Julius Caesar Rhetorical Analysis

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The art of persuasion is a hard talent to learn, and even harder to perform successfully. Convincing others to believe one’s argument is a key skill in life, and has been for centuries. In “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar,” persuasion is used by most of the characters throughout the story for a variety of reasons, but one figure in the play gives multiple speeches with the same purpose. Decius Brutus sneakily and sharply uses rhetorical devices in all of his speeches to sway himself and his audience to believe that his rash decisions and actions regarding Caesar were justified. Before Brutus can convince anyone else that his actions were logical, he must first convince himself. In one of Brutus’s soliloquies, he tries to reassure himself that …show more content…

Brutus believes that crowning Caesar will only give him freedom to do significant damage to Rome …show more content…

There is no doubt that Brutus thinks very highly of himself, and wants others to think so too. At Caesar’s funeral, he begins by asking the audience to “...believe me for mine honour, and have respect to mine honour that you may believe…” (Shakespeare 3.1.14-16). This example of ethos was meant to remind the people that despite what he’s done, Brutus truly is an honorable man. He purposefully started with establishing his reliability to reassure the audience that he has their best interest at heart. Later on, Brutus tries to appeal to the plebians’ emotions by asking them, “Had you rather Caesar were living and die all slaves, than that Caesar were dead, to live all free men?” (Shakespeare 3.2.23-25). Brutus knew the answer to that question already, but he wanted to make sure the listeners knew the answer as well. Also, by asking this question alone, the plebeians automatically feel betrayed and taken advantage of by Caesar, and no longer want to mourn for him. Similarly, Brutus makes the audience feel angry and slightly pressured when he interrogates them by saying “Who is here so vile that will not love his country? If any, speak; for him have I offended. I pause for a reply” (Shakespeare 3.2.33-35). Not a single person attending the funeral accepted this dare to speak out against Brutus. Someone listening to this might feel trapped and that their

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