Sam Kim Mr. Kuszak Pre-AP English 10 1.8.16 The Power of Persuasion in Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Julius Caesar In The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, a main concept of the play is persuasion. This appears all throughout this play, from Cassius persuading Brutus to kill off Caesar to Antony’s speech, persuading the people to be against Brutus. The power of persuasion is not only used by the characters in the play, but by Shakespeare himself. In a discussion we had during class, there was a very interesting point that was brought up. Shakespeare could’ve used Julius Caesar to relay a message, which could tie into why there was so much persuasion throughout the play. The power of persuasion is used throughout the play to trigger many misfortunate events, most notably Antony’s speech to prove to the people that Caesar’s death was not justified. I believe that the power of persuasion was the most important role in the play, and in the end, brought destruction upon Brutus. In the beginning of the play, we see the cobbler leading the people down the streets because of Caesar’s triumph. “What conquest brings he home?...O you hard hearts, you cruèl men of Rome, Knew you not Pompey?” (1.1.32-39) says Murellus. This part …show more content…
But right after Antony’s speech, the audience was shaken and immediately turned away from Brutus, showing the power of Antony’s manipulation. Through comments like “We’ll burn down the house of Brutus” (3.2.232) and “O traitors, villains” (3.2.201), we clearly see that Antony successfully overtook the minds of the citizens. Brutus thought what he did was right for Rome, but now Antony has turned him into a criminal/traitor in the eyes of the people, which led Brutus to have no choice but to run. Our main