English C9CP1 Ms. Bradley 3/23/2023 Rhetorical Analysis Essay of Julius Caesar Having strong rhetoric is very important to convince people to be on the speaker's side. In the play Julius Caesar, by William Shakespere, rhetoric is used by many characters. The play follows a man named Caesar getting killed by the conspirators. At the funeral, Brutus, Caesar’s killer and conspirator, uses rhetoric to convince the plebeians that killing Caesar was for the greater good of Rome. After Brutus is done speaking, Antony, Caesar's true friend, needs to use rhetoric to convince the plebeians that what Brutus and the other conspirators did was very bad even though the audience is already on Brutus' side. In Antony’s speech, he applies repetition …show more content…
In the speech Antony tells the plebeians that “[Caesar] was [Antony’s] friend faithful and just to [him]” (Julius Caesar 3.2.94). Caesar was Antony's friend and his friend was just killed so the plebeians should take a minute to listen to him. Antony is trying to make the plebeians feel bad so that they will hear him out or listen. Antony starts Guilt Tripping the plebeians to make the plebeians feel bad and starts listening to him and hearing him out. Antony starts to Guilt Tripping Because he already knows the plebians are already on Brutus's side. The plebeians will start to feel bad because Antony just lost his best friends so they have to listen to him. At the speech Antony is talking to the plebians saying Caesar was my best friend and when Caesars died “[Antonyms] heart is in the coffin there with Caesar”(Julius Caesar 3.2.116) Antonys soul died when his best friend Caesar died. Antony is telling the plebeians how he loved Caesar so much that when he died he also died inside too, making the plebeians feel bad so they will hear him out. Antony starts the guilt trip saying how much he loved Caesar. Antony tells the plebeians this to make them feel bad and hear him out. The audience starts to actually listen to Antony because they feel his pain, and Antony can continue to talk. When Antony is speaking he calls the plebians “Good friends, sweet friends”(Julius …show more content…
At the funeral Antony's goal is to make Brutus the bad guy. For example, Antony always points out that “when the poor cried, Caesar wept” (Julius Caesar 3.2.100). However, he also points out that “Brutus says he was ambitious” (Julius Caesar 3.2.103). How was Caesar ambitious if he helped the poor? Antony is trying to clear Caesar's name saying he is not ambitious and gives examples about how Caesar was not ambitious. Antony gives the plebeians factual evidence proving that Caesars was not ambitious. Antony does this to clear Caesar's name proving how he wasn't ambitious. The plebeians do believe Antony now sense he have them actual proof that he was not ambitious. Before Caesar died all of “[The plebeians] did love him once”(Julius Caesar 3.2.111) inferring that the plebeians should not change their minds just because someone tells them too, they should believe in themselves. Antony is trying to convince the plebeians that Caesar was not a bad man and that they should not change their mind just because someone tells them too. Antony uses the bandwagon to make the plebeians feel love towards Caesar again. He knows that if he gets the plebeians to remember the time they loved Caesar they will start changing their minds. He does this to make the plebeians know that they all loved Caesar and they should not change their mind just because someone said something else.