Why Mark Antony's Speech so Effective in Persuading his Audience

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Mark Antony's famous speech is a great example of a good speech.

The ability of Antony to convince an audience, who at the beginning were against him, of his point of view is remarkable. I particularly love the way in which he is able to turn the word honorable around to in fact mean dishonorable.

Antony confronts a crowd that is against him. In order to turn the crowd to his side he uses irony and rhetorical questions but without breaking his

word, not to wrong Brutus,

?I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke?

Antony indirectly persuades the crowd that Brutus was wrong in killing Caesar and that Caesar's death should be avenged. The use of rhetorical questions in Antony's speech causes the crowd to question what they once thought.

"You loved him once, not without cause

What cause withholds you then to mourn for him??

This rhetorical question goes against Brutus by questioning his speech in which he so greatly demonized Caesar. Now the crowd is starting to turn against Brutus in favor of Antony. The audience question themselves. This in turn makes them question what Brutus once told them. ?Perhaps Brutus manipulated us to make us think along his lines?, they may have questioned.

He repeatedly states that ?Brutus is an honorable man?. The quote reveals much about the character of Brutus. Not only does Antony?s quote point, obviously, to the fact that Brutus is seen as an honorable man, but in its tone, it also raises questions as to whether this honor is suitably placed.

Brutus is seen by all of Rome as a good man and Antony sees the self-important side of Brutus which has developed from this. He notices this and uses it against Brutus. Through repeatedly stating the idea that ?Brutus is an honorable man?, he then points out the fact that Brutus is claiming to be so ?honorable? because he murdered Caesar.

Antony impressively turns the people from Brutus?s line of thought to his own. The respect from the people is not quite strong enough to hold when Brutus takes his supposed moral intentions and kills his friend Ceaser. Brutus? reputation, although good, is not good enough to cover such blatantly faulty motives, which were unnoticed before they were subtly pointed out by Antony.

?Brutus is an honorable man?. It is paradoxical how his words ring true with both truth and sarcasm. With Antony?s one brief line an entire portrait of Brutus is created.

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