get the crowd to hear him out right from the beginning. Once Antony was able to get the attention of the Romans, that's when he started to play them a little. Since he grabbed their attention, he now has to grab the audience's emotions. Antony explains his relationship to Caesar: “He was my friend, faithful and just to me” (3.2.83). When using pathos, Antony was able to harness the crowd's emotions and sympathy towards him. By doing this, it gives Antony a way to connect with the crowd and evoke their sympathetic …show more content…

He utilizes the strength of repetition and personification to further question if Brutus is really honorable and prove his love for the deceased. Antony initially plays with the crowd by repeating, “And Brutus is an honorable man” multiple times (3.2.85). He repeats this statement over and over to make sure the audience actually understands what he means. Repetition is one of Antony's most useful devices. While saying it so many times, he starts to sound a little sarcastic and disprove all of Brutus’s claims without completely bad mouthing him. Upon hearing that Brutus is so honorable multiple times, Antony begins to implant it into the Romans' brains and gets them rethinking if Brutus is truly honorable. While the plebians are still debating to listen to everything Antony has to say, he begins to express his true feelings by giving a vision. Antony gives human characteristics to his heart, he implores the people to believe in his love for Caesar. He stated, “My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar/And I must pause till it comes back to me” (3.2.104-105). Personification gives Antony the capability of letting the crowd envision his feelings toward the mourning of

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