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The Power Of Words In Julius Caesar

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Do you know the saying “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me?” This wildly popular saying, simply put, means that while physical attacks may injure me, words can’t ever cause me physical harm. This may be true, but how powerful can our words be? There are many points in the play Julius Caesar, as well as in real life, that go to show that words can truly be impactful. Because of this, they can be used in a good way or a bad way. Words are more powerful than weapons because they can be very influential, it can be easy to twist the truth, and they can cause really strong emotions in people. First, words can be very influential. In the play Julius Caesar, a perfect example of this is when Cassius is talking to Casca …show more content…

This is something that weapons can’t necessarily do. Weapons cause minimal emotions like fear, and sometimes anger. Words, however, can touch so many more emotions like joy, sadness, confusion, fear, disappointment, hopefulness. In the play Julius Caesar, a good example of this is when Cassius and Brutus are fighting near the end. “You wronged yourself to write in such a case.”(4.3.6) At this point, Brutus is calling Cassius dishonorable for thinking that they should let bribery slide. This argument was sparked from a previous issue they had. After Brutus called Cassius dishonorable, Cassius and Brutus continued to argue. Brutus told Cassius “Go to! You are not, Cassius.”(4.3.35) Basically, he was asking to leave because they were both saying disrespectful things about one another. By the end of the argument, Cassius pulled out a knife and stated that Brutus killed Caesar out of love, and that Cassius is not receiving love from Brutus right now, basically suggesting murder. This snapped them both into reality, and they understood that they were being dramatic and that what they were saying was absurd and they should calm down a resolve their issues. This shows us two great things. First, words can escalate situations very quickly if they are used in a way that is intended to hurt others. Secondly, simply by using our words in a more respectful manner, we can solve those same issues. This provides two really great examples of the power that words can have, whether positive or

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During a fiery dispute at the tents, Brutus is infuriated and accuses Cassius of corrupting his army: “Let me tell you, Cassius, you yourself are much condemned to have an itching palm to sell and mart your offices for gold to undeservers.” Brutus is accusing Cassius of selling important positions in his army to unqualified people. With unqualified army officials, Cassius’s army has a likely chance to fail. Brutus now realizes that Cassius had manipulated him and only cared for money and political power. Brutus is deeply angered because he killed Caesar to combat corruption: “Did not great Julius bleed for justice' sake?

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Not only does Cassius explain that his conflict is not meaningless, but he also holds himself to Brutus’s own judgment. Cassius powerfully has Brutus evaluate whether he is trustworthy instead of feeding Brutus credentials. Once his trust is bought, Cassius began to contrive doubt into Brutus’s mind about Caesar. Furthermore, ethos was used to ignite Brutus’s flame within. Cassius elegantly builds an allusion to a former founder of Rome, Brutus, who “ would have

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In Cassius’s speech to his brother he uses the method Ethos and establishes credibility and appeals to ethics or morals. One of the ways he does this is by saying that “[their] fathers say There was a Brutus once who would have brook’d The eternal devil” (Shakespeare 20-21). This shows that wiser people before them said that Brutus was strong and therefore, lends a hand towards Cassius’s argument that he should take action. Also by stating “I, as Aeneas, our great ancestor Did from the flames of troy upon his shoulder… Did I the tired Caesar” (Shakespeare 20-21).

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