Julius Caesar Rhetorical Techniques

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.”(Act 3, Sc.1, Ln.

This allows for Antony to take advantage of the easily pliable minds in the audience and flip their introspections to vanquish the conspirators. Secondly, Shakespeare uses the repetition of the word ambitious in Antony’s speech to instigate the plebeians, and fill their minds with enough doubts to get them to rebel against the conspirators. Talking about how Caesar refused the crown three times at the Luperical, Antony proclaims, “Which he did thrice refuse; was this ambition. / Yet Brutus says he was ambitious;” (3.2.95-96). Bringing up the Luperical is a strong point.

“To be persuasive we must be believable; to be believable we must be credible; credible we must be truthful” is what Edward R. Murrow says about what persuasiveness is and how it is effective (“Persuasive” 1). Throughout the play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, rhetoric is used not only to convince other friends to believe certain situations, but it is used against enemies as well. After Brutus and the other conspirators successfully execute their plan to murder Caesar, both Brutus and Marc Antony speak at the funeral in order to convince the audience to support their cause. While Brutus does make a compelling case about how he killed his best friend for the good of Rome, Antony ultimately wins the audience over through his use of sentimental appeals and repetition. In Antony’s speech, a sentimental appeal is used in order to persuade the Romans by manipulating their emotions to feel pity for Caesar.

People agreed and supported him ,steps down he tells the Roman citizens to stay and listen to Marc Anthony ,who arrives with Caesar 's body. Anthony calms the crowd. down and begins his speech agreeing with Brutus , and then cry 's out ( his ambition) and calls the conspirators Honorable Men. starts to persuade the people by saying that the conspirators committed an act of brutality toward ceasar and we 're traitors. Anthony spoke to the emotions of the crowd by crying and talking about all the good things that Caesar did for Rome in a persuasive tone there 's a major difference between the two speeches Brutus was very honorable and Anthony was very persuasive and smart ,Brutus was Honorable in a way that he always told the people the truth ,his speech was real short to the point and spoke to the logic of the people in the crowd for example .Brutus spoke in a dettach way about Caesar 's death .

While Brutus spoke well, but had no real factual standpoint, Antony gave many examples of Caesar’s achievements. In his speech he uses Pathos, Logos, Ethos, and Situational Irony to sway his audience. He uses Brutus’ and Cassius’ precious honor and Caesar’s achievements against them, saying, “When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept./ Ambition should be made of sterner stuff./ Yet Brutus says he was ambitious,/ And Brutus is an honorable man” (3.2.90-93). In this statement and many other statements following the same pattern Antony degrades the honor and the arguments of Caesar’s ambition that were made by Brutus and the other conspirators. By using situational irony he wins the crowd by a landslide, igniting a war and

In Brutus’ oration he answers the question of why he decided to kill Caesar. Brutus answers the question by saying, “this is my answer: not that I loved Caesar less, but I loved Rome more” (3.2.22-24). This answer from Brutus appeals to the Romans’ sense of nationalism. Brutus inflames the mob’s feeling of passion and pride for their country. This use of pathos is very powerful and well crafted; however, Mark Antony outsmarts him.

Antony’s Speech Using Rhetorical Appeals In William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, after Caesar’s death, the Romans are conflicted about what should be done. After Brutus’ speech the Romans are ready to crown Brutus king and be on the conspirators’ side. Though Brutus then leaves the crowd while Antony delivers his speech, the crowd realizes what should be done of Caesar’s murder and Antony prevents the conspirators from getting away with the murder of Caesar. Antony uses rhetorical appeals and techniques in his speech to turn the people of Rome against those conspiring against Caesar. As a result, the people see Antony as a persuasive and strong leader of Rome.

In William Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar, Marc Antony appears to be a strong advocate for Julius Caesar’s triumphs and increasing power. However, like Caesar, Antony is extremely manipulative and powerful. After Caesar’s death, Antony manipulated the conspirators into believing he was on their side before requesting to speak at Caesar’s funeral. While Brutus and the conspirators remained fooled by Antony’s innocence, Antony took the initiative to inform the Roman citizens of the conspirator’s horrendous actions towards their beloved leader, Julius Caesar. Caesar’s funeral was a time of reflection for the citizens of Rome, as Marc Antony caused them to question their allegiance to Brutus.

He uses logos when saying, “When.. the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept: Ambition should be made of sterner stuff...” Marc Antony is trying to persuade his audience that Brutus calling Caesar too ambitious is false, and Caesar was no more than laid-back. This logic is effective because it helps back up this claim, and his use of it here does that by acting as supporting evidence. He is saying if Caesar would have been ambitious, he

Though he associates himself with the murder of the leader of Rome, Brutus bases his honesty on the genuine truth that it solely benefits his beloved country. The truly puzzling significance of corrupting the boundaries pertains to the ability of Brutus to use his power in any way he sees fit to justify murder and manipulate the multitudes. Brutus, “the noblest of Roman of all,” arguably epitomizes a man devoting anything to the success of his homeland whether it be his life or that of another’s (Shakespeare 3.2.76). Furthermore, it can be inferred that passion and commitment overwhelms moral codes and principles. However, before Brutus can settle his case, the interest of the crowd must favor him.