Rhetorical Analysis Of Cassius Speech Against Caesar

Leaders derive their power from a range of sources – military force, wealth, rank. However, leaders that we most admire win followers through the skill of persuasion. The ability of a speaker to persuade his listeners to agree with him signals that he is a powerful and astute figure. In the play Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, the character of Cassius attempts to convince Brutus that Caesar should be assassinated. Brutus, however, cares deeply for Caesar and is hesitant to kill the beloved hero of Rome. Cassius applies advanced techniques when speaking to Brutus and ultimately gains Brutus as an ally in his conspiracy against the emperor. These techniques involve the classic rhetorical methods that Aristotle crafted many centuries ago: Ethos, Logos, and Pathos. Aristotle understood that people are naturally skeptical. They are only fully convinced of an argument when they trust the source, understand the reasons, and truly care about the issue.

Cassius is a foil to Brutus due to their reasons for killing Caesar. Cassius's reasons goes more towards fear and jealousy, and hs more of a selfish reason to end Caesar's life. While Brutus's motive is, wholeheartedly, for the good of Rome, and his loyalty towards Rome is greater than his of Caesars. An example for Cassius being selfish and fearful is when he sent forged letter to Brutus just to get him to help him kill Caesar. Brutus's every action in this play is for the good of Rome, he was hesitant at first because he did not believe he was a threat to Rome and the citizens until Cassius sent the forged letters. So, they both wanted to kill Caesar but have completely different

Oscar Wilde once said that “a thing is not necessarily true because a man dies for it.” This statement proved to be true in William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. Caesar was well loved by the people of Rome until, one day when, Cassius and Brutus decided he would be dangerous to Rome and killed him. In the play, we see a struggle between Brutus as he stands in the middle of the cross fire undecided of killing Caesar or not. We also see Cassius trying to convince Brutus to take action against Caesar later leading to Brutus trying to convince himself Caesar must die. While both Cassius and Brutus use diction and figurative language, Cassius uses repetition to compare and Brutus uses figurative language to compare. Cassius uses these style elements to convince Brutus to take action against Caesar and Brutus uses them to convince himself Caesar must die.

Pathos, is persuasion using emotion and a lot of people use pathos to persuade someone into doing something they want. When Cassius tries to persuade Brutus into thinking that he is just as good as Caesar, he announces that he is going to forge signatures from several citizens, in his soliloquy. Soliloquies reveal inner thoughts and feelings out loud, when no one else is able to hear. Doing this will let Brutus to see that he, himself, is just as good as Caesar and any other Roman. Having that would build the confidence in Brutus, allowing him to stand up to Caesar and plan the attack on him much more easily. Cassius uses pathos, by building up Brutus’s arrogance because he doesn’t think that Caesar is a good ruler for

Brutus uses rhetorical questions, faulty reasoning and hyperboles to create the tone of persuasion while convincing the Roman people to be on his side. To start off his funeral speech, he wants the citizens to trust and believe what he has to say about Caesar, Brutus announces; “Believe me for mine honor, and have respect for my honor, that you may believe me”(Shakespeare 42). In this case, faulty reasoning is shown because Brutus has done nothing to prove him honorable to the citizens. Given that, he has no evidence that he is trustworthy, Brutus still try’s to persuade the crowd to believe what he has to say about Caesar is true, which is

Is a good deed still a good deed when looked at from an ice cold eye? Was it ever really a good deed at all? It’s all about perspective. In the play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, ethos, pathos, and logos is used to show both sides of a deed that was good in one eye and cold in the other. He uses ethos to show the credibility of the speeches, logos to show facts given, and pathos to show the emotion shown throughout the eulogies. In this scene Caesar has been murdered by the conspirators including Brutus. Brutus is one of Caesar's good friends who is driven by honor; who thought Caesar’s ambition was going to be the end of Rome. Antony is a very loyal friend of Caesar’s who does not agree with the conspirators. Brutus and Antony are both smart well thought out characters. They desire to persuade the commoners to their side of the situation. Brutus and Antony use ethos, logos, and pathos in their speeches to convince the commoners of their side of the story. One person just so happens to be more convincing than the other.

Brutus uses Pathos most out of all of the three Rhetorical appeals.He tries to use the crowds and the reader’s emotions to win their heart.As Brutus talks to the crowded they are very angry,so Brutus starts off by trying to cool them down.”Be patient till the

William Shakespeare, a very famous writer, tells the story of Julius Caesar. In his play, Marc Antony delivers a powerful speech that uses many different rhetorical devices, appeals, and different styles of writing. Some of these include repetition, rhetorical questions, pathos, logos, ethos, and diction. These help enhance Marc Antony’s speech by persuading the audience towards considering that Caesar was a good man. Marc Antony gives his speech at Caesar’s funeral to the citizens of Rome. The purpose of his speech is to prove to the citizens that Brutus is wrong and Caesar shouldn’t have been killed. The tone of his speech is very ironic. It also gets very dramatic as he talks about Caesar being killed.

Through the use of of several rhetorical devices like comparison, pathos, and figurative language, Cassius is able to twist Brutus' sense of honor and view of Caesar. In order to begin twisting Brutus' Caesar, Cassius finds the "virtue...in [Brutus]" and uses that "outward favor" to become "[Brutus'] glass"(I:ii:68-93). Cassius uses figurative language to appeal to Brutus. Cassius finds Brutus's 'virtue' and uses it in order to give Brutus a way to make sure he is doing the right thing. This is powerful in manipulating Brutus, because Brutus is an honorable man, and he is always concerned with what the most honorable decision is. Moreover, Cassius distorts Brutus' view of Caesar by telling Brutus that, "[Caesar has] become a god," and that Cassius "is a wretched creature," that if, "Caesar... [nods at] him," he, "must bend his

Intro: “Belief can be manipulated. Only knowledge is dangerous” as Frank Herbert once said. People may manipulate others to do their biddings in order to achieve their personal goals. No matter how hard it is, manipulators eventually reach their prey. This is the plan Cassius uses to initiate his final plan, to kill Caesar. Cassius wants Brutus to think that if Throughout the play Julius Caesar, written by William shakespeare, Cassius uses manipulation to form his group of conspirators and make them perform his biddings. Most importantly, Cassius turns Brutus, one of Caesar’s greatest friends, to his side through various creative tactics.

Although Cassius and Brutus play significant roles in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, both men differ in their rank, views of justice, and possess contrasting personalities. Both men knew Caesar but differed in their motives to kill him. For example, the reader may view Brutus as a hero who desires fair treatment in Rome. Cassius may be looked upon as a manipulative and jealous man seeking to fulfill his own agenda. Despite Brutus’ decision to kill Caesar, it can be argued that he is a man of virtue while Cassius is a man of vice.

Cassius exploits Brutus’s pathos in that he compliments Brutus to inflate his ego, as shown when Cassius says Brutus has “hidden worthiness” (1,2,57) and his worthiness earns him “many of the best respect in Rome” (1,2,59). Cassius utilizes these compliments in order to make Brutus see himself as a chosen one to aid Cassius in removing Caesar from the throne. Moreover, Cassius attempts to sway Brutus through his pathos by capitalizing Brutus’s fear for the future of Rome,

The death of Caesar is a controversial topic and was even more controversial at the time of his funeral when when senators were trying to benefit from his death by getting the Roman citizens on their side. At Caesar’s funeral, two senators gave speeches as an attempt to get the roman people on their side. Out of the two speeches, Marc Antony’s speech was more effective because of his use of appeals and biases, being 100% true and had a larger variety of rhetorical devices.

Language, when used to manipulate, can solely cause war. Language can be used to manipulate others for the purpose of political change to the point of war. In Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare, the power of language is represented by the use of strong language by characters to persuade others to follow them. War is caused by the manipulation of the senators to kill Caesar and the manipulation of the plebeians to revolt. Cassius in act 1 shows how figurative language can strike emotion in the minds of people. In Act 3 Brutus and Antony reveal how the opinions of the masses can be changed with emotive language. Language used to change the minds of people reveals how man can cause tremendous events through the use of

In the play Julius Caesar, written by William Shakespeare, we can analyze the effects that society had on one of the main characters named Brutus and also, the effects Brutus had on society.