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The Power Of Words In Julius Caesar

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Pearl Strachan Hurd once said, “Handle them carefully, for words have more power than atom bombs.” This quote especially holds true in The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, where a central theme is that words can sway peoples’ opinions. This manipulative manner of words can be seen in this Shakespeare’s play when Calphurnia and Decius are trying to convince Caesar whether he should go to the Senate or stay home, and during the speeches at Caesar’s funeral. This theme is seen when Calphurnia attempts to convince Caesar to not go to the Senate meeting. Calphurnia gets her point across by telling him of horrible omens she saw in her dreams, such as “…In ranks and squadrons and right form of war, which drizzled blood upon the Capitol. The noise of battle …show more content…

After Brutus gives his speech explaining why Caesar had to be murdered, the Plebeians shout praises to Brutus such as, “Caesar’s better parts should be crowned in Brutus,” (3. 2. 54-55). However, after Antony speaks at the funeral, the Plebeians become enraged and chant, “Revenge! About! Seek! Burn! Fire! Kill! Slay! Let not a traitor live!” (3. 2. 216-217). This proves that the words have the ability to influence someone to completely alter their mindset and go from supporting someone to absolutely abhorring someone. Furthermore, the plebeians are so moved by the words contained in Antony’s speech that they are motivated to act on their feelings. This is seen when they encounter Cinna the poet, where one plebeian exclaimed, “Pluck but his name out of his heart, and turn him going,” (3. 3. 35-36). Hence, upon hearing Antony’s speech the plebeians subsequently experienced strong emotions that led them to have to motivation to murder someone. Therefore, this emphasizes that the power of words can be so intense that they act as an impetus to get someone to perform an action one might not usually do. In conclusion, the persuasive nature of words is seen in the plebeians’ reactions to Brutus’s and Antony’s speeches at Caesar’s

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Antony, through the use rhetorical devices of diction and verbal irony, develops an argumentation in order to turn the Plebeians against the conspirators and persuade them to avenge Caesar. Specifically, Antony declares, “Have patience, gentle friends, I must not read it; / It is not meet you know how Caesar loved you. / You are not wood, you are not stone, but men; / And, being men, bearing the will of Caesar, / It will inflame you, it will make you mad: / ‘Tis good you know not that you are his heirs; / For, if you should, O, what would come of it!”

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Following Caesar's death, a funeral is held at which both Brutus and Mark Antony speak. Each attempts to sway the crowd towards their own cause, and both are successful to some degree. However, Antony’s use of rhetorical strategies, figurative language, and tonal shifts allows him to incite enough outrage at the conspirators that Cassius and Brutus are forced to flee the city. The largest component in Antony’s ability to turn the people of Rome against the conspirators is his use of ethos, logos, and pathos.

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Despite Marc Antony’s and Brutus’s funeral speeches both being convincing to the plebians. Br.utus does better than Marc Antony by moving the pleabians opinion to support the killing of Julius Caesar. In Brutus’s speech he uses many rhetorical strategies to engage the public to sway to his motive. Brutus also appeals to the whole crowd, gives reasons to why he killed Caesar, and appeals to the emotions, reasoning, and presents himself as a higher status to the plebeians.

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By refusing to read the will several times and admitting that what it contains will cause the people to have such a great love for Caesar that knowing he is now dead will be unbearable, Antony ignites curiosity in the people and furthermore, a subconscious feeling of respect and graciousness toward Caesar. Basically, Antony uses Caesar’s will to convince the people that Caesar was a selfless, kind-hearted man and those who killed him should be ashamed and punished for killing an innocent man. Through Antony’s use of paralipsis, he is able to plant a seed of admiration for Caesar and one of hate for the conspirators in the hearts of the plebeians. In his speech to the citizens, Antony also asks many rhetorical questions to cause his audience to pause and reflect on how they really feel, or how Antony wants them to feel, about certain people and events that have recently become important. In one instance.

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