Julius Caesar Persuasive Essay

Antony's Persuasive Speech The city of Rome is in devastation after the death of their ruler, Julius Caesar, and the citizens are eager to find someone to blame for his death. In The Tragedy of Julius Caesar written by William Shakespeare, Brutus, one of the men who killed Caesar, stands in front of the Roman citizens and delivers a logical monologue. After reciting his speech, the crowd sympathizes with Brutus and understands that he only killed Caesar for the good of Rome. Shortly after, Caesar's loyal companion by the name of Marc Antony stands in front of the crowd and delivers a very emotional argument. In his persuasive speech to the Romans, Antony utilizes pathos, ethos and logos to argue that Caesar should not have been killed. In

Antony uses his personal feelings toward Caesar to cause the Romans to feel sympathy toward Caesar. At the beginning of his monologue to the citizens, Antony states, "My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar, And I must pause till it come back to me" (3.2.103-04). This quote illustrates how Antony uses his own emotions to convey to the crowd what it is like for him to lose such a close friend. He explains that he feels like he died with Caesar because they were such good friends. Antony then proceeds to weep and he gets very emotional, turning his back to the crowd to make the situation feel even more sentimental. Another key example of Antony's use of pathos is when he picks up Caesar's bloody cloak and presents it to the crowd. Midway through Antony's speech to the citizens, he collects Caesar's mantle and declares, "Look, in this place ran Cassius' dagger through. See what a rent the envious Casca made. Through this, the well-belovèd Brutus stabbed" (3.2.171-73). Antony reveals the cloak to the crowd and points out the many stab wounds that mark it. To continue, while the crowd gasps at the wounds, Antony identifies each marking in the cloak and which conspirator made that specific cut. Antony provides specific

Antony feels the citizens should listen to him about Caesar because they were such good friends. At the beginning of Antony's speech to the Romans, he proclaims, "He was my friend, faithful and just to me" (3.2.82). This quote proves his close relationship that he had with Caesar. Antony says that Caesar was loyal to him and he was faithful to Caesar. He states that since Caesar was so upstanding and loyal to him, that he could not have been that bad of a man. Antony explains that they have been close for a long time and Caesar never did anything unfaithful to him so how could he be so awful to the conspirators. Furthermore, Antony explains how he is just a regular man, like the rest of the citizens, who simply misses his close friend. When Antony concludes his speech with the Romans he mentions, "But, as you know me all, a plain blunt man that love my friend; and that they know full well"(3.2.214-15). Antony admits that he misses his best friend, Julius Caesar, dearly but he just wanted to speak the truth about Caesar. Anthony also states he just wanted to disclose his feelings about Caesar to the audience so they saw more than just the negative side of Caesar that Brutus discussed. During Antony's monologue, he uses ethos to connect his morals or ethics to prove Caesar's