Marc Antony’s speech to the plebeians at Julius Caesar’s funeral on the Ides of March presented the idea that Caesar’s actions were verifiable. However, Antony also bent the truth in order to earn the support and trust of the plebeians. This should not be taken lightly as it irresponsibly and intentionally aroused the plebeians into chaos and violence. Antony began his funeral oration by proclaiming that the conspirators were “honorable men.” However, as his speech progressed, it seemed clear that his intentions were the opposite. Consequently, the plebeians were moved when Antony casted aspersions upon the credibility of the “honorable” Brutus and his claim that he loved Rome more than Caesar. Antony told the story of Caesar on Lupercal, …show more content…
This is completely untrue since Antony was not present for the assassination of Caesar. Yet, he asserted that he knew where Caesar was stabbed, which excited the crowd. Antony also claimed many things that were fake truths. He says that “when the poor cried, Caesar did too.” He also claimed that Caesar denying the crown three times on Lupercal was a symbol of his humility; however, Caesar’s rejection of the coronet proved to be Caesar’s manipulation of deception to win the people over. He triggered the people and stirred them up to vengeance against the conspirators through their guilt, emotion, and sense of patriotism. Moreover, Antony teased the crowd with Caesar’s will, asserting that he knew the contents of it but that he had no plans to read it to them. In fact, Antony did not read Caesar’s will until he had built the crowd’s desire for revenge that they could hardly wait to hear of Caesar's bequests. When he insinuated that Cassius was envious and Brutus treasonous, the plebeians were incited to burn the house of Brutus and to “revenge his [Caesar’s] death!” Having incited the members of the body politic to chase off the conspirators, Antony engineered the mischief to achieve discord and