Ethos In Julius Caesar Persuasive Essay

In Julius Caesar by Shakespeare, Mark Antony, and Brutus attempted to persuade the people of Rome. On the one hand, Brutus tries to convince the people of Rome that the conspirators and himself killed Caesar for the best, whereas Antony tries to persuade the people to help get justice for Caesar. Despite the fact that Antony and Brutus both used the techniques of ethos, pathos, and logos, ultimately Mark Antony had a better speech. Antony’s speech was more effective because he persuaded the people of Rome, and he spoke highly of the conspirators. First off, one of the techniques actively used in Julius Caesar was ethos. Ethos is the technique of using credibility to persuade the audience. For example, in Brutus’s speech, he said, “ If, then,

For example, in Brutus’s speech, he said, “There are tears for his love, joy for his fortune, honor for his bravery, and death for his ambition.” (Shakespeare). This quote emphasized that Brutus is upset about the death of Caesar. Also, this quote is conflicting as Brutus had killed Caesar, but Brutus had tears for him. The people of Rome could see right through Brutus’s lies as Brutus had killed Caesar on purpose. This made the people question if Brutus was sad that Caesar died or if Brutus was just putting on a show. The reason why Mark Antony’s speech was more effective was that the audience knew he was genuine whereas the people of Rome could see directly through Brutus’s lies. For example, Mark Antony said, “My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar, and I must pause until it returns to me. (he weeps)” (Shakespeare). This quote illustrates that Mark Antony is deeply saddened by the death of Caesar. Also, while Mark Antony is in shards from Caesar’s death he is actually crying. Whereas Mark Antony was balling his eyes out, Brutus was putting on a face similar to when the conspirators and himself put on faces to kill Caesar. Thus, Mark Antony’s speech was more effective than Brutus’s speech because Mark Antony actually was being true to the people in his emotions whereas Brutus would deceive the audience with his fake

Brutus used the technique of logos in his oration effectively. For example, Brutus said, “ Would you rather that Caesar were living and we would all go to our graves as slaves, or that Caesar were dead and we all lived as free men?” (Shakespeare). This quote promotes the idea that Brutus killed Caesar so the people of Rome would not become slaves. Brutus believed that if Caesar was ruled as king, all of the people of Rome would become prisoners or slaves. This quote shows the technique of logos because if Caesar is a king everybody else would be slaves and the people of Rome do not want to revert back to being slaves. Although Brutus’s speech was effective, Mark Antony seemed to persuade the people and take home the trophy. For example, Mark Antony stated, “I am not here to disprove what Brutus has said, but to say what I know.” (Shakespeare). This quote emphasizes that Mark Antony is not trying to call Brutus out, but Mark Antony is telling the truth to the people of Rome. Also, this quote shows that Mark Antony always talked highly of others. This quote leads many people to believe that Mark Antony had a more effective speech as he always spoke highly of others even if he knew they were telling a lie. Thus, Mark Antony had a more effective speech than Brutus because he spoke the truth and he spoke highly of others while Brutus used methods of fear to persuade the people of