Rhetorical Devices In Brutus's Speech

In the play Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare , Brutus and Antony both have different ways of getting the people’s attention through their speeches. Brutus and Antony appeal to ethos, logos, and pathos. Both use them differently to manipulate the people. Brutus uses them to confuse the people to justify the killing of Caesar. Antony uses them to take advantage of the plebeians and turn them against Brutus.

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 the novel, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by Shakespeare, after Brutus brutally executes Caesar in Act 3 Scene 2, Antony is allowed to give a speech to the people of Rome whom have seen witnessed this fatal tragedy in Scene 3. Antony uses anaphora, connotative diction and details throughout his speech to persuade the Romans to change their perspective of Caesar and Brutus. The way Antony speaks about both Caesar & Brutus are a dispute of what he is actually trying to announce to the Romans. At the end of his speech, Antony hopes to reach the Romans emotionally (pathos) by enraging them against Brutus’s false statements against Caesar.

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.

MLK, Jr. once said, “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends” (Goodreads). In the play Julius Caesar written by William Shakespeare, actions and words are used and spoken against a friend and a rival contributing to the assassination of their fellow friend Caesar. Two people that were very close to Caesar speak out against each other during their funeral speeches. Brutus, who is a “friend” and also a conspirator against Caesar, and Antony who is a very loyal friend to Caesar, use several rhetorical and literary devices as they create tone of proud assertive and defiant manipulation to get the Roman citizens on their side.

Being an honorable person requires one to follow a code of ethics for the greater good, even at the cost of his own life. If one breaks his code of ethics, he believes that living with the shame of breaking it for the rest of his life would be a “fate worse than death”. These selfless individuals care more about the needs of others than their own personal desires. However, there are people who take advantage of one’s honorable nature and use it for their own gain. This concern of acting honorably is shown in Brutus, the main character in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. Brutus is too trusting of others because he assumes others have the same honorable ideals as he does in trying to do what is best for Rome. People such

Brutus tries to impress the crowd by saying that Caesar was going to become a dictator. “Had you rather Caesar were living and die all slaves, than that Caesar were dead, to live all free men?” (ii.III.L 22-24). Brutus gives this reason to make the people think this murderous act was honorable. Antony then steps up to the plate to give his speech. “The noble Brutus hath told you Caesar was ambitious… He hath brought many captives home to Rome Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill: did this in Caesar seem ambitious? When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept:... I thrice presented him a kingly crown, Which he thrice refuse: was this ambition?” (ii.III.L 78-98). Antony gives all these reasons to contradict what Brutus says thus making Brutus’ honorable deed not so

(3.2.73).Then Antony continues to talk to the crowded about how he thought that caesar will be remembered for the bad he did and will be buried with the good that he did for people around the town.”The evil that men do lives after them;The good is oft interrèd with their bones.So let it be with Caesar”.(3.2.74).He has yet to use one of the Rhetorical Appeals in his speech to use to get the crowded on his side backing him up.It is not till later on in the speech he uses Pathos to play with their Emotions “When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept”.(3.2.90).Saying how he is sad to see that Caesar was killed,Stating that he misses him and that he will cry about this moment.He does not focus on how he cares he just states three or four lines that show he cares the rest of the time he is talking about what caesar had done.Then he starts talking about how caesar was against the world “But yesterday the word of Caesar might Have stood against the world. Now lies he there,And none so poor to do him reverence”.(3.2.117)Anthony

Brutus wants to make the crowd feel like he is in a way the victim. In order to do that he says "As Caesar loved me I weep for him" so in a way the people feel bad for him. This emotional appeal did not persuade the audience considering the fact that he was if he truly did love Caesar as much as he said he would, then he would have tried to find a different route in getting rid of Caesar as emperor. Antony goes with the approach of making the people of Rome feel guilty. He tells the citizens "You all love him once not without cause what cause withholds you then to mourn for him" so they could reflect on their attitude towards his death. Using pathos in this way was very insightful because it reminds the citizens that they were the ones who elected him as emperor of Rome and they loved him and now they don't. Now they would feel guilty since they would feel like it was their fault that Caesar is dead because their love for him turned him emperor in the first

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.

The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, a Shakespearean play and representation of the assassination of Caesar, is a well written and developed story in which the build up of the characters is very well done. As a matter of fact, the developing of Brutus, the tragic hero on the play, is one of the most important characters and therefore one of the better explained and exposed. Brutus is a character that is marked with three traits that allow him to be the one responsible for Caesar's assassination. Indeed, Brutus is naive, well-intended and hypocrite, as seen when the conspirators convince him to be part of it, and be one of the most important figures in it.

// I come not, friends, to steal away your hearts: //…But as you know me all, a plain blunt man //… For I have neither wit, nor words, nor worth, // …I only speak right on” (JC, 3.2.210-225) clearly expresses his self-love and his adaptability as he paves the path for his own political interests by cleverly playing it respectful of the conspirators yet turning the Romans against them while keeping his position completely neutral and safe. On the other hand, Brutus’s use of appeal to logic, unlike Antony, at his eulogy for Caesar’s funeral, “Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more //…As Caesar loved me, 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” (JC, 3.2.20-30), leaves the mob more disturbed and bitter than ever before they succumb to Antony’s appeal to emotion as he continues to exploit their self-love. Brutus’s naïve belief that he has successfully justified his actions in the eyes of the Romans with such a short speech lacking any self-love is a sign of his naivety – a form of foolishness that lacks folly. On the other hand, Antony’s long speech is brave and fearless – a sign of a fool who embodies folly. According to Folly, “I [folly] is also the champion of prudence” (Folly, 27) as prudence is derived from experience, and men who lack

In The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare includes prophets, omens, and natural phenomenon that point to the tragic end of the three main characters: Julius Caesar, Marcus Brutus and Gaius Cassius. Writing a play based on such a well known historical event, Shakespeare’s audience would have known the outline of the events before entering the theater. Therefore, the inclusion of the omens would have served as a reminder for his audience. Though the omens suggest a sense of predetermination that would have satisfied the historical outlook of the audience, it is abundantly clear that it is the choices that those characters make that dooms them. Ultimately, Shakespeare suggests that it is the flaws of the main characters that leads

Marcus Junius Brutus and Mark Antony both deliver speeches to justify the death of Julius Caesar in 44 BCE and both use Logos and Ethos to convince the Roman citizens to join their sides. Both sides deliver their speeches with vehemence and start by elucidating why Brutus killed Caesar to begin with, why Antony’s desire for revenge is justified, and what the future of Rome will be because of his death. Antony teases the citizens of Rome with the will of Caesar that he holds in hand and claims it will dishonor Brutus and the other conspirators and is also one of his vital uses of Ethos in his speech. Most of the citizens, if not all of them side with Antony and will most likely help him accede to a great title of power in the future and also betray Brutus because of what Antony has them believe, i.e. an ignoble assassin. Brutus and Antony 's speeches were both compelling, although Antony´s speech was more successful, but it is because he was able to manipulate the people of Rome with

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. 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.