Rhetorical Analysis Of Marc Antony

Marc Antony is the better persuasive speaker due to his utilization of the three appeals: ethos, pathos, and logos. His style involves a great amount of repetition and parallelism, and he utilizes rhetorical devices including epimone and aposiopesis to convey his point. He empathizes with the crowd of Roman citizens, and speaks in a way which allows them to feel comfortable in their own emotions. As Antony is outraged, so are the people; and for these reasons, he is the better speaker. Antony carries the corpse of Caesar to where the Romans can see his lifeless body. Attention is immediately cast from Brutus to Antony and the corpse which he holds; the focus turns back to the feelings of grief and rage. This act conveys to the Roman citizens

His acknowledgement of Brutus saying “[Caesar] was ambitious” (III.ii.82) followed immediately by his saying that Brutus “is an honorable man” (III.ii.83) repetitively shows the crowd that Antony is ungrateful for the conspirators allegedly saving Rome. This repetition becomes sarcastic, creating an ungrateful feeling throughout the crowd. He also repeats good traits of Caesar, including how “He was [Antony’s] friend, faithful and just to [Antony]” (III.ii.81) which establishes an emotional connection between him and the citizens. He uses aposiopesis to display how the assassination has affected him, once again using emotion to persuade the crowd to see the murder the same way he views it. He reminds the citizens that “when that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept” (III.ii.87) which establishes another emotional connection between the fallen leader and the

Logic through rhetorical devices helps convince the people that Caesar’s death was not warranted. Antony had “thrice presented [Caesar] a kingly crown, which he did thrice refuse” (III.ii.92-93); this emphasizes the idea that Caesar was not ambitious or dangerous in any way through evidence. Another piece of evidence Antony mentions is the will of Caesar, in which “he gives, to every several man, seventy-five drachmas… all his walks, his private arbors and new-planted orchards, on this side of Tiber; he hath left them [the people], and to [their] heirs forever -- common pleasures” (III.ii.236-245). This once again is non-falsifiable evidence Caesar did love the Roman citizens, and he wanted the present and future Romans to live in