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Julius Caesar Rhetorical Devices

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Many people say, “The way to a person’s heart is food.” Some will agree to this statement and some will disagree. The people who disagree will most likely concur that words play a bigger part to appealing to a person than food. The way that a person speaks and uses rhetorical devices play an immense part in the way the audience reacts and responds. Many politicians and public figures manipulate their words to appeal to their audience. Marc Antony, a character in Julius Caesar, a play written by Shakespeare, applies rhetorical devices into most of his lines in the play. He proves this effective when his elaborate plan works out in the end and he emerges the victor. Throughout the play, Marc Antony speaks to a wide number of people and obtains …show more content…

One of the main reasons as to why he won the battle is because Brutus let words get the best of him. Antony is smart in a way that shows he can manipulate his words for his own benefit. Antony did not see Brutus’s suicide coming, but fortunately his death convenienced Antony immensely, earning him victory. To start this off, he mocks Brutus by saying, “In your bad strokes, Brutus, you give good words. Witness the hole you made in Caesar’s heart, Crying ‘Long live, hail, Caesar!’” (5.1.30-32). Antony uses a taunting tone to mock and agitate Brutus because he knows that Brutus will take it whole-heartedly in a negative way. Though “bad” and “good” aren’t generally known to be descriptive adjectives, they really are descriptive in this quote. At first Antony attacks with an insult straight to Brutus, but rebounds with complimenting his words only to attack again with “hole you made in Caesar’s heart.” This could hurt anyone, and it did a great deal to Brutus, and these words stick with him all the way to his suicide. As Brutus dies with Antony’s words in mind, the battle is ultimately decided as his victory. Again, rhetorical devices work in favor of

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“But if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought.” (George Orwell, 1984). William Shakespeare intensified his quality of work by insinuating manipulative and persuasive language within his writing. Cassius, a loyal server to Brutus, was easy to coax Brutus into rebelling against Julius Caesar, gaining an additional member to his group of conspirators. Cassius altered Brutus’ thoughts of Caesar’s ruling, within the use of multiple effective rhetorical techniques.

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Brutus starts off the speech by telling the audience his reasoning for Caesar’s murder, getting the crowd on his side. Knowing how to use devices properly gives Antony an advantage of winning over the audience. He uses all rhetorical appeals by repetition, deductive reasoning, and restating Brutus’ opposing viewpoints fairly and accurately. Antony provides a strong speech with many rhetorical devices to push the audience to agree with his argument. One of Antony’s best appeals was pathos.

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In William Shakespeare’s historical play, Julius Caesar, Brutus and Antony’s logical use of literary devices and rhetorical appeals

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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

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He wanted to take care of the people. By saying all this he tries to point out why Brutus was wrong with saying the reason he killed Caesar was because he was ambitious. As Antony speaks, he continues to repeat the line that "Brutus was an honorable man." He does this so that the crowd will catch onto his sarcasm. Brutus only allowed Antony to come speak if he would only say good things about Brutus, so Antony decides to use repetition and sarcasm as well as a way to engage the

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The motivation behind Antony’s actions was completely selfish as he wanted to defend and avenge Caesar, gain power by giving himself credibility as Caesar’s right hand man, and unleash utter chaos in Rome by invoking civil war. Antony’s speech was able to completely reverse the effects that Brutus’ speech had simply because people care more about what agitates their emotions, rather than what logically makes more sense to

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By appealing to logic, Brutus says “Would you rather that Caesar be alive and you be slaves?” He deduces in this excerpt that it is only logical that he be killed, otherwise his power would have overtaken Rome. Antony applies this same strategy when he says, “Caesar was a war hero who brought back captives for ransom that benefitted Rome.” Antony draws attention to the fact that Caesar benefited Rome, so logically, it makes no sense to kill him due to these benefits.

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Antony is sarcastic whenever he says brutus is an honorable man and calls him out on his faults and choices. In the text Antony says “He hath brought many captives home to rome whose ransoms did the general coffers fill:Did this in caesar seem ambitious?”. This is when Antony uses an example and a rhetorical question to show that brutus was wrong and that caesar was a good man and wasn’t ambitious. Secondly, Antony did a better job because of the way he pulled everyone in and included logistic examples.

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She uses this technique to draw Brutus into her demands, insisting that since she has such compelling emotions, and even "Giving [herself] a voluntary wound /Here, in the thigh for Brutus" even further showing her adoration for Brutus and her urgency to be of service to him as a wife. Antony uses an antithesis as well as a paralipsis to emphasize Caesar’s positive actions and cause the Plebians to question the conspirators' actions. While juxtaposing contrasting ideas, Antony repeats the phrase “Brutus is an honorable man” while simultaneously implying the opposite (Shakespeare 3.2.103). This contrast between Brutus' perceived honor and his act of regicide stirs doubt and begins to sway the Roman audience to see the truth behind the conspirators, especially Brutus’ true intent behind assassinating Caesar. Since Antony speaks in a tone of sarcasm but speaks favorably of Brutus on the surface, it allows Antony to create a facade to the Roman public and criticize Brutus without directly stating so, making the audience feel like they are helping Antony piece the truth

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William Shakespeare, in his tragedy Julius Caesar, uses the rhetorical devices of a rhetorical question, repetition of the word “ambitious,” and a direct reference in Antony 's speech to persuade the plebeians to rebel against the conspirators. Antony appeals to the pathos, ethos, and logos of the audience to get them to exile the conspirators. Shakespeare uses a rhetorical question in Antony’s speech to get the plebeians to notice the wrongdoings of the conspirators and excite them to revolt. Antony discusses the economic dominance and vigor that Caesar brought to Rome, and with sarcasm he states, “Did this in Caesar seem ambitious?” (3.2.99).

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William Shakespeare, in his tragedy Julius Caesar, uses the rhetorical devices of a rhetorical question, repetition of the word ambitious, and direct reference in Antony 's speech to instigate the plebeians and persuade them to rebel against the conspirators. Antony pulls on the pathos, ethos, and logos of the audience to get them to exile the conspirators. Shakespeare uses a rhetorical question in Antony’s speech to get the plebeians to notice the wrongdoings of the conspirators and excite them to rebel. Antony discusses the money that Caesar left to the countrymen, and with sarcasm he states, “Did this in Caesar seem ambitious?” (3.2.99).

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He successfully accomplishes his objective of convincing the mob that Brutus is a traitor and the conspirators are at fault. He played with emotions which was the right thing to do rather than applying logic. He used emotional phrases such as, "My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar" and "Oh judgment; thou art fled to brutish beasts". Which allows him to have a connect with the crowds feeling at the death of Caesar .Antony does not let the restriction of going against the conspirators hinder his speech. He begins not by attacking Brutus or the conspirators, but by praising Caesar.

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