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The essence of rhetoric in shakespeare julius caesar
The essence of rhetoric in shakespeare julius caesar
The essence of rhetoric in shakespeare julius caesar
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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 …show more content…
Marc Antony uses his relationship with Caesar to show Caesar’s devotion not only to his country but the people he cared about. Moreover, Antony talks adamantly about the strong friendship he shared with Caesar. During the start of his speech, he explains: “He was my friend, faithful and just to me” (III.ii.13). This statement gives credibility to Caesar, allowing the audience to see him both as an influential leader and sincere friend. Condemning Brutus’ actions and integrity, Antony makes Caesar appear to be an innocent victim- not the ambitious, arrogant fool Brutus makes him out to be. Throughout the speech, Antony uses the irony to express the opposite of what he means, most notably in the statement “And Brutus is an honorable man” (III.ii.15) to subtly mock Brutus and convince the crowd that Brutus is a dishonest man. Notably, Antony tarnishes Brutus’ credibility while simultaneously planting doubts in the minds of the plebeians concerning the reasons for Caesar’s assassination. All things considered, the use of these ethical appeals assists in portraying Julius Caesar as a model of …show more content…
He uses emotion to strike compassion in the hearts of the plebeians, allowing it to take the place of words. Heartbroken by Caesar’s death, he says: “My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar/ And I must pause till it come back to me” (III.ii.34-35). Antony allows the plebeians to see the impact Caesar’s death has on him to evoke both pity and sympathy. He desires for the plebeians to feel saddened by Caesar’s death in order to turn them against the conspirators. To display Julius Caesar in a better light, Antony explains to the plebeians how much Caesar cared for them. Presenting them with Caesar’s will, he expresses that Caesar gave up his private gardens for the use of the citizens of Rome, and Antony says: “When the poor hath cried, Caesar hath wept/ Ambition should be made of sterner stuff” (III.ii.19-20). Contradicting Brutus’ idea that Caesar was too ambitious, Antony utilizes the emotions of the plebeians to display instances in which that is not
Throughout his speech, Antony repeats the words “[Caesar] was ambitious” and “Brutus is an honorable man” to create a contrast between the two statements. (3.2.95-96). Through this repetition, Caesar successfully undermines Brutus. Everytime he calls Brutus an honorable man, he lists a positive trait of Caesar that contradicts Brutus’s claim that he was too ambitious. He tells the crowd about the times when Caesar showed compassion for the people and when he refused the crown thrice. Antony’s sarcasm about Brutus’s honor brings into question as to whether his honor deserved. This leads the audience to doubt their feelings upon Caesar’s ambition. Near the end of his eulogy, Antony uses apostrophe when he claims that “judgment ... art fled to brutish beasts” as a reason for why the Roman people believe Brutus. (3.2.114-115). Antony indirectly shames the crowd for their belief in Brutus in that Caesar was a tyrant. Fearing alienation of the crowd, he attributes this belief to a lapse in judgement that beasts have taken. Antony also makes a pun upon Brutus’s name when he comments “brutish beasts.” Antony implies Brutus has caused a lapse in judgement within the Roman people through his oration
Antony also uses the power of his speech, similar to Cassius, to influence the plebeians of Rome by carefully structuring his words together and using various tones to appeal to the audience. Antony uses repetition, such as this quote, “I thrice presented him a kingly crown,/ Which he did thrice refuse. Was this ambition?/Yet Brutus says he was ambitious,/And sure he is an honourable man.”(III.ii.94-97) Antony uses this repetition of giving evidence to the people of what Caesar’s characteristics were really like, showing them that Caesar was not as ambitious as Brutus said, and calling Brutus an honourable man. The repetition allows for the plebeians to realize the truth because of Antony’s multiple exposures of verification that Caesar was not ambitious and how Brutus and the other conspirators are at fault. It also influences the plebeians to believe that Brutus is not noble at all because of how deceitful he acts when justifying his causes to murder Caesar. Antony then says, “[...]Bear with me./My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar,/and I must pause till it come back to me.”(III.ii.103-105). Antony indicates how close his relationship to Caesar and that he feels so heartbroken that he chokes up from all the overwhelming emotions he feels. The tone of his speech elicits sympathy from the plebeians due to the
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
“If then that friend demand why Brutus rose against Caesar, this is my answer: not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more.” (1) In this sentence he is using pathos to invoke the audience, trying to put them in his own shoes by telling them that he conspired against Julius for their sake. “As Caesar loved me, I weep for him. As he was fortunate, I rejoice at it. As he was valiant, I honor him. But, as he was ambitious, I slew him.” In this quote he uses words of emotion such as love, rejoice, and honor. Brutus is trying to influence the audience into giving him sympathy by making the audience feel what he wants them to
Marc Antony uses these examples to show the crowd that Caesar cared deeply about Rome and its citizens, and to remind them of the contributions he made. Caesar risked his life to take captives, and then gave the ransom money to the public. Marc Antony says that Caesar was compassionate, he felt his citizens' sadness and wept with them. The audience remembers what a good ruler Caesar was, and regrets that he's gone. Brutus had told the citizens he killed Caesar because of his ambition, but Antony disproves this.
Without knowing it, we are very accustomed to the old saying "Save the best for last." In social events and sporting competitions, those in charge use their best to leave a greater impact on their opponents and their audience. We can also see this being used while watching a firework display and the most grand fireworks appear only at the end of the show. William Shakespeare's most famous tragedy, Julius Caesar, is a great example of the saying. In Act III, Scene II of the play, the city of Rome is in mourning after their leader was murdered by conspirators consisting of the city's own Senators. Romans gather near the Roman Senate House to hear Brutus and Marc Anthony's words. By the end of Brutus' speech, the crowd is supporting his actions and justifying him, but by the end of the scene, they are supporting Anthony. What exactly did Anthony say and do to convince the Romans to support his claims and oppose Brutus so much
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/
In William Shakespeare's, Julius Caesar, rhetorical devices are used throughout Decius Brutus’s speech to Caesar to persuade him to attend the senate, and ultimately meet his demise. Decius Brutus uses repetition to directly play into Caesar’s ego and convince him to show at an event he was previously very unsure of. Decius first uses repetition to make Caesar feel as if he were an irreplaceable addition to the senate. He addresses Caesar as, “most mighty Caesar…” (2.2.74) multiple times throughout his oration. The repetition of “mighty” draws Caesar’s attention away from the fact that he really must not go to the senate and instead focuses on why he must. Caesar is known to be easily persuaded by the promise of attention or rewards. Decius
In his Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Shakespeare uses a metaphor, aside, antithesis, and rhetorical questions to craft Brutus as an honorable and noble man manipulates by the conspirators in order to kill Caesar with the belief that Caesar’s death will benefit Rome. He is a loyal person who believes in the doing good for Rome and for his friend Julius Caesar. But in order to save Rome, he chooses his country, Rome over his friendship with Caesar. This task is hard on Brutus but killing a friend was what he had to do to save Rome.
With the use of pathos, Antony directly touched the emotions of the people by stating how greatly affected he was by the death of Caesar and how he did not deserve to die. Next, by the use of ethos, Antony reminded the people that they once loved Caesar and that he was a morally good
Antony takes advantage of Brutus' absence and tries to win over the citizens with an emotional appeal: (pathos). Antony begins to speak of "Brutus [being] an honorable man" (line 91 3.2), this creates irony because Brutus broke Caeser's trust because of the fear he (Brutus) had for Caeser's power. Antony uses his grief to win over the citizens by saying "He [was] my friend, faithful [like me]". He used these words "friend' and "faithful" to make it out to him being a trustworthy person to Caeser and his kingdom. He begins to turn the people against Brutus and his doing by accusing Brutus of his ambitions. In (line 95 3.2) by saying " [three times] I presented him [the kings] crown." because Brutus refused the crown shown in (line 96 3.2). This begins to turn the city against Brutus because Antony convinced them that Brutus did Caeser
Antony asks rhetorical questions and lets the audience answer for themselves. Brutus uses ethos by stating that he a noble man and that is why the people should believe him but infact Antony questions his nobility by saying what Brutus said,” Brutus is an honourable man”(III.ii.79). In a way, Antony states what Brutus states to convince the audience by using examples that Brutus is wrong. Antony himself knows what kind of man Brutus is but lets the people figure it out on their own. In addition, Brutus uses logos by expressing that fact that Caesar died because of his ambition. This argument is severely under supported because his reasons are invalid and simply observations. Antony uses “did this in Caesar seem ambitious” to question Brutus’ argument (III.ii.82). Antony gives examples backing his argument like when Caesar refused the crown thrice to prove his humbleness. The way Antony convinces the people to rebel is by using pathos. He brings the audience in by stepping down to their level and showing them the body of Caesar. While Antony talks at Caesar's funeral, he pauses because” heart us in the coffin there with Caesar “(III.ii.98). When Antony becomes emotional, he reminds the audience about what injust event happened to the much loved
Brutus repeatedly says, “If any, speak, for him have I offended,” (III.ii.25). Brutus’ tactic is to try to force someone, or dare them, to disagree with him, which no one ends up doing. Brutus tries to make people fear him, which works for a brief period of time. Mark Antony, on the other hand, goes on the attack, rather than the defense, by repeatedly saying, “Yet Brutus said he was ambitious; And… he is an honourable man.” (III.ii.89-90). By going on the offensive side, Mark Antony uses the repetition of this extreme usage of irony and sarcasm to make the audience understand that all of this is Brutus’ fault and that he should be punished for his crimes, no matter his intentions. Both groups use similar rhetorical strategies to prove that Caesar should or should not be dead for what he has done, with differing results. Brutus and Mark Antony also use emotional appeals to persuade their audience that they are correct in the matter of the death of their esteemed
...d saddened by Caesar’s death, this is also hyperbole. Antony is exaggerating his current emotions. He doesn’t truly need a moment before he goes on. He simply wants the crowd to react to his speech so far. In saying his heart died with Caesar, the pathos generated moves the crowd and gives them an opportunity to respond to Antony.