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In William Shakespeare’s play, Julius Caesar, Marc Antony, who is a loyal friend of Caesar, gives a persuasive and touching speech to the Roman citizens at Caesar’s funeral. He made his speech effective by using a variety of rhetorical strategies such as irony, figurative language, and rhetorical appeals in order to change the thoughts of the citizens and to encourage them to question the conspirators about what their motivation was to kill Caesar. Antony opens his speech by welcoming those who came to the funeral and by explaining his false reason to be speaking to the audience. The Roman citizens gave their attention to Antony when he said, “Friends, Romans, countrymen.” He begins to speak in a sincere tone when he calls for their attention to let them feel welcome as well as to let them know that he is just like them. After greeting the audience, he explains that he was given the chance to talk due to the permission of Brutus and the other conspirators. He claims that “Brutus is an honorable man; And …show more content…
Antony uses a logical approach when he stated, “I presented a kingly crown to him three times, Which he refused three times.” Antony indirectly said that Caesar was not as ambitious as the conspirators had portrayed because Caesar denied the crown three times. He becomes ironic when he says, “I don’t speak to disprove what Brutus spoke, But I’m here to speak what I know.” Although Antony means the total opposite of what he said, he said this because Brutus gave him strict rules to follow in exchange for Antony’s ability to speak at the funeral. A few lines afterward, he used an emotional appeal. He is exaggerating what he was feeling at the time by using a hyperbole which was, “My heart is there with Caesar in the coffin, And I must pause until it comes back to me.” By saying this he is able to express his sympathy to the citizens as well as to let them process what he was trying to
In the Shakespearean play Julius Caesar, the speech recited by Mark Anthony for Caesar’s death was far superior to Brutus’s because it appealed to the audience's primal emotion while simultaneously relating
Playwright, William Shakespeare, in the play Julius Caesar, utilizes many instances of rhetorical devices through the actions and speech of Caesar's right-hand man, Mark Antony. In the given excerpt, Antony demonstrates several of those rhetorical devices such as verbal irony, sarcasm, logos, ethos, and pathos which allows him to sway the plebeians. The central purpose of Mark Antony’s funeral speech is to persuade his audience into believing that Caesar had no ill intentions while manipulating the plebeians into starting a rebellion against their new enemies, Brutus and the conspirators.
He carried carried out Caesar’s corpse and laid him down before the crowd as he began to speak. Antony has already used pathos as a strong rhetorical device. The sight of a dead body has brought a very serious and saddening atmosphere upon all onlookers. Antony begins by stating “I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones; So let it be with Caesar.” (3.2.2) Explaining to the crowd that he is not going to praise Caesar for the man he was but rather respectively bury him for his funeral has established that he isn’t biased. Conveying that man's good deeds are often forgotten with death has stirred up a feeling of remorse towards Caesar; another usage of
After Caesar is killed, Antony becomes very mournful and outrage by the treachery of the conspirators that killed Caesar. Antony asks for just to a speech at Caesars funeral and Brutus grants him that one wish. Antony is a very intelligent man and he has the ability to manipulate a crowd with his speeches. For example in Act 3 During Antony speech he says
Perhaps more than any other of Shakespeare's works, Julius Caesar is a play that hinges upon rhetoric through Marc Antony—both as the art of persuasion and an deceit used to conceal goal. More alarming, however, is Antony's cynical epilogue to the funeral speech as the crowd departs: "Now let it work: mischief, thou art afoot/Take thou what course thou wilt!" (Act III).There is mischief in the area, so let it take whatever course it wants to. Antony still didn’t lay out his cards, but made his first move in the right direction. As Antony represented, Shakespeare succeeded in writing a spectacular political speech, inserted in a play.
Similarly with Anthony when he addressed the commoners on the assassination of Caesar, his use of the dialectical technique undid the impression Brutus created, and succeeded at weakening Brute’s justification of killing Caesar, claiming that his death was for the sake of Rome. Brutus’s clever strategy to use Caesar’s ambition and overthrow him without any obstacles in the way has failed, because the dialectical examination technique exposed the contradictions in his argument. Being ambitious back in Rome must have been a negative trait for a leader to have, and Brutus successfully branded Caesar as an ambitious man. “The noble Brutus Hath told you Caesar was ambitious/ If it were so, it was a grievous fault/
Antony is trying to convince his audience of why Brutus and the conspirators are wrong for what they did, and Brutus is trying to convince them of why Caesar needed to be killed. In the book, Brutus says this“Had you rather Caesar were living, and die all slaves, than that Caesar were dead, to live all freeman?” Here we see Brutus trying to reach out to the audience and make them think about being enslaved. He is trying to make them realize that he and the conspirators needed to kill Caesar for their sake. In order to keep their lives normal as they know it, Caesar needed to die. He was trying to emotionally make them feel a certain way, and understand that he killed his good friend for the sake of the citizens or Rome. On the other hand, Antony says “For Brutus is an honorable man; so they all, all honorable men”. With this quote it shows that Antony recognizes the trustworthiness of Brutus and the conspirators. He recognizes they are honorable and people who would make the right decisions. This truly helps persuade that the decision of killing Caesar was wrong, that even a man who believes in the people who commited the murder goes against them. Not only does he make the people realize that the friendship between Caesar and Him was strong and that they’re wrong for taking Caesar from him, but he shows that these honorable men truly chose the wrong decision. He does this by saying how
Although he was allowed to make a speech at Caesar's funeral, he can not speak ill about the conspirators, nor can he start any accusations.Thus, Brutus confirms this for the audience stating, “Who is here so rude that would not be a Roman? If any speak; for him have offended.”(J.C 4.3.6) Brutus deliberately tries to defend his point towards Antony. Antony’s speech also pointed out the type of relationship that he and Brutus share.
In William Shakespeare’s, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, the speeches were given by both Brutus, and Mark Antony is very persuasive before their audience, but it was rhetorical devices that were being used in various ways that significantly impacted the people of Rome. The play, Julius Caesar, explores what contributes rhetoric its power by putting Brutus's appeal against Mark Antony's. Shakespeare shows Antony's speech to be preferred since he has a compelling influence on the plebeians through pathos and logos.
The incorporation of compelling language is an essential asset of any speaker’s success, as shown in William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. Marc Antony’s funeral oration creates tension between the plebeians and the conspirators, eventually leading to war and chaos. In Brutus’ speech, he references the consequences of Caesar’s reign had he lived, convincing the plebeians of his “noble” actions. While Brutus uses logic and rationale to state his case, Antony uses a sentimental and moralistic approach. Marc Antony, though thought of as a sycophant, is angry at Brutus and the conspirators for killing Caesar. As a result, Marc Antony successfully convinces the crowd of plebeians that Brutus’s claims to end Caesar’s life are unjustified
Imagine yourself listening to a political debate, undecided as to which leader you agree with. One candidate begins to speak about unjust societal issues, such as the horrifying amount of people in the world that do not have food on their table. The candidate also begins to touch upon the topic of taxes and how he will lower them if he is elected. You find yourself being persuaded in the direction of emotions and morals. The power of language used to appeal others is not only present in the modern world, but also in the play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, written by famous English playwright William Shakespeare. The Tragedy of Julius Caesar portrayed a story of how an aspiring leader, Julius Caesar, is assassinated by a group of schemers, lead by Marcus Brutus, who disagreed with Caesar’s decrees and ways of governing. Over the course of the text, it demonstrated the use of two rhetorical charms: ethos and pathos. While ethos refers to the moral and ethical appeal and pathos invokes to the emotional aspect, each one was evidently shown in the funeral speech for Caesar given by his best friend, Mark Antony. Prior to Antony’s speech, Brutus had given the plebeians a synopsis of what had occurred. However, Mark Antony knew that what Brutus had told the plebeians was false. In such manner, he allured the plebeians onto his side of the tragedy by touching upon ethical and emotional appeals.
A noble man he was , Marc Antony took a stand for Julius Caesar , a trustworthy friend the actual “Honorable man” . Antony speech was so Effective to the people because he used a lot of rhetorical devices that evolved with the people feelings ,he had the commoner persuaded with his Pathos Appeal . He used repetition, sarcasm , and irony to convey his message .
“Persuasion is often more effectual than force” (“Aesop”). In William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, after the succession of the assassination to Julius Caesar, both Marc Antony and Brutus give publics several speeches towards this mission. Speeches need three elements to maximize the effectiveness of them, which are the logic, emotional and ethical appeals. Marc Antony delivers speech that is more persuasive to the public after the conspirators slay Caesar through the usage of logos, pathos and ethos.
One of the most prominent authors of his time, William Shakespeare, uses the power of rhetoric in several ways throughout the play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. Rhetoric, the use of persuasive or manipulative speech or writing, provides the play with elements that help to move the story along. The different types of writing try to persuade the characters in the play to partake in different events. Using rhetoric in key events, such as speeches given by different characters, can be essential in changing the direction of the plot. Lastly, rhetoric is used in many of the characters’ dialogue and speeches throughout the play. Shakespeare's use of rhetoric both increases the dramatic elements and moves along the storyline to change what the audience
The speech made by Marcus Antonius, called Antony, in Act Three, Scene Two of Julius Caesar shows that despite being considered a sportsman above all else, he is highly skilled with the art of oratory as well. In the play by William Shakespeare, this speech is made at the funeral of Caesar after he is killed by Brutus and the other conspirators. Brutus claimed earlier, in his own funeral speech, that the killing of Caesar was justified. He felt that Caesar was a threat, and too ambitious to be allowed as ruler. Much of this sentiment, however, was developed by the treacherous Cassius. Antony, on the other hand, felt that the conspirators were traitors to Rome and should be dealt with. This speech used a variety of methods to gradually bring the crowd to his side, yet maintain his side of the deal with Brutus. This deal was that he, “shall not in your funeral speech blame us...” (3.1.245) for the death of Caesar. Antony holds his end of the deal for the majority of the speech, yet by doing so convinces the crowd of Brutus' and the others' disloyalty. In many ways, this speech can be seen as the ultimate rhetoric, and it includes all three of Aristotle's methods of persuasion. This are the appeal to credibility, called ethos, the appeal to emotions, called pathos, and the appeal to logic, called logos. All three of these devices are used to great effect during the speech of Marcus Antonius.