julius caesar essay

We have all come across someone that we do not like at one point or another. Whether you did not like them because of their actions or because you were simply envious of them, I doubt you have disliked someone so much that you decided to kill them. In William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, Caesar was killed by a group of envious conspirators. With Caesar gone, the people look for leadership and answers. Two individuals, Marcus Brutus and Mark Antony, speak at Caesar’s funeral and each use the art of persuasion to influence the plebeians. While some may argue that Brutus’ speech was more effective, Antony’s speech was clearly superior because of his prevalent use of logos, ethos, and pathos.

Antony’s appeal to logic and reason was exceptional compared to Brutus’ because he supported his argument. At Caesar’s funeral, Brutus attempts to argue that while he has “ … tears for his [Caesar’s] love ; joy for his fortune ; honor for his valor …” ( Act 111, scene ii, lines 26-27) Caesar had to be killed because he was ambitious. Supposing that this claim was supported, perhaps his argument could have been somewhat logical. This is not the case, as Antony points out when he states, “He [Caesar] hath brought many captives home to Rome whose ransoms did the general coffers fill ; Did this in Caesar seem ambitious?” (Act 111, scene ii, lines 26-27). As one can see, Antony’s statement disproves Brutus’ claim that Caesar was ambitious because he shows that Caesar’s actions were unambitious, unlike Brutus had negligibly claimed. Therefore, Antony’s use of logic was obviously more effective than Brutus’ because he supported his argument and nullified Brutus’.

With regards to ethical appeal, Antony was superior to Brutus because he established c...

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... plebeians did not understand Brutus’ intentions to prove that Caesar was killed so that the plebeians would not become “slaves” under Caesar’s potential dictatorship. Even though Brutus initially had the plebeians favor, it was extremely ephemeral and as a result, Brutus’ argument proved to be quite futile. Antony, on the other hand, produced a speech that achieved its’ purpose and gained favor with the plebeians. In the middle of Antony’s speech, they state, “ If thou consider rightly of the matter than Caesar has had great wrong” ( Act 111, scene ii, lines 108-109). As Antony intended, the plebeians realize how gullible they were and agree with him that Caesar’s death was unjustified. Overall, Antony’s speech was more effective because its’ inconspicuous purpose was accepted by the plebeians while Brutus’ purpose failed to be seen or understood by the plebeians.