Rhetorical Devices Used In Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar was a Roman dictator in Shakespeare's play, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, which was based off of true events. In the play, Marcus Brutus was Caesar’s close friend and a trusted senator, but, in the end, he stabbed Brutus in the back. Antony was Caesar’s closest advisor, and they ruled Rome together. Antony was extremely loyal to Caesar and avenged his death. Brutus believed that Caesar would make the Roman people slaves and joined a conspiracy to kill him. Antony, however, believed that killing Caesar was wrong. Brutus and Antony both spoke at Caesar’s funeral and gave very convincing speeches. Ethos, pathos, and logos were the rhetorical devices used to convince the Romans to side with the speakers. To give the most effective speech, Antony used the rhetorical devices to convince the Roman citizens Ethos can be defined as trustworthiness or credibility of the writer or speaker. Brutus was said to be an honorable man, and the Roman citizens trusted him. In his speech, he swears on his honor that he killed Caesar for the right reasons, and honour was very important in those times. “For mine honour, and have respect to mine honour. (Brutus 4-5)” Brutus uses this quote to appeal his credibility. On the other hand,

Brutus uses pathos by comparing the citizens to slaves. Slaves were thought very lowly of and the citizens did not like being compared to them. Brutus creates that emotional appeal when he says, “Had you rather Caesar were living and die all slaves, than that Caesar were dead and live all free men?” Antony used pathos by sharing his feelings with the audience. He tells the citizens how Caesar’s death has broken his heart and this breaks the citizen’s hearts as well. “My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar and I must pause till it come back to me.” By Antony saying this, it creates a dramatic and heart-warming effect to help with his use of