Ambition Of Brutus In Julius Caesar

During the fateful Ides of March in 44 BCE, Julius Caesar was assassinated. During his funeral, both Marc Antony and Marcus Brutus were permitted to make a speech detailing their final respects of now-deceased Julius Caesar. Unfortunately for Brutus, Antony’s eloquent speech had much more of an impact on the assembly. In Act III, Scene 2 of The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Antony turns a shocked, confused crowd of mourners into an angry mob of rioters by establishing himself as a trustworthy source of information, proving that Brutus was deceiving them, and tugging at the audience members’ heartstrings by openly reminiscing about his now lost friend. To begin, Antony quickly establishes himself as a trustworthy authority. He assures the crowd

He mentions that “I thrice presented [Caesar] a kingly crown, / Which he did thrice refuse: was this ambition?” (Shakespeare 3.2.96-97). This stirs the crowd into a distrust of Brutus by demolishing the crux of his argument: that Caesar was ambitious, and that that was why he deserved to die. Antony dissolves this argument because it shows that Brutus was lying to the crowd. Consequently, the crowd will be outraged with Brutus’ fabrications. By furthering the crowd’s contempt with Brutus, Antony is effectively compelling the crowd to riot against the once-noble Brutus. At this point, however, doubt begins to creep among the crowd because they do not know if Caesar was truly as modest and unambitious as Antony claims. To this, Antony reads aloud Caesar’s will: “To every Roman citizen he gives, / To every several man, seventy-five drachmas / Moreover, he hath left you all his walks, / His private arbors and new-planted orchards” (Shakespeare 3.2.242-249). Afore, Antony had been keeping Caesar’s will away from the crowd. Antony smartly saves the will until the very end of his speech, where he uses Caesar’s generosity to the Roman citizens to prove that Caesar genuinely was as modest as Antony had suggested. With all of their doubts cleared, the rage-fuelled mob of citizens are able to see that Antony is right- and that Brutus is

He reminisces about his now forever-gone friend, and how “You [(the crowd)] all do know this mantle. I remember / The first time ever Caesar put it on” (Shakespeare 3.2.170-171). He even preludes this with “If you have tears, prepare to shed them now” (Shakespeare 3.2.169). These lines almost force the crowd to a point where they cannot help but pity Antony. He has just lost his one best friend, and to them, this is a perfect cause for rebellion. To keep the crowd’s focus, Antony quick-wittedly calls to the crowd, “Good friends, sweet friends, let me not stir you up / To such a sudden flood of mutiny” (Shakespeare 3.2.208-209). Antony shrewdly regards the crowd as his friends, tempting their emotions to take hold. He is showing that he cares about the people and wants them to make a reasoned conclusion on their own. This appeals to the public’s emotions by clearly showing that Antony is there to help the people. In other words, Antony is displaying that he is providing the truth for the people, not for his own gain. The audience understands this and, accordingly, Antony has succeeded in turning the masses to his