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 …show more content…
He claims that the council was prepared to bestow a “crown” upon Caeser and that he must make haste to the Senate as their “minds may change”. Whereupon Caesar quickly leaves, eager for the crown, disproving any claim that Caesar was not motivated by personal greed or desire for the monarch’s seat. Subsequently, weakening the claim that Caesar was not ambitious. Additionally, before reaching the Senate chambers, Metellus, Brutus, and Cassius petitioned Caesar to lift the banishment on “Cimber” and were met with a staunch refusal. Ceaser claims that he is “unassailable” in his decision to banish Cimber and comparing himself to the northern star positions himself as a man who has “no firmament”. Clearly, placing himself above the questioning of his fellows, above the ruling council, and in a seat of immense power. Once again, indicating a facet of his ambition by demonstrating his desire for the political power that has no equal, the power of a monarch. With his discursive reasoning flawed, Brutus’ argument that Caesar was unambitious and the premises whose foundation rests upon this claim are severely
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
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.
Antony uses his ethos to manipulate the crowd to trust him over the conspirators. In the speech, he uses credibility so he can get his point by without telling the conspirators his plan. To throw off the conspirators on his plan, Antony said “I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him”. 3.2.83) Antony is tricking the conspirators on his trustworthiness to them and their reasons for killing Caesar. Antony was also strategic in his speech to have the plebeians turn on the conspirators without hinting at what he was doing.
William Shakespeare is credited with the creation of about 600 words. LUKACS. The. He is an infamous play-writer. He wrote the remarkable play, Julius Caesar.
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
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.
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.
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.
As Rome enters turmoil and political turbulence from the murder of their emperor, Julius Caesar, two men seize the chance to sway the citizens of Rome. Brutus, is a noble and amiable man, who wants Rome to thrive, even if it necessitates murder. And Antony, Caesar’s right-hand man, craves to avenge Caesar and persecute Brutus and the Conspirators. The population of Rome is divided, but Antony manages to sway Rome using pathos through the intimate nature of his companionship with Caesar and highlighting Caesar’s selflessness and leadership qualities, painting him as a martyr and Brutus and his affiliates as cold-blooded murderers working to achieve the destruction of Rome. Coming from a position of treachery and malice, Brutus addresses his audience to make a plea to defend his heinous crime and slander the character of
After the assassination of Julius Caesar in the play Julius Caesar by Shakespeare, the people of Rome were left wondering why the conspirators killed Caesar. During the funeral, Brutus and Marc Antony were given chances to speak to the people. Brutus represented the conspirators and tried to justify the murder of Caesar, claiming that if Caesar was kept alive, the republic would be ruled by a tyrannical leader that would assume total control over the entire nation. On the other hand, Antony questioned the actions of conspirators and wanted the people to realize the consequences of the conspirators actions. Marc Antony makes the stronger argument because he uses questions, irony, and ethos to prove that the conspirators were wrong to kill Caesar.
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 Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, Marc Antony stands out as the most persuasive character in the play. During Antony’s speech at Caesar's funeral, he draws the crowd's attention with his use of different rhetorical questions. Antony can change the crowd's opinion on the conspirators and he persuades them to realize their wrongdoings. This makes Marc Antony the most persuasive character by using Logos to prove Caesar is not ambitious and by using repetition and verbal irony while saying Brutus is an honorable man. Marc Antony employs logos to argue that Caesar's intentions were not influenced by ambition, but rather a desire to benefit Rome.
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 historical tragedy, Julius Caesar, Mark Antony delivers a powerful speech shortly after Caesar’s death. In his stirring eulogy for the fallen leader, Antony uses powerful rhetorical devices such as ethos, logos and pathos to gain public sympathy for Caesar and to incite uprising against the conspirators. First, he builds credibility for himself by claiming that Brutus and Cassius are “honourable men” and he would “not do them wrong,” by stirring the crowd’s “hearts and minds to mutiny and rage.” This is his attempt to appeal to ethos and garner goodwill, making him morally and ethically likeable in the eyes and hearts of the public.