One of the most underestimated arts in all of history is the art of persuasion. It is everywhere, in daily conversation, in the government, and in Shakespeare’s stories. In fact, one of his plays, Julius Caesar, revolves around persuasion, especially when it comes to the character Brutus. The play is about Julius Caesar, who is on a clear path to becoming the king. However, some of his constituents plan to stop his rise to power. But to succeed, they need the help of Caesar’s right hand man and good friend, Brutus. In this scene, Cassius, the head conspirator, attempts to use ethos, pathos, and logos to convince Brutus to turn against Caesar. Cassius uses his knowledge of Caesar’s failings and his past with Caesar to prove he is a knowledgeable and credible source, while also trying to invoke feelings of anger in Brutus. Cassius mainly uses the device pathos by trying to invoke emotions in Brutus to turn him against Caesar. “Why should that name be sounded more than yours? rite them together, yours is as fair a name;” Cassius says. This is supposed to make Brutus question Caesar’s godliness, and his ability to lead. The statement is saying that Brutus is just as good as Caesar. Cassius supports this by pointing out they have the same upbringing …show more content…
He presents a logical argument when he says, “I was born free as Caesar; so were you: We both have fed as well, and we can both Endure the winter's cold as well as he.” Brutus, Cassius and Caesar were all raised on the same social status and have been through as much as him. It may not be a statistic, but it is definitely an undeniable fact. It’s saying they were raised the exact same, so Caesar is no godlier than them. This helps convince Brutus because he needs the facts to feel as if he is doing the right thing, to feel as if his feelings of worry about Caesar being crowned is not unsubstantiated, to feel like it is necessary to turn against his
Shakespeare enforced persuasive behavior by implying techniques of anthesis, juxtaposition and rhetorical questions in order to maneuver Brutus’ impressions toward the new ruling of Caesar. When Caesar was wanted as ruler of the Republic of Rome, Cassius attempts to convince Brutus of rebelling against Caesar, as they are equal in the ability to rule over Rome. Shakespeare entails the use of an antithesis to empower Cassius persuasive behavior. “We both have fed as well, and we can both endure the winter’s cold as well as he.” (I.ii.9-10).
Shakespeare exposes the cutthroat politics of Rome through the speeches of Brutus and Antony in his play Julius Caesar. This play epitomizes the benefits of using rhetorical devices in a persuasive speech. Antony applies the modes ethos, logos, and pathos to establish credibility, provide evidence, and evoke emotion throughout his eulogy to Caesar. Preceding Antony’s speech was that of the senator, and friend of Caesar, Brutus. Conclusively, Antony’s use of rhetorical devices surpasses Brutus’s; Antony successfully persuades the crowd that Brutus’s speech posed as a clever ruse to justify his cold-blooded murder.
Brutus uses rhetorical questions, faulty reasoning and hyperboles to create the tone of persuasion while convincing the Roman people to be on his side. To start off his funeral speech, he wants the citizens to trust and believe what he has to say about Caesar, Brutus announces; “Believe me for mine honor, and have respect for my honor, that you may believe me”(Shakespeare 42). In this case, faulty reasoning is shown because Brutus has done nothing to prove him honorable to the citizens. Given that, he has no evidence that he is trustworthy, Brutus still try’s to persuade the crowd to believe what he has to say about Caesar is true, which is
During an election year, we as Americans are bombard with campaign aids and media coverage for each presidential candidate running for office. Throughout the 90s we regularly saw the abundance of anti-smoking aids, and through high school history class, we’ve seen the posters with Uncle Sam or Rosie the Riveter during the times of the World wars. The point of this short history lesson is that while the concept of propaganda is treated as a new concept with only modern day uses, the employment of propaganda dates as far back as the Roman Empire. Roman emperors from the time of Augustus till the time of Emperor Constantine have used propaganda through many public works. Through these works, and through the works of some ancient Roman historians
A quality all humans possess is questioning leadership. The reasons why we challenge or rebel against our leaders describe what kind of individual we are. Cassius and Brutus have different reasons for questioning Caesars power. Both characters have a common goal but exceedingly different values, thought process, and motives for killing Caesar. Cassius and Brutus are characters who have opposite values.
In Cassius’s eloquent speech against Caesar, he primarily utilizes persuasion through tools such as pathos, rhetorical questions, and compare and contrast. Cassius uses pathos to begin his monologue when he claims, “I know that virtue be in you, Brutus, / As well as I do know your outward favor” (Shakespeare 1.2.95-96). By expressing that Brutus has “virtue” and “outward favor”, Cassius appeals to Brutus’s emotions, but not to an exaggerated extent. This emotional appeal is a persuasion technique because it is used in moderation and in pertinent locations. The context is appropriate since rather than using it as a tool to feed on Brutus’s emotions, Cassius only uses it to get Brutus’s attention as an appropriate hook.
Evan Konieczka Mrs. Comm Honors English 10 14 April 2023 A Master of Manipulation In public speaking, the ability to persuade is extremely important to have in order to influence others’ thoughts and actions. ethos, the appeal to credibility, logos, the appeal to logic or reason, and pathos, the appeal to emotion, are all part of this ability to persuade. Mark Antony from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar is a very persuasive speaker.
After gaining the crowds' trust, Antony disassembles the arguments that Brutus used prior. Brutus’ main argument is that Caesar was ambitious and tyrannus, so Antony has to prove this untrue. Antony states, “He hath brought many captives home to Rome / Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill: / Did this in Caesar seem ambitious?” (3.2.85-87). His example of Caesar’s generosity and unambition directly contradicts what Brutus had divulged.
At this point in the play, Brutus was making all of the decisions for the conspirators. He would not listen to Cassius when he should have. For example, if they would have killed Antony he would not have had to flee Rome, another thing he should have listened to is that Brutus should not have let Antony make a speech in act 3 scene 2 lines 73-105. Antony was able to use pathos during his speech to turn the people against the conspirators, while Brutus tried using logos. If Brutus would have used a different approach he would not have had the people turn against
Julius Caesar Essay Words are more powerful than weapons. Throughout the play of Julius Caesar the idea of powerful words is a key theme. Through speeches lies and cunning plans the characters in this play are able to convince people to join conspiracies and move people to action. This play reflects on the need for excellent speaking skills and its importance in ancient Rome, Elizabethan, and modern times.
When making an argument to sway someone, one must first recognize when speaking that it is not so much what one says so much as how they say it. This can be seen in none other than Shakespeare’s renowned Tragedy of Julius Caesar when Calpurnia attempts to tell Caesar to stay home while Decius Brutus attempts the opposite. In Act II, scene ii, both make their arguments to convince Caesar to attend, or not attend, the senate meeting on the Ides of March in which the conspirators plan to assassinate the leader. While Calpurnia approaches Caesar using an emotional appeal, Decius decides to use a more logical appeal to persuade the general to fall into his trap. Ultimately Decius proves to be more successful in his attempt than Calpurnia, due to
After reading excerpts from Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, write an essay that compares Brutus’ speech with Marc Antony’s speech and argues the effectiveness of the rhetorical devices (ethos, pathos, logos) used in each. Be sure to support your position with evidence from the texts. William Shakespeare writes a play about Julius Caesar’s assassination and the speeches his friends gave at his funeral. In the play, Brutus assassinated Caesar because he thought he was protecting Rome. He was saying that if Caesar got all the power he would most likely become vicious and make everyone his slaves.
This appeals to the Plebeians emotion making them feel as if Brutus’ recognition of Caesar justifies his death. Last, Brutus uses logos to make the Plebeians question if they would “rather Caesar/ were living, and die all slaves, than that Caesar were/ dead, to live all freemen? (III.ii.22-24). This makes the Plebeians believe Brutus’ compassion towards the people made him kill Caesar. It justifies that Brutus only killed Caesar for the greater good of Rome.
Cassius wants Brutus to believe that their futures need to be changed because Caesar is leading them into tyranny. Cassius then uses flattery to show Brutus that he is equal in power to Caesar. “Brutus and Caesar… Write them together, yours is a fair a name”. Cassius explains this to Brutus that he is just as capable of reaching the height of power Caesar possesses. Following this conversation Cassius develops a plan to further manipulate Brutus.
Deception and Manipulation William Shakespeare’s play “Julius Caesar” illustrates many facts and characteristics of Ancient Rome, such as betrayal and confederacy. However, deception and manipulation are the most significant aspects of the play and played a huge role in the story, which eventually lead to the death of Julius Caesar. Examples of deception and manipulation in this play are the fake letters that sent to Brutus, Decius assured Caesar about Calpurnia’s dream, and Anthony’s speech against Brutus. One of the most significant deceptions in the play is when Cassius sent fake letters to Brutus to convince him to join the conspiracy. Cassius addressed the letters to make it seem that they were coming from the citizens.