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Challenges faced in writing argumentative essays
Challenges faced in writing argumentative essays
Challenges faced in writing argumentative essays
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In the play Julius Caesar by Shakespeare, Brutus and Antony both display their sides of Caesar in hopes of getting the Plebeians to support them. Mark Antony, a friend of Caesars, effectively persuades the crowd that the conspirators are traitors rather than heroes while technically keeping his promise to avoid saying anything negative about them. Antony convinced the mob that Caesar cared for the common people by manipulating the definition of the words “honorable” and “ambitious,” and using props, thereby delivering the more effective speech in the end.
Antony asks many rhetorical questions to indirectly manipulate the meaning of the term “ambitious” which also sways the crowd against Brutus and the conspirators. Initially, Brutus accuses Caesar of being ambitious to explain one of the reasons for assassinating him. He assures the people that Caesar had, “tears for his love, joy for his fortune, honor for his valor, and death for his ambition.”(3.2.29-30) Brutus clearly establishes that he believed Caesar was hungry for power; this sets the stage up for Antony to easily oppose Brutus later in order to make Brutus look bad. The meaning of ambitious here is having a thirst of power, Caesar was killed because he was claimed to be ambitious. Considering this, Antony contradicts Brutus’s claim and causes the crowd to question Caesar’s motives and Brutus’s accuracy due to his kind actions. Antony tells the people that Caesar “hath brought many captives home to Rome/whose ransoms did the general coffers fill: Did this in Caesar seem ambitious?”(3.2.97-99) Antony makes Brutus look like a liar by verifying that Caesar did good things instead of being hungry for power. He successfully changes the meaning of ambitious from a power-thirs...
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...low him even to the point that they will risk their lives to get revenge on the conspirators. The fact that Antony persuaded the people to do such things proves that Antony’s speech was more effective at reaching its goal of turning the people against the conspirators.
As a final point, Antony and Brutus both spoke at Caesar’s funeral to prove their reasoning’s to the people. Antony’s speech turned out to be the more effective one because he manipulates the words ambitious and honorable to contradict Brutus, he uses props to provide substantial evidence to the people, and his speech was more effective because it essentially persuaded the people to be on his side whereas Brutus did not convince the people of anything.
Works Cited
Shakespeare, William. “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar.” Elements of Literature: Kylene Beers. Austin: Holt, 2009. 842-963. Print.
(877) in order to make the crowd feel complete and utter guilt for their betrayal and anger towards the conspirators who killed their beloved idol. Brutus and Antony’s use of Ethos, Logos, and Pathos throughout the novel are just examples of the everyday persuasion used around us daily, when reading the play it does look like one giant competition to see who is the most persuasive and influential character. Even in today’s economy, companies have to compete for the attention of consumers’ worldwide and politicians who argue their beliefs and views to millions of voters in order to get what they want, because the art of persuasion is just one big game. Works Cited Shakespeare, William. The.
In this scene, Caesar shows no eagerness to gain power or fame as the citizens have assumed therefore showing no ambition whatsoever. The imagery and logical reasoning persuade the audience into rethinking if Caesar was ambitious and believe that Caesar was
Shakespeare, William. “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar.” Elements of Literature: Kylene Beers. Austin: Holt, 2009. 842-963. Print.
The people are essential to Antony's plan. He didn't just go and give a speech about how he felt, he knew what would come from his actions. “ I thrice presented him the crown, which he did thrice refuse” Antony is trying not to show Caesar faults, but shows how Brutus lied about Caesar being honorable, later stating honor should be made of stronger stuff . Antony is showing that when Brutus says Caesar was ambitious, he was showing that Caesar wasn't ambitious and that Brutus lied. Antony knows that if he can make Brutus seem not honorable, he can get the people to turn on the perfect
Brutus vs Antony The most predominate and important aspect in the play Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare are the speeches given to the Roman citizens by Brutus and Antony, the two main characters, following the death of Caesar. Brutus and Antony both spoke to the crowd, using the same rhetorical devices to express their thoughts. Both speakers used the three classical appeals employed in the speeches: ethos, which is an appeal to credibility; pathos, which is an appeal to the emotion of the audience; and logos, which is an appeal to the content and arrangement of the argument itself. Even though both speeches have the same structure, Antony’s speech is significantly more effective than Brutus’s. Both speakers used an ethical appeal to the crowd and established their credibility.
Firstly, Antony says a general statement that, “the evil that men do lives after them” (III.ii.74), when in fact he is subtly and sneeringly referring to the conspirators actions. The Roman commoners don’t realize that this general statement is swaying them, but the rest of Antony’s speech further convinces them of the evil the conspirators have done. Later, Antony talks about Brutus says that “sure, [he] is an honourable man” (III.ii.98), emphasis on the sure. Because he uses a scornful tone while sarcastically saying this statement, he is really beginning to show the audience his true feelings on the situation. Knowing that even Antony bitterly disagrees with the choices of the conspirators, it further persuades the common people of Rome to turn against Brutus and the rest of Caesar’s murderers. These occasions show Antony’s sour tone, especially towards the conspirators, and Antony’s tone also riles up the Roman citizens. His tone helps to exasperate the commoners with Caesar’s murder, and therefore assists Antony in achieving his purpose to manipulate the audience to turn against
The first and most obvious difference in the two funeral orations is their lengths. Brutus's speech is composed of 403 authoritative words; whereas Antony's speech makes an immense impact with 1097 words. Brutus is over-confident and only says what he needs to in order to get his point across. He does not expect anything more than a tear-filled eulogy from Antony, therefore shortening his explanation of Caesar's murder. Brutus is also having some regrets about his murderous deed, and he does not want to sound as if he is defending himself or his motives, simply interpreting them. Antony, on the other hand, has much more to say than Brutus anticipates. His speech is split into six lengthy sections. First, Antony counters what Brutus says by proving that Caesar was not ambitiou...
To start off, for Mark Antony to fully manipulate the audience into supporting Caesar, he must first be able to connect with his audience. Antony does exactly
...ns. This made Antony's speech more effective in the fact that he used detailed reasoning for why Caesar was not ambitious. This was why the people came to his favor in the end. The tones and rhetorical devices they used helped to capture their audience by appealing to their emotions and helping to move the views of Antony and Brutus's views across to their listeners. Comparing effectiveness and ineffectiveness of both speeches was important in determining which way the people would be swayed.
Antony’s goal was to persuade the crowd of plebeians that the conspirators acted impetuously and Caesar did not need to be killed. He uses many rhetorical devices to strengthen his speech and gain the support of the crowd. From rhetorical questions to the use of pathos, Antony masters the art of persuasion. His speech moves the crowd from believing Brutus’ reasoning for killing Caesar, to understanding that Caesar did not have to die.
Gaius Julius Caesar, commonly known as Julius Caesar, is an important figure who laid the foundation of the Roman Empire. He is one of the most famous roman ruler, Rome as ever had. He helped to establish the transition from the Roman Republic to the Roman Empire, ended the Republic System when he was named Perpetual Dictator (44BC). And vastly created many other political and civil reforms. He was a very influential leader.
In William Shakespeare play Julius Caesar, Caesar is assassinated, and the city of Rome becomes enraged, demanding the death of the conspirators that murdered him. Brutus, one of the main assassins, talks to the mob and persuades them to understand that they are at an advantage without Caesar, the tyrant, as the dictator of Rome. He then leaves Mark Antony, who has meticulous orders to not try to pin the murder on the conspirators’ selfishness, but can speak numerous praises about his superior. Mark Antony then speaks to the persuaded crowd about Caesar’s endeavors and the benefits that Caesar gave to the kingdom, giving everything that was necessary and more. Mark Antony’s speech riles the citizens of Rome to mutiny without actually revealing his personal intentions of wishing to do so. In William Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar, Mark Antony’s speech is more persuasive that Brutus’ speech
Heller, Agnes. "Julius Caesar." The Time Is Out of Joint: Shakespeare as Philosopher of History. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2002. 311-335. Rpt. in Shakespearean Criticism. Vol. 115. Detroit: Gale, 2009. Literature Resource Center. Web. 16 Dec. 2010.
Antony, though he kept to his bargain, brought the audience to his side in a variety of ways. He used all three methods of persuasion to his advantage. He claimed the killers of Caesar to be honorable and noble, and in the very act of doing so turned Brutus' followers against him. This shows the true ability of Marcus Antonius, and that he is a far greater threat than the conspirators recognized. This power of words is well known, and Aristotle's three methods of persuasion live on in modern speechwriters. Ethos, logos, and pathos are just as effective in our time as in that of Shakespeare, the Roman Empire, and wherever there are people to speak and people to listen. Thus even today, this speech of Shakespeare through Antony shows the sheer impact that mere words can have.