Analyzing Brutus's Speech

“Rhetoric, the art of making life less believable.”- Ben Marcus. In Brutus’s speech after Julius Caesar’s assassination, Brutus portrayed Caesar as ‘ambitious’. Brutus attempted to justify his killing of Caesar by stating in a speech to the Romans that he loved Rome more than he loved Caesar. However, Marc Antony spoke to the audience after Brutus stepped away; Antony contradicted what Brutus said, used theatrical actions, and presented Caesar’s will to incite rebellion. Speakers who are disproven by others are less likely to gain support. At Caesars funeral oration, Brutus claimed that Caesar was overly ambitious, which Antony rebutted by saying, “When the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept; ambition should be made of sterner stuff.”(3.2.91-92)

Antony used various types of theatrics in order to generate emotion in the audience at Caesar’s funeral oration. As the crowd became drawn into Antony’s speech, he says, “My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar, and I must pause till it come back to me.”(3.2.106-107) and weeps openly to portray the sadness he feels about Caesar’s passing. When Antony revealed his emotions to the crowd, they began to feel pity for Antony, consequently making his words seem more believable. Antony took advantage of the crowd’s emotions by pulling a scroll from his garment, explaining that it was Caesar’s will: “But here’s a parchment with the seal of Caesar; I found it in his closet, ‘tis his will.”(3.2.129-130). As a result, the crowd was drawn in, wanting to hear the will immediately, shifting the power into Antony’s hands. Realizing that the audience eagerly wanted to hear Caesar’s will, he teased them and put the will away while saying, “Have patience, gentle friends, I must not read it.”(3.2.140). By putting the will away, the audience was drawn in even more, allowing Antony to manipulate the crowd into doing what he