Antony’s Use of Aristotle’s Philosophical Persuasion Against Brutus in Julius Caesar
In his fight against the conspirator Brutus, Antony made a speech alluding to Brutus’s claims that Julius Caesar damaged the lives of Romans if he continued to live as being false. Brutus claimed that his participation in Julius Caesar’s death was for the benefit of Rome, but Antony, a supporter of Caesar, only participated in the conspirators’ celebration of Caesar’s assassination in order to gain their trust. Brutus, in an attempt to control the plebeians from hearing an account of the assassination that will vilify him, explained his motives first before letting Antony speak. Antony used his speech to attack Brutus and even led the plebeians to ambush Brutus’s home. Antony used Aristotle’s philosophy to lead the plebeians into believing that Caesar was killed for personal gain, and that Brutus’s claims that he honored Rome was in actuality, his desire for Caesar’s power.
In order to convince the plebeians that Caesar died wrongly, Antony used Aristotle’s quality of Logos to reason. To show Brutus’s part in Caesar’s assassination, Antony stated, “Through [Caesar] the well-belovéd Brutus stabbed” (III, ii, 123). Antony explained that Brutus intended to gain power over Rome through greed instead of the improvement of Rome when he killed Caesar. Antony stated, “I thrice presented him a kingly crown,/Which he did thrice refuse” to show Caesar’s lack of ambition (III, ii, 98-99). Unlike Brutus’s claims that Caesar only acted to gain power over his subjects, Antony explained that Caesar did not want to become ruler when asked immediately but slowly agreed three times later. Antony’s use of Logos allows him to antagonize Brutus and mitig...
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...bolize the hatred that ended Caesar’s life. Antony convinced the plebeians that Caesar was actually generous instead of being greedy because Caesar cared deeply enough to donate his wealth to them, and solidified his credibility through seeming more equal and relatable. Antony also told the plebeians that Caesar was a loyal and just friend to Antony, someone they could trust, unlike Brutus contradicted himself with his value of honor. Therefore, he said that the plebeians should recreate their own legacy through punishing Brutus. Through learning of Antony’s technique of persuasion, we can understand why the plebeians turned against Brutus and chose Antony as their leader. Perhaps now that Antony’s technique of persuasion is understood, Antony could be seen as a more neutral character by his intentions compared to Brutus’s character.
Works Cited
Julius Caesar
Antony reminds the plebeians about the time when he, himself “presented [Caesar] a kingly crown, / Which [Caeasar] did thrice refuse” (III. ii. 97-98). Using logic and reasoning, Mark Antony explains to his crowd that the fallen Caesar couldn’t possibly have been ambitious if he had refused the ticket to become King multiple times. Immediately afterward, Antony made sure to remind the plebeians that Brutus is an honorable man. This use of logos with verbal irony proves to be extremely effective. Since Antony presented the crowd with a compelling fact supporting that Caesar was not ambitious, the phrase “Brutus is an honorable man,” would be even more effective in allowing his audience to realize that Brutus and the conspirators may not be honorable (III. ii. 83). According to Brutus, the conspirator's sole reason to kill Caesar was because they believed he was ambitious, Antony’s statement would then be incredibly useful to turn the crowd against Brutus and his people. The plebeians would start to realize that noble Brutus and his conspirators might not be honorable and could potentially have their own, personal reasons to assassinate Julius Caesar. Once the crowd realizes that Brutus and the conspirators could have murdered their leader for no valid reason, they would begin to feel anger which are the building steps to starting a rebellion just like how Antony
Even though both of their logos catches the ears of the people Antony's caught their full undivided attention. Brutus uses something most people have for their country, love. Brutus states," Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more." (III:2:20-21). Brutus says that he iis doing his all for the sake of Rome and that Caesar's ambition scares him. Antony on the other hand, proves that Caesar did not have much ambition, and that he loved his people. Antony says," You all did see that on Lupercal I thrice presented him a kingly crown, which he did thrice refuse. Was this ambition?". (III:2:93-95). Also he states," Here is the will, and under Caesar's seal to every Roman citizen he gives- to every several man- seventy-five drachmas." (III:2:230-232). This is what mainly helps him win over the
In act III, scene ii, Antony proves to himself and the conspiracy, that he has the power to turn Rome against Brutus. He deceived the conspirators with his speech during Caesar’s funeral. In this speech, Antony pulls at the heartstrings of the countryman by showing emotions and turning them against their beloved leader, Brutus. The scene takes place the day of Caesar's death. Leading up to this point the people loved Brutus because, reasonably he explains of them about Caesar's death and told them it was necessary. In Antony's speech he showed signs of hatred towards Brutus and the conspirators. He thinks for himself and deceives the people, when he explains how Brutus lied to the people . The plot depends on Antony’s speech.
The book Julius Caesar is full of happiness, conspiracy, power, and betrayal. The people of Rome deeply loved julius Caesar and wished to make him their king. A group of senators however were not so fond of this idea and formed a conspiracy. The leader of this group was a man by the name of Cassius. In order to make sure that his scheme of killing Caesar would work and would look honorable he had to convince a senator by the name of Brutus to help. After being convinced that they had to kill Caesar to protect Rome from a tyrant Brutus joined the conspiracy and soon became the principal conspirator.On the day in which Caesar was to be crowned king he was on the way to the senate when he was stabbed by all the conspirators panic ensued and to convince Rome of their honorable intentions Brutus gave a funeral speech. Mark Antony, a very close friend of Caesar, gave his speech after Brutus had given his. Mark Antony’s speech is more persuasive to the Roman people because of his outstanding use of pathos, sarcasm, and logos.
Brutus’ tragic flaw was his perception that all men were identical to him in their motives. This factored allowed his decisions to be easily influenced by others whose motives were devious. Cassius was able to convince Brutus to join the conspiracy because Brutus thought the only reason behind the conspiracy was to prevent one man from becoming “Rex.” He allowed Antony’s speech to occur because he was sure that Antony was motivated by the same “honor” which motivated himself.
After the conspirators killed Caesar, Antony asked to give Caesar a funeral. Before Antony spoke, Brutus explained to the people what had just happened. After the speech, one plebian said,” Let him be Caesar!” Another one said, ”Caesars better qualities exist in Brutus, and we will crown him.” The people knew Brutus was a good leader and that he loved the people. The other conspirators acted out of hate in killing Caesar, but Brutus was helping the
Since the people knew Caesar because of his friendliness and how nice he was to people he was able to get sympathy for his death. When the people remembered how good he was at one point they wanted to get vengeance on the conspirators,Antony had used persuasion and reverse psychology with the crowd to get mad at the conspirators. Brutus had not connected to the people as well because he did not give as much sympathy about Caesar's Death , and what he will give in return. Antony had touched the people when he sad said that he had money and land for the people of rome but he did not want to read it because it would make them made. Once that had hit there was no way Brutus could fight back against Antony's
Brutus put his trust in Antony to not turn on him at the funeral. He was lead to believe that Antony would only speak good of the conspirators and defend them for the actions they have made. He trusted Antony when he told him he would not express such hate and talk of the bad they did and then later turned against them for the vengeance of Caesar. Brutus told Antony, “You shall not in your funeral speech blame us, But speak all good you can devise of Caesar” (III.i.245-246). He told him that the only way he is going to be able to speak at Caesar’s funeral is if he speaks good of the conspirators. After Antony said his speech, the whole crowd immediately switched and sided with him against them. They wanted nothing more than for Brutus, Cassius and the other contributors to be dead. This reveals that Brutus is shameful for putting his trust in someone who was so close to Caesar. Brutus trusted that Antony wouldn't do anything and just imagined he would be to scared to step up and speak out. This leads to Brutus losing the trust he had for Antony and starting a war between the people and the conspirators. As the war was about to proceed, they all prepped for what was about to happen. Antony and his army completely dominated Brutus’ and lead to many of them fleeing for their lives. Many people died by genocide while other committed suicide. Brutus was among the ones of suicide. He no longer wanted to be alive and felt that he had lived and fulfill what he had wanted. People were dead and he knew he was going to be one of them. Brutus’ last words were, “Caesar, now be still; I killed not thee with half so good a will” (V.v.50-51). He wanted Caesar to know that he can now be at rest because the vengeance he was looking for has been given. Because of all the trust he put in the people that were taking advantage of him, he ended up finishing his life. This reveals that Brutus really did
... Antony also mixes Logos and Pathos when he says that “when the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept” (873) to show that Caesar was a noble and caring leader of the public and would never try to hurt or harm their liberties. Unlike Brutus, Antony’s logo requires the people to think on what he says, which only helps in winning his argument. He continues this mix when he says that “[they] all did love him once, not without cause” (873) in order to put guilt on the crowd for switching sides on the man they loved and admired so dearly. Antony, with full support of the crowd, uses his sense of loss and anger to guilt the public says that “[his] heart is in there with Caesar”(873) and after reading the contents of Caesar will to the public which gives each citizen 70 drachmas and various other gifts he asks “when comes another [as great as Caesar]?”
In his speech, Brutus appeals to the loyalism of his audience by making intertwining arguments of ethos, pathos, and logos. He begins by establishing his ethos by asserting his status as an honorable fellow Roman worthy of their respect. He expands on this ethos by dividing it into three parts: his love of Caesar, his loyalty to Rome, and his relationship to his audience. Brutus tells his audience that he was a “dear friend” to the man he murdered, invoking a pathetic sense of sympathy from his audience. However, as he says himself, it was “not that [he] loved Caesar less, but that [he] loved Rome more,” strengthening his ethos as a loyal countryman with the interests of his audience at heart. After establishing an emotional connection to his audience and earning their trust, Brutus explains his logic
However, Antony’s small amount of logos is just as strong, if not stronger than Brutus’s excessive amount. While in the first of calming the crowd, Brutus inquires, “Would you rather Caesar live and die all slaves, / than that Caesar were dead and die all free men?” (JC 3.2.23-24). This is a botched logic; he does not ever present actual evidence of this tyrannical behavior in Caesar or his actions. However, in the minds of the king-fearing Romans, the words, flimsy though they are, are enough. In disproving Brutus’s claims that Caesar was ambitious, Antony uses many examples to prove the opposite. The following brings the welfare of the people into it, showing that with Caesar alive they were given much: “He hath brought many captives home to Rome, / whose ransoms did the general coffers fill; / did this in Caesar seem ambitious?” (JC 3.2.89-91). Antony provides solid evidence and a sound argument to explain that Caesar’s seemingly ambitious actions were rather to help the people of Rome, which is not ambitious in the
Firstly, Antony says a general statement that, “the evil that men do lives after them” (III.ii.74), when in fact he is subtly and sneeringly referring to the conspirators actions. The Roman commoners don’t realize that this general statement is swaying them, but the rest of Antony’s speech further convinces them of the evil the conspirators have done. Later, Antony talks about Brutus says that “sure, [he] is an honourable man” (III.ii.98), emphasis on the sure. Because he uses a scornful tone while sarcastically saying this statement, he is really beginning to show the audience his true feelings on the situation. Knowing that even Antony bitterly disagrees with the choices of the conspirators, it further persuades the common people of Rome to turn against Brutus and the rest of Caesar’s murderers. These occasions show Antony’s sour tone, especially towards the conspirators, and Antony’s tone also riles up the Roman citizens. His tone helps to exasperate the commoners with Caesar’s murder, and therefore assists Antony in achieving his purpose to manipulate the audience to turn against
In William Shakespeare play Julius Caesar, Caesar is assassinated, and the city of Rome becomes enraged, demanding the death of the conspirators that murdered him. Brutus, one of the main assassins, talks to the mob and persuades them to understand that they are at an advantage without Caesar, the tyrant, as the dictator of Rome. He then leaves Mark Antony, who has meticulous orders to not try to pin the murder on the conspirators’ selfishness, but can speak numerous praises about his superior. Mark Antony then speaks to the persuaded crowd about Caesar’s endeavors and the benefits that Caesar gave to the kingdom, giving everything that was necessary and more. Mark Antony’s speech riles the citizens of Rome to mutiny without actually revealing his personal intentions of wishing to do so. In William Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar, Mark Antony’s speech is more persuasive that Brutus’ speech
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.
Antony, though he kept to his bargain, brought the audience to his side in a variety of ways. He used all three methods of persuasion to his advantage. He claimed the killers of Caesar to be honorable and noble, and in the very act of doing so turned Brutus' followers against him. This shows the true ability of Marcus Antonius, and that he is a far greater threat than the conspirators recognized. This power of words is well known, and Aristotle's three methods of persuasion live on in modern speechwriters. Ethos, logos, and pathos are just as effective in our time as in that of Shakespeare, the Roman Empire, and wherever there are people to speak and people to listen. Thus even today, this speech of Shakespeare through Antony shows the sheer impact that mere words can have.