Appealing and relating to the common man are crucial skills for any major leader or head of state. This is no different in Antony’s case, a close friend of Caesar (the ruler of the Roman empire). Antony is attempting to start a civil war in Ancient Rome after the death of Caesar at the hands of Brutus, another Roman noble and other conspirators. To get the Roman common people (called plebeians) on his side, he has to appeal to them and relate to them. Through the use of repetition, Antony successfully relates to the common plebeian Roman. By repeating himself, Antony reminds the plebeians that he has a trait importantly similar to them: He is lower on the social ladder than Brutus, who had just spoken to them. Antony says: “For here, under …show more content…
“I should do Brutus wrong and Cassius wrong, Who, you all know, are honorable men. I will not do them wrong; I rather choose To wrong the dead, to wrong myself and you, Than I will wrong such honorable men.”2 Here, Antony is saying that he does not want to offend Brutus and Cassius by reading Caesar’s will. He basically says that he knows it would “stir the pot,” per se, and therefore doesn’t want to get everyone riled up. He does this with complete knowledge that the people want to be riled up. This again is pathos because he wants to get the emotions of the plebeians going. The contents of the will give each Roman citizen seventy five drachmas, so opening the will is also logos. Antony uses the word “wrong” because as human beings we have a natural inclination to want to do what we’re not supposed to, but it also has a double meaning because when you do something bad to someone, you “wrong” them. The word “wrong” simply gets the plebeians more excited about what is in the will. He is essentially building up the emotions of the commoners, and praying that the release of their emotions is violent. It is. In the next scene, they go on a rampage and riot in the city, on a manhunt for the conspirators who have killed their beloved
Mark Antony’s speech, whose aim is to counter Brutus’ speech, enlightens the crowd on the unjust murder of Caesar. Though he never directly communicates to the crowd of his feeling towards the conspirators, Antony was able to effectively convey to the crowd, through the use of verbal irony and other stylistic devices/techniques in his speech, his true views of the assassination. Moreover, Antony was able to shrewdly emphasize his belief of the undeserved assassination of Caesar through the wide use of epiphoral and anaphoral structure in his speech. Antony emphasizes the wrongdoings of Brutus and Cassius through the ingenious use of the epistrophe along with verbal irony as he notes that “I should do Brutus wrong, and Cassius wrong” (III, ii, 125). Moreover, he stresses the importance of punishi...
It shows us that he is honourable and patriotic. Whereas, Marc Antony starts his list of three with “Friends”. This is bringing himself down to the plebeian level and he makes the crowd feel as though he is their friend even though they are separated by status and rank. This language technique is commonly know as phatic language. It is very appealing for the plebeians to hear this.
Antony was devoted and preferred to be dependent upon Julius Caesar since he rather have enjoyed life than to claim the highest position in the government. He wanted the crown to be given to Caesar so that all conflicts could be avoided. However, this additional power contributed to the conspirator's motive to assassinate him. Antony was distraught with Caesar's death and sought revenge first by speaking to the crowd in his speech. He showed how clever and cunning he could be when he convinced the crowd at Caesar's funeral ceremony to side with him and not with the murderers. The people became excited and rowdy when he teased them about the will, waving it in the air and pretending as if he was not going to read it. Reverse psychology is used when he first pretends to respect the conspirators calling them honorable men, and then slowly proving that they are not. He speaks out against them because he wanted power for himself, and unlike Brutus, he is politically ambitious and so believes that if he can take control while the state is in turmoil, he will remain in power. He was alone in making this oration, yet he was confidant in himself and courageous.
Antony is unlike other leaders who use manipulation in a bad or harmful way. By revealing these traits, he needs the Romans to acknowledge the injustice and that they ought to fight for equality before the conspirators overuse their power. From the play of Julius Caesar, we can see making decisions are hard, especially those that impacts a larger population like those that the President made, it can causes problems that are difficult to reverse, that’s why we should think twice before we speak or made an action because we might never know the results of our decision until its
As well of a speaker Brutus was, Mark Antony delivered a more persuasive argument to win the crowd’s favor over Brutus’, in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. Mark Antony did not overestimate his audience, and spoke to the appeal of the crowd, rather than talking above it, as Brutus does in his abstract ideas and lofty speech of honor, and patriotism. Antony’s speech appeals to the basic needs and desires of the working class, using rhetorical devices such as repetition, sarcasm, emotional words, and the topics of pathos, logos, and ethos to change the crowd's’ emotions, and stance on the murder, manipulating the crowd in favor of avenging the late Caesar.
In William Shakespeare's play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, two speeches are given to the people of Rome about Caesar's death. In Act 3, Scene 2 of this play Brutus and Antony both try to sway the minds of the Romans toward their views. Brutus tried to make the people believe he killed Caesar for a noble cause. Antony tried to persuade the people that the conspirators committed an act of brutality toward Caesar and were traitors. The effectiveness and ineffectiveness of both Antony's and Brutus's speech to the people are conveyed through tone and rhetorical devices.
Both Antony and Brutus are persuasive orators and both deliver two influential speeches that successfully persuade the Roman citizens to be on their sides. Brutus successfully convinces the Roman citizens that Caesar’s death is essential to maintaining a Roman republic. In the beginning of Brutus’s speech, he addresses the Roman citizens as “Romans, countrymen, and lovers”. By addressing the Roman citizens as “lovers”, the Roman citizens are then reminded of the ethos of Brutus and his authoritative figure as an honourable and noble man. The Roman citizens can also see Brutus’s devotion to Rome as he starts his speech by saying “Romans”. He explains that he kills Caesar “not that [he] loved Caesar less, but that [he] loved Rome more”. This line convinces the Roman citizens that Brutus places his devotion for Caesar beneath
Mark Antony follows Caesar’s word religiously, and states that “when Caesar says, ‘do this’, it is perform’d” (10). Having this mindset shows Antony begins as a convergent thinker, listening and following Caesar without much individual thought at all. While Antony’s actions are mostly fueled by his loyalty, other characters believe he is simply not capable of thinking for himself. As the conspirators are plotting Caesar’s murder, Cassius suggests killing Antony as well, because of his close relationship with Caesar. Brutus immediately rejects this idea, and explains to the conspirators they don’t need to kill Mark Antony because he is “but a limb of Caesar” (165). They believe that when Caesar is murdered, Antony will not be capable taking any significant action-- he will simply disappear into the citizens of
Mark Antony embodies Caesar’s manipulative, ambitious, and ruthless characteristics. During Caesar’s funeral oration, Shakespeare displays Antony’s manipulative nature when Antony persuades the plebeians to join his cause against the conspirators. Antony begins his speech by praising the plebeians and grabbing their attention. Also, Antony sarcastically refers to Brutus as both an honorable and noble man. Shakespeare further exemplifies Antony’s manipulative nature when Antony presents the plebeians with Caesar’s will. He teases the crowd with the it, keeping it out of their reach. He does this to win their loyalty and to bring them even closer to him. Ultimately, Antony uses the will to seal the deal and fully win over the crowd from the conspirators’ side to his own. Mark Antony puts forth his last tactic of manipulation when he proclaims that he is no manipulator. Using false modesty, Antony says, “For I have neither wit, nor words, nor worth,/Action, nor utterance, nor the power of speech/To stir men’s blood. I only speak right on” (3.2.218-220). Furthermore, his ambition is evident in the elimination of Lepid...
One of the main components of Mark Antony’s speaking competence is his ability to approach the assemblage using two different overtures. The most obvious and profound approach he uses is the logos appeal. When Mark Antony first enters, the people are definitely not on his side after being heavily influenced by Brutus’ speech. Right away, Antony calls the people his friends, which instantaneously leads to him being somewhat likable and the Romans lending Antony their ears. Just being friendly is a great move by Mark Antony and shows he is very intelligent and blessed with excellent verbalism. Antony smartly uses the crowd’s rowdiness as a prime opportunity to use ‘logos’ to force the people think twice about what they think is right. Mark Antony realizes that with such a naïve and easily taken in crowd he can handily gain ...
In Antony’s Speech, he begins with “Friends, Romans, countrymen…” (Act III, Scene ii Line 70) Shakespeare uses this string of words to run parallel to Brutus opening phrase “Romans, Countryman, lovers…” (Act III, Scene ii Line 13) By doing this, it is clear that by Antony referring to “friends” First, he intends to take a more emotional route, and to speak from his heart to the people of Rome. Brutus begins with “romans”, allows the reader to understand that he intends to take a route that allows him to win over the Romans with reason. Antony’s start foreshadows how the rest of his speech will play out. Continuing this, Antony then goes on to use the ironic phrase “I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.” (Act III, Scene ii Line 71) Despite what Anthony says, his true intention is to turn the People of Rome against the conspirators.
...rpose is to revolt the audience, so by refusing to read the testament, Antony creates the climax within his speech and lights the fire in the crowd. After building the base to his justification, Mark Antony returns to his relationship with the people and ends his speech with an unforgettable stunt that ensures a specific outcome.
Antony’s goal was to persuade the crowd of plebeians that the conspirators acted impetuously and Caesar did not need to be killed. He uses many rhetorical devices to strengthen his speech and gain the support of the crowd. From rhetorical questions to the use of pathos, Antony masters the art of persuasion. His speech moves the crowd from believing Brutus’ reasoning for killing Caesar, to understanding that Caesar did not have to die.
In overview, Mark Antony manages to clearly defend his argument that the death of Caesar must be avenged and successfully persuades the Romans into accepting his side, while joining them into mutiny. He uses verbal irony, repetition, and tone to assist him in reverting popular opinion in favor of the dead Caesar and against Brutus. Anthony’s speech is persuasive through a combination of language, rhetorical devices, and compelling delivery, which allows him to largely win the support of the citizens of Rome and fulfill his goal.
Antony is a good friend of Caesar ,and trying to make his death be recognized . In act III, scene 2 Julius Caesar gets killed and Antony say a speech for his funeral .In the play ( Julius Caesar ) by William Shakespeare , Antony is trying to get the people of Rome to see the wrong the wrong that others did and to change their mind to see Caesar is a honorable with a caring heart.