Examples Of Juxtaposition In Julius Caesar

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In Act 3, Scene 2 of the tragedy of Julius Caesar written by Shakespeare, there are 2 very important speeches that shape the countrymen’s view on the death of Caesar. Marcus Brutus gives the first speech in an attempt to justify the murder he and his fellow conspirators just committed and the second speech is given by Mark Antony to open the citizen’s eyes to just how dishonorable and heinous the crime these men committed was. Both men use many rhetorical strategies in their speeches such as syntax to create juxtaposition and word choice to highlight the similarities and differences between the audience and the speaker in order to create an effect of either superiority or relatability to the audience. Each speech was effective in persuading the people to agree with a certain view, however in the end Mark Antony gave the speech that won the crowd. …show more content…

In Brutus’ speech he says “As Caesar loved me, I weep for him; as he was fortunate, I rejoice at it; as he was valiant, I honor him; but, as he was ambitious, I slew him.” He lists all the good qualities about Caesar then contradicts them with the one bad quality that overrides them. The audience begins to think that maybe Caesar wasn’t so good after all. Throughout Antony’s speech he gives reasons why Caesar could not have been ambitious but not soon after he says “Yet Brutus says he was ambitious, and Brutus is an honorable man.” As a result of this, the crowd begins to doubt Caesar’s ambition and Brutus’