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Julius Caesar Persuasive Speech Analysis

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With a strong voice one can change the entire outcome of a conflict and history as it is known. Speeches have been around for centuries and influences the growth and decline of countries, populations, and species. In many of William Shakespeare 's writings, he is able to emphasize the meaning of a persuasive speech which sets the basis for future orators. In one of Shakespeare 's most famous plays, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Marcus Brutus and Marc Antony both attempts to move the people with similar but also very different tactics. Their words reveal their true intentions and thoughts, although it may be heard differently by others. William Shakespeare brings light on two powerful men who give extremely persuasive speeches which later …show more content…

When an important figure dies, another takes their place. The people search for a new Caesar to praise and look up to. “It is bitter irony that Brutus, the character in the cast who least desires to be a Caesar, should be the first to be offered the role (Velz 7).” When Brutus says his speech the crowd’s cheers “Caesars better parts/ shall be crown’d in Brutus (Shakespeare 3.2.54-55).” He averts the crowd’s attention to Antony which is a mistake because of how rallied they are to find a successor. This brought more thought upon Antony and his role as a leader in society because others believe that “there’s not a nobler man in Rome (3.2.128).” With this, there is a fight for control and trust because “the role of Caesar will be transferred to the man who can play it best (Velz 8).” However, the crowd also has a fault in themselves. The people who are uneducated and low in the social class follow whoever provides them with what is needed. The fact that they are so gullible and have bias commentary intensifies the speeches of Marcus Brutus and Marc Antony. Through Brutus’s speech the people want to “bring him to his house/ with shouts and clamours (Shakespeare 3.2.56-57)” because they believe he saved Rome from Caesar 's wretched ambition. But as the plot continues, Antony is able to direct them towards his opinion with the help of Caesar 's body and the will. Minutes after praising Brutus for their savior they want to “ burn the house of Brutus (3.2.245)” for his wrong doings. It 's not necessarily just the greed that is driving the people, but the thrill of the fight and being involved in a major decision. The choices one makes has a major effect when trying to leave an abiding impression. Only one man is able to benefit from this debate. Although Brutus provides a compelling speech he is not able to connect with the audience and give what is necessary for

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By refusing to read the will several times and admitting that what it contains will cause the people to have such a great love for Caesar that knowing he is now dead will be unbearable, Antony ignites curiosity in the people and furthermore, a subconscious feeling of respect and graciousness toward Caesar. Basically, Antony uses Caesar’s will to convince the people that Caesar was a selfless, kind-hearted man and those who killed him should be ashamed and punished for killing an innocent man. Through Antony’s use of paralipsis, he is able to plant a seed of admiration for Caesar and one of hate for the conspirators in the hearts of the plebeians. In his speech to the citizens, Antony also asks many rhetorical questions to cause his audience to pause and reflect on how they really feel, or how Antony wants them to feel, about certain people and events that have recently become important. In one instance.

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Julius Caesar: Analysis of Tone in Funeral Speeches MLK, Jr. once said, “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends” (Goodreads). In the play Julius Caesar written by William Shakespeare, actions and words are used and spoken against a friend and a rival contributing to the assassination of their fellow friend Caesar. Two people that were very close to Caesar speak out against each other during their funeral speeches. Brutus, who is a “friend” and also a conspirator against Caesar, and Antony who is a very loyal friend to Caesar, use several rhetorical and literary devices as they create tone of proud assertive and defiant manipulation to get the Roman citizens on their side.

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In Antony’s speech to the people, he speaks about Caesar over his dead body. His words make the commoners feel something, as opposed to Brutus,

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Although Caesar, as the upcoming ruler of Rome in Julius Caesar, should be portrayed as the ideal leader of the play, he actually has too arrogant of a character to be so. Therefore, Shakespeare places honor in Brutus and allows Brutus to have the role of the idealistic leader of the story. Although Shakespeare writes this play in a controversial time period during England’s political turmoil, he allows the audience to be able to choose the true ruler of loyalty to the crown or the honor of a noble man through the understanding of the two contrasting character

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The speeches that they give determine who Rome supports, which leads to the death of one of them. Brutus and Antony use pathos, syntax, and diction to create the specific effect of justifying the murder of Caesar for Brutus and turning the crowd against the conspirators for Antony. Brutus and Antony

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Senior year, the last year of high school is a time when Seniors experience various things for last time in this year. The last first day, the last football game, the last school dance. With all of these lasts comes something else. Senioritis. Senioritis is what nearly every senior at one time or another experiences, They all handle it differently, from lack of motivation to do homework to lack of hygiene.

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The Great Debaters 1) What does Dr. James Farmer, Sr. mean when he said, “When I was a child I spoke as a child, but when I became a man, I put away all childish things?” Focus, drive, and passion, comes from maturity and growth. Children are still learning to come into themselves as emerging young adults. One attribute of becoming an adult, is being capable of solving your own problems.

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Also, the fickle Roman Public are easily induced by people of higher power’s ideas. Such as, Brutus and Antony’s funeral speeches. Caesar also tries to tell Antony that Cassius is most certainly dangerous because he is always plotting something, and he thinks too much. This ends up foreshadowing for events later in the tragedy. Shakespeare wants us to know that the way we portray ourselves is not the way other individuals see us.

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Antony’s Speech Using Rhetorical Appeals In William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, after Caesar’s death, the Romans are conflicted about what should be done. After Brutus’ speech the Romans are ready to crown Brutus king and be on the conspirators’ side. Though Brutus then leaves the crowd while Antony delivers his speech, the crowd realizes what should be done of Caesar’s murder and Antony prevents the conspirators from getting away with the murder of Caesar.

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In Cassius’s eloquent speech against Caesar, he primarily utilizes persuasion through tools such as pathos, rhetorical questions, and compare and contrast. Cassius uses pathos to begin his monologue when he claims, “I know that virtue be in you, Brutus, / As well as I do know your outward favor” (Shakespeare 1.2.95-96). By expressing that Brutus has “virtue” and “outward favor”, Cassius appeals to Brutus’s emotions, but not to an exaggerated extent. This emotional appeal is a persuasion technique because it is used in moderation and in pertinent locations. The context is appropriate since rather than using it as a tool to feed on Brutus’s emotions, Cassius only uses it to get Brutus’s attention as an appropriate hook.

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In conclusion, from the moment of Caesar’s death there was an immediate and permit effect on Antony’s life. The man who had come from a prominent plebian family, who went on to become a great soldier, who served under Caesar and became his right hand man would be profoundly impacted by his death. He would gain power and fame. He would make new friends and new enemies. He would get revenge on those who conspired against and murdered Caesar.

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1896 Words | 8 Pages

Being this calculation is what leaves him prone to being manipulated by Cassius. The logical and abstract meaning that he attaches to Caesar’s assassination blocks him from seeing the need to examine the political maneuvering that is used to justify the murder. In contrast to Brutus, Antony proves to be the most adaptable of all the characters. Although he becomes powerful through offering himself to honor Caesar’s will and give the citizens their money he doesn’t tie himself to this ethical limitation. He uses the fund for political expenditure.

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884 Words | 4 Pages

Marcus Junius Brutus and Mark Antony both deliver speeches to justify the death of Julius Caesar in 44 BCE and both use Logos and Ethos to convince the Roman citizens to join their sides. Both sides deliver their speeches with vehemence and start by elucidating why Brutus killed Caesar to begin with, why Antony’s desire for revenge is justified, and what the future of Rome will be because of his death. Antony teases the citizens of Rome with the will of Caesar that he holds in hand and claims it will dishonor Brutus and the other conspirators and is also one of his vital uses of Ethos in his speech. Most of the citizens, if not all of them side with Antony and will most likely help him accede to a great title of power in the future and also betray Brutus because of what Antony has them believe, i.e. an ignoble assassin. Brutus and Antony 's speeches were both compelling, although Antony´s speech was more successful, but it is because he was able to manipulate the people of Rome with

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754 Words | 4 Pages

Brutus and Antony use ethos, logos, and pathos in their speeches to convince the commoners of their side of the story. One person just so happens to be more convincing than the other. Using ethos,

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474 Words | 2 Pages

In the play Julius Caesar, speeches are essential, they influence each through their play of words. I believe that words can hold more power than any weapon and can be shown throughout much of history. Words can do many more things than any weapon, they cause fear, or they can cause inspiration. This is shown in the play when Cassius influences Brutus to join the conspiracy with his way of words and the letters he gave him. Even though weapons can be used to create fear, words can

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