“Rhetoric, which is the use of language to inform or persuade, is very good in shaping public opinion. We are very easily fooled by language and how it is used by others” (Comfort). This quote by Ray Comfort describes how rhetoric can be used to persuade people by words alone. Marc Antony and Brutus both used many cases of rhetoric throughout William Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar. Each of them tried their best to persuade the audience to choose their side. Antony gave a more persuasive speech with better use of rhetorical devices such as epistrophe, rhetorical question, and verbal irony.
Mark Antony effectively uses rhetorical question throughout his speech, leaving doubt in the back of everyone's minds. “Did this in Caesar seem ambitious?”(III,ii), is the most important rhetorical question Antony kept repeating. It made the crowd wonder if Caesar was ambitious, they also began to speculate whether he was doing it for the good of the country, or for himself. They questioned if Caesar denying the crown was a sign of modesty. This query is what made the whole crowd doubt what Brutus was saying, and later on would turn
…show more content…
Throughout his speech Antony used epistrophe to persuade the crowd to be on his side. The epistrophe used throughout was, “and Brutus is an honorable man” (III,ii). At the beginning of his speech the epistrophe Antony used seemed to be true. Further on in the story the people's thoughts about Brutus drastically changed. At first they thought he was honorable, but now they were not so sure. His use of epistrophe is used to sway the crowd to be on his side, as well as against Brutus who was not very honorable like people say he is. As this rhetorical device is continuously used, the Romans begin to rethink Brutus’ speech. They became very angry with Brutus and realize his speech was not true, they begin to wonder if he killed Caesar because he wanted all the