The Manipulation of Rome “O judgment! thou art fled to brutish beasts”(Shakespeare.III.ii.103). In Julius Caesar, the key protagonists, Brutus and Antony, witness the death of Caesar, Rome's powerful leader. Brutus believes that the death of Caesar benefits Rome, but Antony on the other hand, believes that Caesar was wronged and wants to avenge his dear friend. Both characters push their beliefs onto Rome through their speaking styles and personalities. In Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, Brutus and Antony use rhetorical methods to craft a persuasive appeal that will make them more compelling when presenting their side to the audience. The purpose of Brutus' speech is to persuade his fellow citizens that the conspirators' actions were beneficial …show more content…
During his speech, he refers back to his relationship with Caesar, telling the audience that he "weep[s] for [Caesar]" and "honor[s] him," even though Caesar was too ambitious to rule Rome(III.ii.20-24). To highlight his relationship with Caesar, Brutus uses anaphora to represent his use of ethos. He intends to make it clear that personal relations between him and Caesar were not the cause of the assassination; rather, for the good of Rome together. Brutus builds a foundation for his argument so that the plebeians could trust him and justify his actions. In order to further explain the motivation behind Caesar's execution, Brutus recalls the "honor for [Caesar's] valor," but assures Rome that Caesar’s "death” was caused by “his ambition" (III.ii.25). Brutus highlights Caesar's honor then pushes the agenda of an ambitious Caesar to bring him down. By doing so, Brutus introduces a logical perspective to the audience through the use of parallelism. Caesar's "ambition" is used as a derogatory concept by Brutus to show how bad of a leader he …show more content…
To get the audience to "lend [him their] ears", Antony addresses the crowd as his friends (III.ii.70). Antony utilizes metonymy to present an ethical viewpoint. He gets the crowd to believe him by inviting the citizens to come together and listen. Antony wants to demonstrate to the crowd his good intentions and that Caesar is a member of "the good [that] is oft interred with their bones" (III.ii.73). Through his use of language, he hopes that the audience would be able to sense his emotional appeal of sorrow over the passing of his dear friend. He attended this burial to put things right for Caesar and for the public to see. With the help of his diction, he can draw the audience's attention and pique their interest in learning more about the excellent things that Caesar performed before his death. Although Antony does not disparage Brutus, he does call him "an honorable man" (III.ii.84). Antony uses irony to get attention from the populace rather than breaking the rule he was given. He uses logical appeal to dissect Brutus's proof in order to support his argument. He wants the audience to consider whether Brutus deserves the kind of respect that they are now giving him or whether his acts make him someone who does not deserve it. By making the plebians believe Antony is engaging with good intentions, showing them his grief over his