Mark Antony's Use Of Ethos In The Tragedy Of Julius Caesar

“Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears” (3.2.70). This was the first sentence of a speech that would change the minds of hundreds of Romans. In the play, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, the demise of Julius himself leaves the city of Rome in shock, including his best friend, Mark Antony. In his funeral speech, he uses literary devices like ethos to show the ethical side of things, logos to show the logical thinking behind it all, and pathos to tug on people’s heart strings with emotions. Mark Antony gave a passionate speech that consisted of ethos, logos, and pathos to state facts on the situation that persuaded the citizens of Rome to make their opinions on Brutus and the other conspirators. One of the three literary devices he uses in his speech is ethos. Speaking to the crowd, Antony says, “He

At the beginning of his speech, he starts to begin with how upsetting it is to see his beloved friend have multiple stab wounds. Antony pushes through the tears by saying,“My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar, And I must pause till it come back to me” (3.2.103-104). He reminds the crowd how devastating this is for him and that he needs a minute to regroup before saying anymore, so he doesn’t break down. He then regroups and goes back to his speech, letting the audience talk around. Sometime after, “If you have tears, prepare to shed them now” (3.2.166). Antony brings the will of Caesar, and warns everyone that it might make them upset. He is encouraging people to cry. He knows what the will consists of and knows it will leave everyone emotional afterwards. He reads the contents of Julius Caesar’s will, and leaves everyone in shock, realizing how good of a man Caesar really was, instead of what Brutus had claimed he was. Pathos had a strong effect on the citizens of Rome because pathos made things emotional and pulled the hearts of many