The Role of Persuasion in Julius Caesar

1070 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The essence of rhetoric in shakespeare julius caesar

Julius Caesar

Topic: Write an expository essay on the role of persuasion in the play.

Julius Caesar is a tragic drama written by William Shakespeare in 1599. This tragedy takes place in ancient Rome around 44 B.C when Rome was a great empire. Julius Caesar was a very important figure at this time as he was a very successful general who helped spread the Roman Empire and after his defeat of his political rival Pompey, he took on the role of becoming a dictator of Rome. But many citizens “feared that Caesar’s power would lead to the enslavement of Roman citizens by one of their own. Therefore, a group of conspirators came together and assassinated Caesar. The assassination, however, failed to put an end to the power struggles dividing the empire, and civil war erupted shortly thereafter.”1 The tragedy explains Caesar’s declaration of a dictator and the events later leading up to his assassination and “the subsequent war, in which the deaths of the leading conspirators constituted a sort of revenge for the assassination”1 and how the characters use persuasion to emphasize a specific point.

Various characters throughout the story use rhetoric appeals to persuade others. Persuasion is used very effectively when Anthony addresses a speech to the citizens of Rome. He manipulates the crowd and uses persuasion effectively and he shows the use of irony to turn the crowd against Brutus and the conspirators. Antony states “He was my friend, faithful and just to me (III.ii.82–96)” ).Through this statement, he had grasped the audiences’ attention as this statement states Antony’s close relationship with Caesar. Antony later states “But Brutus says he was ambitious, And Brutus is an honorable man…When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath...

... middle of paper ...

...on though the characters helps portray the true nature and intentions of the characters. The author does this to signify importance to the event in the play as it occurred in the ‘real’ life of Julius Caesar.

Bibliography:

1. "Julius Caesar." SparkNotes. SparkNotes, n.d. Web. 08 Apr. 2014. .

2. "Falling off the Page: Rhetorical Analysis of Julius Caesar." Falling off the Page: Rhetorical Analysis of Julius Caesar. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Apr. 2014. .

3. SparkNotes. SparkNotes, n.d. Web. 08 Apr. 2014. .

4. SparkNotes. SparkNotes, n.d. Web. 09 Apr. 2014. .

Show More
Related

  • Brutus and Antony’s Use of Ethos, Logos, and Pathos in Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare

    1103 Words  | 3 Pages

    Shakespeare, William. “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar.” Elements of Literature: Kylene Beers. Austin: Holt, 2009. 842-963. Print.

    Read More

  • How Does Anthony Use Ethos In Julius Caesar

    809 Words  | 2 Pages

    Persuasion is a natural method many people use to influence a person's beliefs, attitudes, intentions, motivations, or behaviors in a situation. Many include, bribing parents to buy clothes to even lending someone money. Either way, people all over the world use words or phrases to convince or sway a person into believing them. Just as many people have used rhetorical appeals to persuade someone, Anthony also uses the rhetorical appeals; heartfelt pathos, questionable logos and evident ethos in William Shakespeare’s play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar to convince his audience that Caesar was not ambitious and that Caesar was innocent

    Read More

  • Brutus vs Antony

    1056 Words  | 3 Pages

    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 charaters, 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.

    Read More

  • Julius Caesar and 1984

    1186 Words  | 3 Pages

    Shakespeare, William. “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar”. Elements of Literature. Ed. Deborah Appleman. 4th ed. Texas: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 2009. 843-963.

    Read More

  • Julius Caesar: Rome’s Greatest Leader

    668 Words  | 2 Pages

    Cook, James Wyatt “Caesar, Julius” ” Encyclopedia of Ancient Literature, New York: Facts on File. 2008 Bloom’s Literature Webb May 4, 2014

    Read More

  • Julius Caesar And Brutus Manipulation

    593 Words  | 2 Pages

    William Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Julius Caesar is a tragic drama, set in Ancient Rome about the horrendous death of Julius Caesar. Brutus, leader of the conspiracy against Caesar, begins as Caesar’s friend. Cassius, instigator of the conspirator, manipulates Brutus into killing Caesar. Brutus agrees to this plan because of his plans for Rome. The bond between these two connects when Brutus agrees to Cassius about killing Caesar for the best of Rome. Cassius, very power hungry, comes up with a plan that will succeed in both of them killing Caesar. They both rely on each other because they want the power that Caesar has been requested to make the best of Rome. This dream of making Rome better was manipulated by Cassius to Brutus. However,

    Read More

  • How Does Julius Caesar Change Throughout The Play

    888 Words  | 2 Pages

    The play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare showcases many characters and events that go through many significant changes. One particular character that went through unique changes was Julius Caesar. The 16th century work is a lengthy tragedy about the antagonists Brutus and Cassius fighting with the protagonists Octavius, Antony, and Lepidus over the murder of Julius Caesar. Although the play’s main pushing conflict was the murder of Julius Caesar, he is considered a secondary character, but a protagonist. Throughout the theatrical work Julius Caesar’s actions, alliances, character developments, and internal and external conflicts display his diverse changes. William Shakespeare retold a very unique event

    Read More

  • Julius Caesar - A Comparison of Brutus and Cassius

    1631 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the play Julius Caesar, written and preformed by William Shakespeare, there are many characters, but two, Brutus and Cassius, stood out. The play begins in Rome where a celebration of Julius Caesar's victory over the former ruler of Rome, Pompeii. The victory leads to Caesar's betrayal by his jealous companions. Senators and other high status figures are jealous of Caesar's new and growing power, while others, like Brutus, fear the tyrannical rule Caesar could enforce. The conspirators, Brutus and Cassius being the most important, assassinate Julius Caesar and Marcus Antonius, better known as Antony, and Octavius Caesar, Caesar's heir to the thrown, revenge Caesar's death. Antony convinces the Roman populous to destroy the conspirators and eventually begins a war with Cassius and Brutus' armies. Both Cassius and Brutus commit suicide to save their honor and Antony and Octavius win the war. The characterizations of Brutus and Cassius show a distinct contrast in their character traits and motives for the assassination of Julius Caesar.

    Read More

  • Comparison of the Two Speeches in Julius Caesar

    888 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Julius Caesar Ambition

    798 Words  | 2 Pages

    The motif of ambition runs continuously throughout Julius Caesar, written by William Shakespeare, which originates in Ancient Rome and highlights the power struggles, politics and deceit of those vying for power. Ambition leads many of the characters such as Caesar, Cassius, and Brutus to a fate different from what they expected. The play revolves around Caesar, his ascent to power and his eventual loss of everything. Although ambition may lead these public officials to power, it is the same ambition that will be their downfall, ultimately resulting in the death of Julius Caesar, Cassius, and Brutus.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis of Mark Antony in Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare

    816 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Comparison of Julius Caesar and Abraham Lincoln

    916 Words  | 2 Pages

    Alvin B. Kernan. The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009. Print.

    Read More

  • The Speech of Marcus Antonius in Julius Caesar

    962 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Julius Caesar And Brutus Comparison Essay

    753 Words  | 2 Pages

    Julius Caesar is a play written by William Shakespeare. The play tells the tragedy of Julius Caesar. Julius Caesar was one of the greatest leader of Roman history. Caesar had many victorious moments in history and continued to grow more and more powerful. When he had started to govern Rome hatred by some people had grew. He had liberally gave many a spot to hold an important position. Even though he helped the nobility, they had betrayed him. They secretly were planning a way to cause Caesar’s death. Then plan was portrayed by Cassius and he had convinced Brutus to join along with his plan also. On March 15th they had circled around Caesar and stabbed him numerous of times thus, Caesar had fallen to the ground by his last stab by Brutus. Throughout the entire play Caesar and Brutus are notably different. Caesar is very egoistic, while Brutus is very considerate and is mannerly to others. Caesar is an extrovert, while Brutus is an introvert. Caesar is ambitious and Brutus is not ambitious.

    Read More

More about The Role of Persuasion in Julius Caesar

Open Document