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Julius Caesar Rhetorical Analysis

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In Julius Caesar, a drama written by William Shakespeare, it explores themes of ambition, betrayal, and political intrigue in ancient Rome. The play shows how ambition can lead to downfall and explores the tough choices people can face in leadership. Through the use of diction that implies how Brutus is dishonorable, juxtaposition, and appeals to the Plebeians grief, Antony tries to get them to turn against the conspirators to start a civil war. Antony uses this dictation to imply that Caesar is a really good man who cares about his people and that Brutus and the conspirators are murderers who don’t care about their leader. Throughout Brutus’s speech, he mentioned several times how Caesar was an ambitious leader, so Antony tells them that, “When the …show more content…

In other words, Caesar is a good person who cares for people who are less fortunate. Antony is making the people question Brutus’s claim of Caeser’s ambition by choosing to tell them of good things he did and question them of their thoughts. Making them want to rebel against Brutus. Juxtaposition is also used to manipulate the people to not believe in Brutus’s credibility. Antony tries to show them how whatever Brutus said about Caesar is not real because, “I thrice presented him a kingly crown,” which he did thrice refuse. Is this an ambition? Yet Brutus says he was ambitious, “And sure he is an honorable man” (3.2.106-108). He explains how someone who is ambitious and wants to rule would take the crown at the first offering. This shows how Brutus is not honorable because he is falsely accusing Caesar of ambition. Throughout his speech, Antony lists all the humble things Caesar does, even though Brutus says he’s ambitious. This destroys Brutus’s argument and turns the Plebeians to not believe in him. Through the use of emotional appeal to their grief and selfishness, Antony makes the Plebeans want to take revenge against the

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After winning the crowd's trust, Antony must also make a logical appeal; after all, hard evidence cannot be ignored: “I thrice presented him a kingly crown, / Which he did thrice refuse: was this ambition?” (3.2.96-97). Antony offered Caesar the crown on three separate occasions and he refused. This refutes Brutus’s claim that Caesar was too ambitious. After all, if someone was that ambitious, they would not hesitate to claim the crown.

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911 Words | 4 Pages

Antony, through the use rhetorical devices of diction and verbal irony, develops an argumentation in order to turn the Plebeians against the conspirators and persuade them to avenge Caesar. Specifically, Antony declares, “Have patience, gentle friends, I must not read it; / It is not meet you know how Caesar loved you. / You are not wood, you are not stone, but men; / And, being men, bearing the will of Caesar, / It will inflame you, it will make you mad: / ‘Tis good you know not that you are his heirs; / For, if you should, O, what would come of it!”

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By asking this rhetorical question after instances of Caesar’s good doings for Rome, Antony perpetuates the idea that Caesar was not ambitious and his murder was unjust. By the end of his reasoning, Antony has supplied his audience with multiple counts of Caesar’s benevolence and ensured their agreement. This agreement is strengthened by Antony’s emotional appeals; he creates these through his utilization of both imagery and a visual aid. In utilizing imagery, Antony discusses the conspirators’ relationships with Caesar and notes that Brutus, their leader, was “Caesar’s angel” (Shakespeare). In mentioning this, Antony creates a visual of pureness and good in association to Brutus and then overturns it by discussing how Brutus brutally murdered Caesar, his closest friend.

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129 Words | 1 Pages

As the play progresses, Marc Antony’s manipulative nature is revealed and is especially evident in his shrewd use of rhetoric in Caesar’s eulogy. To bolster his underlying claim that Caesar’s murder was unwarranted and the conspirators should be held liable, he uses several rhetorical devices. Throughout his speech, Antony reiterates the caustic line, “Brutus says he was ambitious, and Brutus is an honorable man” (3.2.95-96). In doing so, he undermines Brutus’ character and disproves his allegation of Caesar’s ambition. Additionally, he poses several rhetorical questions regarding Caesar aimed at provoking thought and emotion in the crowd.

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833 Words | 4 Pages

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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Brutus had to dehumanize Caesar, for if he didn’t, he would never have been able to kill his friend in cold blood. He doubles down unwittingly, continuing to dehumanize Caesar by remaining stoical and logical in public. But there is no defense for murdering Caesar as he did. The name AMBITION became a substitute for the true complicated individual, who was birthed, Julius Caesar. Caesar became a concept or principle in Brutus’ mind, not a friend or person managing a very difficult job.

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She uses this technique to draw Brutus into her demands, insisting that since she has such compelling emotions, and even "Giving [herself] a voluntary wound /Here, in the thigh for Brutus" even further showing her adoration for Brutus and her urgency to be of service to him as a wife. Antony uses an antithesis as well as a paralipsis to emphasize Caesar’s positive actions and cause the Plebians to question the conspirators' actions. While juxtaposing contrasting ideas, Antony repeats the phrase “Brutus is an honorable man” while simultaneously implying the opposite (Shakespeare 3.2.103). This contrast between Brutus' perceived honor and his act of regicide stirs doubt and begins to sway the Roman audience to see the truth behind the conspirators, especially Brutus’ true intent behind assassinating Caesar. Since Antony speaks in a tone of sarcasm but speaks favorably of Brutus on the surface, it allows Antony to create a facade to the Roman public and criticize Brutus without directly stating so, making the audience feel like they are helping Antony piece the truth

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Let not a traitor live! (3.2.217)” in reference to Bruits an Honorable man” exemplifies the function of his irony as for brutis as a traitor which has a dishonest connotation and is not honest. Repetition of “ambition” contradicts Brutis’ notion of Caesar's ambition and implies that Brutis strives for what Caesar stood against, ambition, referenced by recollection of offering him the crown “which he did thrice refuse (3.2.106)”. Questioning the instated lack of Caesar's ambition, Antony references “Yet Brutis says he was ambitious (3.2.102)” later followed by the irony of “For Brutis is an Honorable man” flipping the narrative and

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872 Words | 4 Pages

By viewing the Antony’s speech through the acts of the intellect, it becomes apparent that the illogical flaws trump the logical strengths in his argument. Developing propositions through juxtaposition and conditionals, Antony weaves a complex syllogism to argue his stance that Caesar was unjustly slain. Considering the implied conditional in Brutus’ earlier speech: Since Brutus has “honor”, his statement that Caesar “was ambitious” is accurate, and therefore Caesar’s murder was just. Antony strives to decimate Brutus’ reasoning and develops his propositions that Brutus lacked honor and Caesar ambition using aspects of the second act of the intellect. He juxtaposes Caesar’s ambition with Brutus’ honor.

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673 Words | 3 Pages

Antony brings up the will and ransoms to show all that he left to the people, showing how truly selfless he was, and how much he cared for his citizens, and all he did for their benefit. He brings up the many times Caesar was offered the crown and turned it down. This contradicts Brutus saying the he was ambitious, considering someone who really was ambitious would have accepted the crown without a second thought. During the speech he says that if if he were Brutus, and Brutus were him, then he would cause an uproar. Further encouraging the crowd to turn against the

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1426 Words | 6 Pages

Through his rhetorical question, Antony also reinforces the skepticism building in the plebeians. Antony further appeals to the Roman people’s emotions through the connotation of “wept” and “cries,” suggesting that Caesar felt deeply for the Plebeian plight. Thus, Mark Antony created an image of a compassionate and empathetic individual that greatly conflicted with the ambitious and stoic character previously accepted by the Romans. In conclusion, Shakespeare’s characters effectively use the rhetorical devices of rhetorical questions, emotional appeals, and classical allusion to challenge their old perceptions of social expectations in Roman society. Cassius convincing Brutus of Caesar’s incapacities, Portia convincing Brutus of her trustworthiness to reveal his secrets, and Mark Anthony convincing the people to turn against the conspirators were but a few significant shifts within the plot of Julius Caesar that led to Caesar’s assassination and the subsequent conflict between Mark Anthony and

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521 Words | 3 Pages

While Brutus spoke well, but had no real factual standpoint, Antony gave many examples of Caesar’s achievements. In his speech he uses Pathos, Logos, Ethos, and Situational Irony to sway his audience. He uses Brutus’ and Cassius’ precious honor and Caesar’s achievements against them, saying, “When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept./ Ambition should be made of sterner stuff./ Yet Brutus says he was ambitious,/ And Brutus is an honorable man” (3.2.90-93). In this statement and many other statements following the same pattern Antony degrades the honor and the arguments of Caesar’s ambition that were made by Brutus and the other conspirators.

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592 Words | 3 Pages

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’

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884 Words | 4 Pages

Brutus delivers his speech in a laudatory manner by conveying Caesar’s deeds and claiming he was ambitious, although Antony contradicts Brutus’ claims and says Caesar spurned the crown with the intent to merely rule as a de facto dictator. Brutus’ speech reveals his motives were truly for the benefit of Rome given his nationalistic tone and Antony’s speech was merely used to obscure his true motives, which was to embroil Rome in a series of civil wars to attain power. Brutus and Antony’s speeches consisted predominantly of Pathos and Ethos, but it is Antony who ultimately it is Antony who prevails because of his almost disingenuous attitude and even use of Logos which is seen when claims that reading Caesar’s will would dishonor his compeers and even Caesar

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754 Words | 4 Pages

In this scene Caesar has been murdered by the conspirators including Brutus. Brutus is one of Caesar's good friends who is driven by honor; who thought Caesar’s ambition was going to be the end of Rome. Antony is a very loyal friend of Caesar’s who does not agree with the conspirators. Brutus and Antony are both smart well thought out characters. They desire to persuade the commoners to their side of the situation.

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