Julius Caesar was a powerful general and politician of Rome. He had many friends and many enemies as well. One of his closest friends goes by the name of Marc Antony who was not only the lover of Cleopatra, but another Roman general that worked under Caesar. As history states, Brutus, a senator of Rome, was frightened that Caesar would become too powerful and become King of Rome. In order to prevent this from happening, 60 conspirators, all led by Brutus, stabbed Caesar to death. At his funeral, Antony gives a speech in which addresses the mob siding with Brutus that is celebrating his death. In his speech, Antony uses a variety of appeals in order to convince the mob that Brutus should be held accountable for the death of Caesar. Antony’s …show more content…
Toward the center of his speech, Antony says that he “thrice presented him a kingly crown/which he did thrice refuse…” (24-25). This is the evidence that establishes the premise that Caesar was not the ambitious man that Brutus thought him to be due to the fact that an ambitious person seeks power and they would have taken the crown without second thought. Caesar did not take the crown which means that he isn’t an ambitious person. This premise then leads to the conclusion that Brutus should be held accountable because if Brutus’ reason for killing Caesar was wrong, then he murdered an innocent man, which means that he needs to be held accountable like any …show more content…
Towards the end of his speech, Antony states the following: “You all did love him once, not without cause:/What cause withholds you then, to mourn for him?” (30-31). At the funeral, the mob is there to celebrate and cheer for the death of a man that they once had held love for. As Antony reveals the truth that Caesar was innocent of the claims made by Brutus, this creates shame because they’re essentially supporting the wrong man and betraying the right one. This feeling will then convince the mob to hold Brutus accountable because, if they wish to stop feeling this shame, they will need to stop supporting Brutus and hold him accountable for his