Julius Caesar Rhetorical Analysis Essay

In William Shakespeare’s play, “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar,” Mark Antony gives a speech to a fictitious audience, attempting to turn the common people against the conspirators by proving Caesar’s innocence. He supports his attempt by establishing his credibility, refuting Brutus’ claims with logical arguments and using the commoners’ emotions to turn them to his side. This is accomplished via his good character, humility, and by using the commoners’ memories. His purpose is to prove Caesar’s innocence and to turn his audience against the assassins in a roundabout way because he was forbidden from speaking negatively of the conspirators. He speaks grimly and emotionally to the Roman plebeians who listened to Brutus’s speech on why Caesar had

He begins his speech by stating his intentions: to mourn the death of his beloved friend Caesar and not the defamation of Brutus and his allies. He only refers to the conspirators as honorable men and never talks about them negatively. To the audience, his diction shows that he will give credit when it is due, and makes him appear humble by acknowledging the accomplishments of others. Antony presents to the audience a sense of humility by saying “I fear I am wrong the honorable men/ Whose daggers have stabbed Caesar. I do fear it” (150-151) and by explaining that he doesn’t know why these honorable men committed the murder. He tells them he doesn’t want to dishonor the honorable men responsible for Caesar’s death, and it proves that he is reacting logically instead of emotionally. Antony admits that he doesn’t know why everyone agreed to kill Caesar, and that what he is saying is purely conjecture. His admission of having gaps in his knowledge makes him more amicable, as he admits there are flaws in his argument and he doesn’t pretend to understand the assassin’s motives. Antony’s good character, humility, and honesty improve his credibility in the eyes of the audience and make them more likely to agree with his point of

Through his powerful and emotional diction, he makes the citizens imagine how Caesar must have felt in his final moments, being betrayed by his beloved friends. He uses phrases like “This was the most unkindest cut of all.” (178) about Brutus stabbing him, and he lists out the various perpetrators and where they each stabbed him. His use of imagery makes the audience feel sympathy for Caesar, and anger towards the people who wronged him for what they did. He then tells them how he remembers Caesar putting on his cloak for the first time and makes them remember how Caesar brought glory to Rome. He brings up happy memories so that the audience feels nostalgic and happy, but then reminds them that those memories got taken from them through Caesar’s death. Their nostalgia and happiness over the past will turn to anger because they can’t create new memories with Caesar. Emotions are the best way to manipulate people towards a cause, and Antony did that beautifully by making them happy just to tell them that it isn’t possible