How Does Brutus Use Ethos In Julius Caesar

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In Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, Brutus uses ethos, logos, and pathos, to justify the death of Julius Caesar. Brutus utilizes ethos by asking his audience to believe in him and his devotion to the republic. This proves to be effective since he is appealing to the ethical values of his fellow Romans. He then uses ethos immediately after by saying, “censure me in your wisdom,/and awaken your senses” in order to look attractive to his audience by complementing their wisdom. As Brutus furthers his claim he sways towards the use of pathos by saying “Brutus’ love to Caesar/was no less than his. . . Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved/ Rome more.” This statement is an effective use of pathos because it reveals that Brutus was only concerned …show more content…

Unfortunately, it has the potential to limit the argument when it is used too specifically and the audience is unable to relate. Pathos can appeal to the audience’s senses which can then appeal to their way of thinking. Similar to the way a certain smell can remind a person of an event in time, pathos can appeal to a person’s emotions based on their experiences and thus persuade them towards a certain idea. Our elders aren’t as susceptible to the misuse of pathos because they are experienced listeners and hold steady in their lifelong beliefs. Younger audiences are more at risk of being manipulated because they have not lived long enough to form their own opinions. Finally we have logos. Logos is the only true black and white appeal because there is very little argument against it. People can be persuaded differently based on ethos and pathos but very rarely will a large group of people be persuaded differently based on logos. This is due to the very nature of logos. The logic behind an argument is just as important as the emotion because the logic is what will persuade a person who is on the fence about making a decision. However, with weak logos, the audience can still be persuaded but any one person can call the bluff on the argument if there is little reason behind the