Julius Caesar Rhetorical Analysis

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Unpopular ideas can gain more power by using persuasive techniques such as rhetorical appeals. These appeals make arguments more understandable and are used to persuade the audience to agree with one’s opinions, even if they disagreed initially. In Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, Mark Antony proves that Caesar is not an ambitious person by using ethos to gain credibility from the citizens, logos to remind the crowd about admirable things Caesar did and Pathos to manipulate their feelings to love Caesar.
To begin with, Mark Antony used ethos to make sure that the crowd takes him as a well known and trustworthy person to listen to. Specifically, Antony said, “I rather choose to wrong the dead, to wrong myself and you, than I will wrong such honourable men” (III.ii.124-6). Because of previous Brutus’ speech that was done right before Antony’s, Brutus was known as an honorable person to the Roman citizens, so showing a opposition to him could hurt one’s credibility a lot. Instead, he praises Brutus’ honorableness to gain trust by stating that he would rather defile a dead than to wrong Brutus. Also, he indicated, “He was my friend, faithful and just to me: but Brutus says he was ambitious; and Brutus is an honourable man” (III.ii.84-6). By making a connection between himself and Caesar and showing his respect to Brutus, he is showing that he is also a person in a high enough place to speak in front of the crowd. Antony is demonstrating his credit to gain people’s trust and

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