Good public speakers usually use linguistic devices to enhance their speeches. William Shakespeare made sure to include that in his play, Julius Caesar. Julius Caesar is a play about a man that is about to get awarded the crown to Rome but is killed by his close friends. The Roman citizens do not know who to believe and are torn between Antony and Brutus. Antony was Caesar’s best friend and Brutus was one of the conspirators the killed Caesar. The speeches that they give determine who Rome supports, which leads to the death of one of them. Brutus and Antony use pathos, syntax, and diction to create the specific effect of justifying the murder of Caesar for Brutus and turning the crowd against the conspirators for Antony. Brutus and Antony …show more content…
Brutus continuously mentions that Caesar was ambitious. In his famous quote he says, “As Caesar loved me, I weep for him; as he was fortunate, I rejoice at it; as he was valiant, I honor him; but, as he was ambitious, I slew him.” Brutus uses the repetition of ambitious to emphasize the conspirator 's reason for murdering Caesar. By repeating the word “ambitious” he makes sure that the audience knew exactly why Caesar had to be killed. This helps to create the specific effect of justifying the conspirator 's actions because it gives the audience a solid reason for why Caesar was dangerous. However, Antony uses his exact words to negate his argument. He says, “But Brutus says he was ambitious.” He does this in order to show the crowd that the conspirator 's main reason for killing Caesar was wrong. By giving examples of how Caesar wasn’t ambitious, then saying that Brutus said Caesar was ambitious, he turns the crowd against the conspirators, achieving his specific effect. Antony was the more persuasive character in the use of repetition because he was able to disprove the things Brutus said. Brutus’ main argument was that Caesar was ambitious, and Antony purposely disproved his main argument so that the crowd would have no choice but to support