What Are The Rhetorical Strategies In Julius Caesar

A Comparison between Eulogies in the play Julius Caesar

In speechcraft, orators have reverted to three basic concepts to persuade an audience; ethics, logic or emotion. All views are powerful, the path of emotion, or pathos, has stirred men to riots, the path of ethics, or ethos, has reminded people of the basest of their knowing and the path of logic, or logos, has calmed the savagest of beasts to men. No matter how human's develop, they retain the remnants of their not so distant cousins, animals. This is apparent when one takes note in the brain's ability to overcome human speech with basic emotions, to ‘render one speechless’ if you will. In these cases, much like animals, humans are propelled into action, leaving behind civilized concepts,

such as reason and forethought, and substituting them for barbaric notions such as murder. In the play Julius Caesar by Shakespeare, two speeches were told at the funeral of the overbearing dictator. The speech given by Brutus, one of Julius Caesar's many murderers, was used to calm the crowd, and turn them against Caesar, with the basic facts of logos. Mark Anthony, however, used a speech with major implements of pathos in hopes to stir the crowd of Romans to mutiny against the conspirators.

In the Shakespearean play Julius Caesar, the speech recited by Mark Anthony for Caesar’s death was far superior to Brutus’s because it appealed to the audience's primal emotion while simultaneously relating

to the stories underlying theme of friendship and betrayal.
The speech given by Brutus on the steps of the capitol building after the brutal slaughter of Gaius Caesar was impactful. It’s cold logic and underlings of noble ethics moved the crowd of disgruntled Romans to believe that maybe a death of a single man was necessary for the continuation of the great city of Rome. It was a truly a powerful speech, but it did not move stones. Brutus speech reminded men of being men, but Mark Anthony’s changed rocks to men. He was able to push the men of the city to rage by using the combined themes of friendship v.s. betrayal and pathos. This is shown when he looks over Caesar’s cold corpse and points out and assigns names to his numerous wounds. ...through this the well beloved Brutus stabbed...as you know, was Caesar’s angel. Judge, O you gods, how dearly Caesar loved him (3.2.188) In this quote, Shakespeare allows his theme of friendship and betrayal to show in Mark Antony's speech so as to turn the audience against the conspirators by making them realize the true betrayal of Caesar’s friends. Anthony’s use of ethics with a undertone of pathos helped turn the audience further against the death of Julius Caesar. The audience soon felt a growing disgust of the ‘noble’ Brutus, a supposed friend of Caesar, who literally stabbed his friend in the back. This single line was only one of the many steps taken by the Romans gathered that day away from the civilized mind.
Throughout the production, Shakespeare continually uses his upper class characters to refer to lower characters as rocks.

The most significant example is when a ruffled tribune, Marullus, screams at a crowd of celebrating peasants You blocks, you stones, you worse than senseless things (1.1.39) while they were celebrating Caesar’s victory over his rival Pompey. Another prominent example of this style was used in Mark Antony's Eulogy in Act 3, where he said You are not wood, you are not stones, but men. And being men, hearing the will of Caesar will inflame you; it will make you mad (3.2.154) In this quote, Mark Anthony is dangling the will of Caesar in front of the already animated crowd, appealing to the fundamental want of knowledge, and in hopes of gaining an even stronger reaction from the gathered peoples. By using this quote in his speech Mark Antony allows a bound of pathos to grow between himself and the majority. He differs from the other tribunes, who compared these same peasants to stones. Caesar’s right hand man has planted a seed, making the audience believe that Anthony is truly on the side of the people while also believing Caesar was kind and devoted to the peoples of Rome. This seed continued to grow when the full realization of the departed senator deaths hit the Romans at the sight of his mangled body.

The final point made by the tribune Mark anthony was the driving stake into his masterpiece to completely drive the city of Rome into anarchy. But were I Brutus,

And Brutus Antony Would ruffle up your spirits and put a tongue in every wound of Caesar that should move the stones of Rome to rise and mutiny (3.2.240) This quote, with its powerful and slightly violating tone, curls the blood of the Romans. This is what they needed to push them over the edge, this last strong push of passion to avenge the death of their distinguished leader.
Brutus used his power in the field of logic and noble ethics to help calm the storm that was the teeming masses of Rome. Mark Anthony on the other hand used his ability in speaking about the human soul and emotions to turn that calm sea into a raging torrent, pushing at the walls of the city. Although both speeches were very strong, which one drove the people into a frenzy? Which one formed the individuals into one? The answer is obviously Mark Anthony’s with its overtones of lament and undertones of anger. A mix of hate and betrayal drove the people of Rome to rise as one and overthrow the so-called ‘honest men’ who had killed the Gauisus Caesar. Mark Antony's Eulogy speech to Caesar in the shakespearean play Julius Caesar was more effective in its motive than that of Brutus’s because of its pseudo meaning of lament and its actual meaning of revenge and wrath so as to turn the people against their rulers.