ipl-logo

Julius Caesar Rhetorical Devices

777 Words4 Pages

The well-beloved king of Rome was murdered, leaving the decision of who would take his place in the hands the people. In the play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, written by William Shakespeare, Marc Antony and Brutus give funeral speeches after the death of Julius Caesar. Their goal is to sway the minds of the people to stand on their side, and in the end, Antony has the people exactly where he wants them. Antony dominates the stage with the art of persuasion through his distinguished use of rhetorical devices. Antony outdid Brutus with his strategic application of syntax throughout his speech. Having been beseeched by Brutus to speak only well of him, Antony chose to use duplicity and add double meaning to his sentences. This was shown repeatedly when Antony proclaimed: “Yet …show more content…

While Brutus gave his speech, Antony walked into the forum carrying Caesar’s dead body causing Brutus to stutter and change his train of thought; Antony’s timing was impeccable. Then in the middle of his Antony’s speech, he yanked off Caesar’s cloak revealing his marred body. By doing so, he brought fear and anger into the people, causing their eyes to betray their emotions. Antony moaned: “If you have tears, prepare to shed them now” (III.ii.172). This statement encouraged the people to have empathy to a leader who they once loved. He then gestured at the stab wounds on Caesar’s body and cried: “Look, in this place ran Cassius’ dagger through./See what a rent the envious Casca made./Through this the well-belovèd Brutus stabbed” (III.ii.177-179). In this statement, Antony gave the people a tour of who murdered Caesar and granted them the names of whom to direct their anger, including his predecessor Brutus. Antony’s technique of helping the people remember their love for the once great Caesar and guiding the people’s furious emotions towards Brutus, made him the superior

Show More
Related

Rhetorical Analysis Of Marcus Brutus In Julius Caesar

1037 Words | 5 Pages

“And public reasons shall be rendered Of Caesar’s death.” (Act III, Scene II) In the play, “Julius Caesar” by William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar was killed by a group of conspirators who believed that his rule would result in the downfall of Rome, and that his death was the best solution. Marcus Brutus, who was viewed as the leader of the plot to kill Caesar, was the first to speak at his funeral, followed by Marc Antony. Each man’s speech included several examples of rhetorical strategies that ultimately swayed the audience to be in favor of one side or another. Marcus Brutus gave the better, more argumentative speech due to his effective use of rhetorical strategies.

Read More

Discuss The Use Of Rhetorical Strategies In Julius Caesar

1268 Words | 6 Pages

Another quote, one less straight-forward from Antony’s speech, is one that states, "And they would go and kiss dead Caesar’s wounds and dip their napkins in his sacred blood, (Shakespeare, lines 132-133). This quote, although not as clear as the previous one, also represents how Antony was intelligent in using a sense of emotional appeal to the Romans. This quote, although one that may seem vague, it reveals the idea that these Senators, the ones who were supposed to love Caesar the most, for they were the ones whose opinions mattered most, would wear a mask, appealing to feel sorry and remorse for Caesar, yet, factually speaking, after they murdered Caesar the dipped their swords and rubbed his blood up to their elbows, hence dipping their napkins and dirtying themselves along with their monstrous conscience. One can only imagine the reactions of the Roman people when they heard this quote, how their mouths would drop and they would be left

Read More

Brutus Use Of Rhetorical Devices Used In Julius Caesar

438 Words | 2 Pages

Before stopping his speech Antony weakly delivers his last emotional line of pathos, “My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar, / And I must pause till it come back to me” (III.ii.1650-1651). After this line Antony cries over Caesar’s body and allows the people to discuss what he has said this

Read More

Julius Caesar Rhetorical Analysis Essay

833 Words | 4 Pages

In William Shakespeare’s tragedy Julius Caesar, Mark Antony uses rhetorical devices such as paralipsis, rhetorical questions, and verbal irony in his speech to the plebeians in order to plot them against the conspirators. During his speech to the plebians, Antony uses paralipsis in order to kindle curiosity and interest in the audience. Antony mentions to the plebians that he had Caesar’s will with him but tells them, “Have patience, gentle friends, I must not read it; It is not meet you know how much Caesar loved you” (3.2.152-153). By drawing attention to Caesar’s will, something Antony desperately wants to show the plebeians, but then dismissing the idea of reading it, Antony uses a type of verbal irony called paralipsis. Antony is aware that the contents

Read More

Julius Caesar Rhetorical Devices Essay

601 Words | 3 Pages

Shakespeare is known for his incredible tragic drama writing in which he constructs different types of rhetorical devices to influence the setting, mood, and tone of a play, one being The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. These devices demonstrate the enhancement in a speaker’s attitude, personality, and emotion to get a point across. In one particular scene, Shakespeare works in Mark Antony’s speech where he reads to the Plebeians using various amount of rhetorical devices to get his point across. The purpose for Antony’s speech is to show how Julius Caesar died in vain, how the Plebeians are now supporting his murders, and how the Plebeians are not being open minded about the situation. Mark Antony uses repetition to enhance his sarcasm to potentially help his speech influence the Plebeians behavior in a convincing manner, making them turn on Brutus through emotional appeal.

Read More

Julius Caesar Rhetorical Devices Essay

1258 Words | 6 Pages

He delivers an oration in order to defend himself. On the other hand, Mark Antony wants to persuade the audience that Brutus is guilty. He is not allowed to speak directly, which is why Antony uses special rhetorical devices. While reading the Act III, scene II of

Read More

Julius Caesar Rhetorical Analysis

414 Words | 2 Pages

In the Tragedy of Julius Caesar written by William Shakespeare, Caesar's greatest supporter Antony expertly utilizes repetition and pathos to incite a once-peaceful crowd of mourners to a violent angry mob. In the beginning of Antony’s funeral oration for Julius Caesar he says “Here, under leave of Brutus and the rest - / For Brutus is an honorable man; / So are they all, all honorable men” (3.2.81-83). Antony begins by acknowledging that he has been given the permission to speak at the funeral and he notes that they are “honorable men”. However, as the speech progresses, Antony subtly alters his tone each time he repeats the phrase. Every time Antony repeats that phrase he adds a note of sarcasm.

Read More

Examples Of Ethos In Julius Caesar

445 Words | 2 Pages

In William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, Antony’s memorable and powerful speech uses pathos, logos, and verbal irony to influence the citizens to rebel against Brutus and the conspirators. When Antony was giving his speech about Caesar, he claims that “When that the poor have cried, Caesar have wept,”(III, ii, 92). Mark Antony cleverly implies that Caesar was not ambitious as Brutus claims he is. He tries to disprove to the audience that Brutus is not honorable or trustworthy by stating that Caesar wept for the poor and the unfortunate people. Antony influenced the audience to be sympathetic towards Caesar, for he is not an evil man as the conspirators claim he is.

Read More

Ethical Appeal In Julius Caesar

818 Words | 4 Pages

Brutus wants to make the crowd feel like he is in a way the victim. In order to do that he says "As Caesar loved me I weep for him" so in a way the people feel bad for him. This emotional appeal did not persuade the audience considering the fact that he was if he truly did love Caesar as much as he said he would, then he would have tried to find a different route in getting rid of Caesar as emperor. Antony goes with the approach of making the people of Rome feel guilty. He tells the citizens "You all love him once not without cause what cause withholds you then to mourn for him" so they could reflect on their attitude towards his death.

Read More

Ethos Pathos Logos In Julius Caesar

437 Words | 2 Pages

After reading excerpts from Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, write an essay that compares Brutus’ speech with Marc Antony’s speech and argues the effectiveness of the rhetorical devices (ethos, pathos, logos) used in each. Be sure to support your position with evidence from the texts. William Shakespeare writes a play about Julius Caesar’s assassination and the speeches his friends gave at his funeral. In the play, Brutus assassinated Caesar because he thought he was protecting Rome. He was saying that if Caesar got all the power he would most likely become vicious and make everyone his slaves.

Read More

Antony's Speech Using Rhetorical Appeals In Julius Caesar

949 Words | 4 Pages

Antony uses rhetorical appeals and techniques in his speech to turn the people of Rome against those conspiring against Caesar. As a result, the people see Antony as a persuasive and strong leader of Rome. Antony opens his speech at Caesar’s funeral by using ethos to present himself as a credible source and a friend of Caesar. Antony states his purpose in the beginning of his speech by starting with “I come to bury

Read More

Julius Caesar Turning Point Essay

456 Words | 2 Pages

At the beginning of the speech, he says, “I am here to bury Caesar, not praise him. My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar, And I must pause till it come back to me.” He dramatically turns away from the audience to “hide his tears”. In this line, Antony uses his “heart in the coffin” as a metaphor to show how heartbroken he is over Caesar’s death. He had to “pause until it came back to him” to captivate the seriousness in his emotions and persuade the audience that he was actually mourning the tragedy.

Read More

Double Meaning Of Speech In Shakespeare's Julius Caesar

948 Words | 4 Pages

To conclude this analyzation of Brutus’s and Antony’s funeral speeches, even though both men shared the same purpose of their speeches, both of the speeches differ majorly from one another in many points that were addressed within the speech such as: emotion, tone, reaction from crowd, position, repetitive phrases, main points, and double meaning words that were found within the

Read More

Rhetorical Appeals In Brutus

755 Words | 4 Pages

(3.2.73).Then Antony continues to talk to the crowded about how he thought that caesar will be remembered for the bad he did and will be buried with the good that he did for people around the town. ”The evil that men do lives after them;The good is oft interrèd with their bones. So let it be with Caesar”.(3.2.74).He has yet to use one of the Rhetorical Appeals in his speech to use to get the crowded on his side backing him up. It is not till later on in the speech he uses Pathos to play with their Emotions “When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept”.(3.2.90).Saying how he is sad to see that Caesar was killed,Stating that he misses him and that he will cry about this moment. He does not focus on how he cares he just states three or four lines that show he cares the rest of the time he is talking about what caesar had done.

Read More

A Rhetorical Analysis Of Marc Antony's Speech

617 Words | 3 Pages

Marc Antony uses repetition throughout to strengthen his speech. Repetition is the action of repeating something that has already been said or written. Five times during his speech he repeats, “Brutus is an honorable man” (3.2. 94). Antony was not being very serious when he stated this. The statement was sarcastic.

Read More

More about Julius Caesar Rhetorical Devices

Open Document