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Comparing Loaded Words In Shakespeare's Julius Caesar And President Ronald Reagan

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In Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar and President Ronald Reagan's 1987 “Tear Down This Wall” speech, both Brutus and Reagan make convincing speeches to their respective audiences. Brutus conveys his funeral speech after the death of Julius Caesar, while Reagan speaks to the German people about issues of the Berlin Wall. Although the speeches are made thousands of years apart, both use appeal to patriotism, rhetorical questions, and loaded words to construct a persuasive speech. One of the most sensitive, but effective ways to capture an audience’s attention, is through the appeal to patriotism; which both Brutus and Reagan do, in their respective speeches. In the commencement of Brutus’ oration speech, he declares, “Brutus rose against Caesar, is my answer-Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more.” (III.ii.21-23). When Brutus says this, he appeals to the audience's sense of patriotism. Brutus publicly confirms that he puts the loyalty of his country, before his friendship. This allows …show more content…

In his oration speech, Brutus utilizes loaded words in order to gain reaction from the audience. He uses words like “vile”, “ambiguous”, and “valiant” to emphasize parts of his oration, having a more effective, and emotional effect on the people of Rome. Brutus’ use of loaded words, help him in his rationalization of Caesar’s death. When Brutus uses words of such strength, it sways the plebeians emotionally in his favor. Similarly, during his speech in Berlin, President Reagan exploits loaded words as well. Reagan uses terms such as, “brutal”, “vast”, and “unassailable” to enable a stronger reaction to the message he is conveying. By using these words, he dramatizes parts of his speech to gain a forceful and more emotional argument against the Berlin Wall. Both Brutus and Reagan, employ loaded words to help their audiences to evaluate their perspectives as

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Speeches are used to commemorate points of history, and inform the general public of the product of their history but what makes a speech so impacting on it’s audience? Rhetorical devices give speeches and works of literature a way that can convey feelings or ideas to a viewer. When addressing during times of war or chaos, people such as Ronald Reagan, Abraham Lincoln, and Winston Churchill used these terms to better connect with their audience. Without these tools of the english language, dialogue and literature would be all the more dull and unappealing. However, with these useful instruments, writers and speakers can better communicate through some of the many rhetorical devices.

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For instance G.W. Busch during 9-11 and Abraham Lincoln with the Gettysburg Address. These two occasions might be different in many ways but they share a person rising to an opportunity to provide inspirational words for the people. Specifically, we can look at Ronald Reagan and how he rises to an occasion and unifies people while providing direction in a speech about the tragic “Challenger” event. My paper will use the Neo-Aristotelian criticism method, which explores the rhetorical situation and cannons of rhetoric.

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Knowing President Reagan’s past is something that is not spoken and written of enough. In the Writing the Life of Ronald Reagan: An Impossible Mission? it helps to bring light to his past and why he was able to use these forms of rhetoric to speak to the harsh realities of the Berlin Wall and its impact on many people around the world. It is important to note that President Reagan “published two (ghostwritten) autobiographies. The first one was published in 1965, just before he entered politics in California; it is entitled Where’s the Rest of Me?”

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His act of “[inspiring] America and its allies with renewed faith” (line 31) more emphatically contributes to the notion of Reagan’s impressive presidency proposed by Thatcher when it follows the bleak ideas that fundamentally say the state of America was worsening. These lines are actual examples of actions that Reagan successfully accomplished which further shows the audience of how his light personality when mixed with his strength helps him be a successful leader. Thatcher also references her personal, platonic relationship with Ronald Regan that laid outside the typical diplomacy between world leaders often in her eulogy. She refers to him as “Ronnie” (line 23), a nickname that only a close friend would use and says she and him “talked regularly, both before and after his presidency” (lines 56-57). By mentioning their closeness, she exposes her ability to evaluate his character and leadership abilities to those at the funeral

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Overall, Reagan used the rhetorical device ethos to express his knowledge, and integrity in order to persuade the audience of knocking the Wall of Berlin down. Besides the rhetorical device ethos, Reagan also used logos to influence the readers of no longer having the Wall of Berlin. Reagan states, “And now the Soviets themselves may, in a limited way, be coming to understand the importance of freedom.” (2) The quote explains how the Soviets have started to progress their comprehension of the significance of freedom. Reagan proposed knocking down the Wall of Berlin, and how this would spread freedom; therefore, since the Soviets started to realize the significance of freedom, then it would only be logical to knock down the wall in order for the Soviets and others to fully comprehend the importance of freedom, rather than understand it in a limited way.

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Thatcher then writes, “He knew almost instinctively what to do,” as an entire paragraph. The unique spacing leaves a lasting impression on the audience who can only reflect on Reagan’s natural savvy for politics. Within the next two paragraphs, Thatcher’s prose becomes casual despite the serious topics being she addresses. Reagan served as president during the height of the Cold War. He, “did not shrink from denouncing Moscow’s evil empire, but he realized that a man of good will might nonetheless emerge.”

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In Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, Marc Antony’s funeral speech for Caesar’s death is more successful than Brutus’ funeral speech because Antony uses verbal irony and pathos instead of gravitas or logos. In his speech, Brutus uses gravitas or honor while Marc Antony knows the general will of the Plebeians. Antony uses verbal irony in his speech, whereas Brutus uses a straightforward, 1-dimensional rhetoric. Lastly, Brutus uses logos in his speech, while Antony uses pathos to win over the Plebeians. In the end, Antony’s use of verbal irony and pathos in his speech is more effective in winning over the Plebeians to avenge Caesar’s death than that of Brutus.’

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Reagan was an impressive communicator, and was very charismatic. In a study conducted by Mio et al. (2005) of U.S. presidents’ inaugural speeches, Ronald Reagan was ranked as one of the top three charismatic presidents in the twentieth century. Reagan appealed to American’s sense of understanding through his use of metaphors and symbolism that went beyond the words. Two impressive examples include Reagan summoning Gorbachev to “Tear down this wall” and referring to the Soviet Union as the “Evil Empire”(Meese, 1999).

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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

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After tragedies, public speakers have taken advantage of their ability to voice their thoughts and opinions through speeches. By observing not only the speaker’s motivations but also their approach, the effectiveness of their speech can differ based on their execution. Strategically wording these speeches in their favor, Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare demonstrates the immense power of words through the speeches of Marcus Brutus and Marc Antony. Theodore D. Roosevelt also deems himself a credible example of a speaker who used their platform to affect a crowd in some way.

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To present his main points he will put into action during his presidency, Reagan uses logos on several occasions in his speech. Logically structured sentences that show his stance on the old government and a renewed one helps the audience to better understand why he believes what he does. For example, Reagan states, “Those who do work are denied a fair

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In Reagan's address, he uses rhetorical questions to challenge the minds of the people listening by saying, "But if no one among us is capable of governing himself, then who among us has the capacity to govern someone else?" The quote states that people at the time could not take care of themselves and in return, they could not take care of other people. This adds a little insult towards the people and shows how past leaders have put a top order over everyone because they were too feeble-minded to manage themselves. This opens the minds of the audience by catching their attention as he proceeds speaking throughout the address. Reagan sleekly pops this question in his writing and makes the use of practicing a rhetorical question

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In the play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar one of the main characters Caesar is killed in Scene 3 act 2.Then Brutus and Antony both give speeches about how bad they feel. Brutus gives a good speech by using all three of the rhetorical appeals to persuade the crowd to want to listen to what he say by using logos,ethos,pathos to his advantage. Brutus gives a better speech that draws the audience attention,Antony not as much. Therefor here are some very valid points on why Brutus’s speech used the Rhetorical Appeals better.

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“Words are singularly the most powerful force available to humanity. We can choose to use this force constructively with words of encouragement, or destructively using words of despair. Words have energy and power with the ability to help, to heal, to hinder, to hurt, to harm, to humiliate and to humble.” -Yehuda Berg. Words are an important part to everyday life.

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Sydney Stone Mrs. Paul English 10A 16 October 2017 Rhetorical Analysis Essay William Shakespeare, a very famous writer, tells the story of Julius Caesar. In his play, Marc Antony delivers a powerful speech that uses many different rhetorical devices, appeals, and different styles of writing. Some of these include repetition, rhetorical questions, pathos, logos, ethos, and diction. These help enhance Marc Antony’s speech by persuading the audience towards considering that Caesar was a good man.

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