Empathy In Julius Caesar

Brutus continuously mentions that Caesar was ambitious. In his famous quote he says, “As Caesar loved me, I weep for him; as he was fortunate, I rejoice at it; as he was valiant, I honor him; but, as he was ambitious, I slew him.” Brutus uses the repetition of ambitious to emphasize the conspirator 's reason for murdering Caesar. By repeating the word “ambitious” he makes sure that the audience knew exactly why Caesar had to be killed. This helps to create the specific effect of justifying the conspirator 's actions because it gives the audience a solid reason for why Caesar was dangerous.

This is one of Marc Antony's strongest characteristics as it helps him triumph in war, rally the Romans, earn respect, and become a leader of Rome. One of the best examples we see of Antony's quick thinking is after Caesar dies. Brutus leaves to speak to the other Roman citizens, and leaves Antony to talk to the citizens after Brutus convinces them that, "I weep for him; as he was fortunate, I rejoice at it; as he was valiant, I honour him: but, as he was ambitious, I slew him." Act III, Scene II of Julius Caesar. He convinces them that killing Caesar was the best .

In William Shakespeare 's play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar two speeches one from Brutus a honorable , an a conspirator ,the second speech from antony Cesar 's best friend for the people of Rome .about Caesar 's death in act 3 scene 2. Brutus and Anthony try to sway the minds of the Roman toward their view ,Brutus tries to convince the Roman people that he had to do what 's best for Rome ,.that Caesar was murdered for A noble cause . Brutus and Marc Anthony funeral speech ,their personalities and characteristics were aposit is obvious in the speech . Caesar has just been murdered stabbed to death by his close friends , Brutus who loves him greatly the conspirators have bath their hands and arms on Caesars blood, and have the

Marc Antony’s power has always been a part of him. However, after Caesar’s death, his power only intensified as his passion for vengeance grew. An example of Antony using his power with words to his advantage was when he beseeched the conspirators to believe that he would remain loyal to them and their cause. Antony says:

The noble Brutus … He was my friend,faithful and just to me.” (III.ii.78-86). In this quote, Antony is using a pathos approach and trying to gain sympathy of the crowd by saying Julius Caesar did not deserve to die and that he was a good man. Also several times during the speech he uses the phrase, “And Brutus is an honorable man.”

In Antony’s speech, a sentimental appeal is used in order to persuade the Romans by manipulating their emotions to feel pity for Caesar. Brutus, before he stabbed Caesar, was one of the latter’s closest friends, and Antony does not hesitate to mention this in his speech. He explains the intimacy between Brutus and Caesar, and how much the victim loved the convict. In order to really rub it in how Brutus betrayed Caesar, Antony describes, “This was the most unkindest cut

He has to choose between his loyalty to the Roman Republic and his loyalty to his friend. Seems like he could be heading toward tyrant status. Brutus says he killed Caesar because he loved Rome more than he loved Caesar. Based on examples in The Tragedy of Julius

At Julius Caesar’s funeral, Antony questions the credibility of the conspirators and along with that, he expresses his love and admiration for Caesar. He then goes on to say,” he was my friend, faithful and just to me, but Brutus says he was ambitious, And Brutus is an honorable man”(Act 3, Sc.1, Ln.13-15). In this statement it is prevalent that from the beginning Antony’s motivation is to persuade the crowd to bring justice to Caesar’s murder and preserve the greatness of Rome. Then, Antony questions the judgement of the commoners as they had loved and respected Caesar and when his death came, they turned their backs on him. “What cause withholds you, then, to mourn for him?- O judgement, thou art fled to brutish beasts, and men have lost their reason!--Bear with me; my heart is in the coffin there with Caesar.

Antony wants to remind the Romans that he is credible for speaking of Caesar “that love my friend, and that they know full well, that gave me public leave to speak of him” (III.ii.215-216) Antony uses ethos after telling the Romans everything to convince them in being against that conspirators’ that he can speak of Caesar because he was a close friend of Caesar. Antony convinces the Romans to retribute the conspirators’ for what they have done “In every wound of Caesar that should move the stones of Rome to rise and mutiny” (III.ii.225-226) Antony wants revenge and is convincing the Romans to riot by using pathos. Antony wants the Romans to feel sorry about Caesar’s death “here was a Caesar! When comes such another?”

Brutus was a close friend to Caesar, and he didn’t kill Caesar because he didn’t like him. He did love Caesar, but his love for Rome was stronger and he didn’t want Caesar to ruin the great city he had even said “Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more. Had you rather Caesar were living and die all slaves.” (III.ii). Brutus thought that Caesar was too ambitious and that would have ruined Rome, so he wanted the best for the citizens of Rome and killed Julius Caesar.

Antony’s funeral oration is one of the most important speeches in Julius Caesar. Antony is the most skillful speaker because of his ability to turn a mass of uneducated plebeians once faithful towards the conspirators completely against them with emotional appeals. In Antony’s speech, one of his uses of emotional appeals is to create a kind and friendly relationship with plebeians. At the beginning of his discourse, he uses a synecdoche and asyndeton with his appeal.

Rhetorical Differences The reason Brutus failed to continue to have the citizens of Rome persuaded is simplified in this quote by Robert A Heinlein: “You can sway a thousand men by appealing to their prejudices quicker than you can convince one man by logic.” Brutus failed while Antony succeeded because Brutus relied on logic whereas Antony relied on the emotions of the people. Despite the fact that Antony did it for the wrong reasons, he obviously was more skilled in rhetoric than Brutus.

The Better Speech “A speech should not be just be a sharing of information, but a sharing of yourself.” This quote by Ralph Archbold is relevant in Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar when Brutus and Antony spoke to the people of Rome, after Caesar’s death. Although Brutus was an honorable man, his speech did not get the outcome he wanted. Antony was very cunning, concise and used pathos to influence the people of Rome. Overall, Antony knew beforehand how to manipulate the crowd with his speech more than Brutus.

In the play Julius Caesar, Antony’s speech was more persuasive than Brutus’s speech. Antony persuaded the people of Rome not by what he said, but by how he said it. Pathos and logos were used as a means of persuasion throughout his speech. He also used lots of literary devices in his speech like irony, bandwagon, strawman, appeal to pity, and symbolism. The most common type of irony used was verbal.

How does a comparison of Machiavelli’s The Prince and Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar reflect the way their particular social, cultural and historical context can influence their choice of language, forms and features and the ideas, values and attitudes? Through a comparison, the historical, cultural and social context of literature are reflected through a writer’s language forms and features, highlighting the relevance of the ideas, values and attitudes of their time. As made evident throughout the Renaissance with Niccolo Machiavelli’s ‘The Prince,” which reveals itself to be a political guide on gaining and ruling a kingdom for Lorenzo De Medici, a potential candidate for leadership of Italy. Similarly, in William Shakespeare’s ‘Julius Caesar,’