Julius Caesar Discussion Questions

He repeats the phrase, “Brutus is an honorable man” (3.2. 107-117) until the words became a way of mocking him. The Romans turned against Brutus, who had spoken previously with his untrue and generic statements in Caesar’s

As noble and great as Brutus might be, all tragic heroes have some tragic flaws and make some errors of judgment, which leads them to their downfall. In this case Brutus's great flaw is that he is too honorable, and he's too naïve when he is dealing with people. An example of an error of judgment is when Brutus underestimates Antony, and thinks him incapable of being dangerous after Caesar's death, "For Antony is but a limb of Caesar...he can do no more than Caesar's arm When Caesar's head is off."  This turns out not to be the case. One example of Brutus's excessive honor being damaging to him, is when he decides that only Caesar should die and no one else even if they seem to threaten his cause, as Cassius warns repeatedly that Antony does.

“But yesterday the word of Caesar might have stood against the world and now he lies there”( Act 3 Scene2). Antony's use of pathos is evident

In, “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar,” Brutus believes the actions and decisions he makes are justified. He makes it clear that, in his opinion, Caesar should not become king because he would not be able to hold the qualities of someone with that great amount of power. In order to convince the Plebeians to side with him, Brutus uses a variety of rhetorical appeals to persuade them.

The Against All Odds Speech: Rhetoric In Julius Caesar In Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, the purpose of the funeral speeches was for Brutus and Antony to give an explanation about Caesar’s death and to manipulate the audience to agree with their opinion on whether Caesar deserved to die. Although Brutus’s use of logos influences the plebians, Antony uses logos more effectively to give the most powerful speech at Caesar's funeral. Brutus is a man who lives for honor and is very loyal to his country. His loyalty is tested when he must choose to either protect his country from a tyrant or kill his friend.

Julius Caesar Argumentative Essay Imagine a world where loyalty and betrayal collide, where personal convictions shape destinies, and where the consequences of one's actions reverberate through history. This is the world we enter when we delve into Brutus' funeral speech for Julius Caesar. Prior to the speeches, the Roman Republic was in a state of confusion following the assassination of Julius Caesar. In the assassination, Brutus wasn’t the only one who had committed the murder, it was both Brutus & Antony, and they had found themselves in positions of shaping public opinion. Brutus was known for his good character and deep love for Rome, he believed that Caesar’s desire caused a threat to the republic.

In William Shakespeare's play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, two speeches are given to the people of Rome about Caesar's death. In Act 3, Scene 2 of this play Brutus and Antony both try to sway the minds of the Romans toward their views. Brutus tried to make the people believe he killed Caesar for a noble cause. Antony tried to persuade the people that the conspirators committed an act of brutality toward Caesar and were traitors. The effectiveness and ineffectiveness of both Antony's and Brutus's speech to the people are conveyed through tone and rhetorical devices.

The speech of Brutus was very loud and demanding. He seemed to have a sense of selfishness. In the beginning, he calls the plebeians Romans, countrymen, and lovers. (Act III Scene II Line 13) He stood above the Roman people, as if to attempt an emphasis in his non existent power. (Movie clip) Brutus stated that he

In Brutus’s speech he talked about how he loved Rome more than Caesar. Brutus was very gullible, stoic, and also easily persuaded. Throughout his speech he uses fallacies. One example of a fallacy he uses is the either/or. “Had you rather Caesar were living and die all slaves, than that Caesar were dead, to live all free men“ (III, i, 22-24). This makes the Roman people believe that either they going to be slaves or free men. One other thing Brutus uses are logos and ethos. He says, “As Caesar loved me, I weep for him; as he was fortunate, I rejoice at it; as he was valiant, I honor him; but, as he was ambitious, I slew him” (III, i, 24-27). In that quote he tries to

Antony embraces an ironic and sarcastic tone throughout the speech to discredit the conspirators and convince the townspeople

Brutus, a conflicted senator obsessed with his civic duty, convinces the people of Rome that his motives in killing Caesar were just and noble by rhetoric. Brutus is the only conspirator to have impersonal motives in killing Caesar. In fact, his motives are trying to find the best solution for Rome, and in the end, he must make the hard choice of killing his best friend for his homeland. As early as Brutus’ conversation with Cassius in Act I, Brutus exhibits this deep love and respect for Rome and how this love is conflicting with his love for his friend, Caesar: “[P]oor Brutus, with himself at war, / Forgets the shows of love to other men” (I.ii.51-52). Brutus brings up this internal conflict again when he tells the crowds that although he did love Caesar, he loved Rome and its people more. After Brutus’ murder of Caesar, he realizes that the issue of the public opinion of Rome is of the utmost importance. Because of this love for Rome, Brutus uses rhetoric to persuade these plebeians to approve of him and his cause. When Cassius warns Brutus about “how much the people will be moved / By that which [Marc Antony] will utter[!]” (III.i.252-253), Brutus tells Cassius that letting Marc Antony speak “shall advantage us more than do us wrong” (III.i.261). In these cases, Brutus demonstrates his awareness of

By contrast Antony from Julius caesar heavily relies upon the power of language and its ability to exploit the human flaw that is emotion, and by doing so manipulate ones perception through a emotionally (pathos) driven argument. Antony has a greater understanding of the people and knows that they are passionate people who will be swayed by such talk. Also Antony unlike Brutus uses iambic pentameter this shows that he has a higher authority which would make the audience listen more carefully. After each argument Antony produces in Caesar’s defense, he uses irony through the lines “But Brutus says he was ambitious, and Brutus is an honorable man”. This line is repeated a number of times creating an anaphora. As well as slowly dismantling Brutus’

Caesar’s military success made him stand tall for the masses as a hero. “Caesar defeated the sons of the of the Roman General Pompey his archrival.” During Caesar’s time just like today military heroes are regarded as leaders. The Roman citizens were enamored with the powerful Julius Caesar. On page ten, “Mark Antony offered Caesar the crown three times before the cheering crowd. Caesar refuses the crown three times and seems to have a seizure.” The people cheered for their hero. They believed Caesar would make a great king. This situation was used by Cassius to infuriate Brutus and the other co- conspirators to convince them to assassinate Caesar for the good of Rome and the Republic. No one man should have such power. Blindly his co- conspirators fell into his web of deception.

“When the poor cried, Caesar wept” (3.2.189). Similarly to this phrase, Marc Antony uses several literary techniques to paint Julius Caesar in a positive light during his speech. In the play Julius Caesar several conspirators devise a successful plan to murder and overthrow the ruler of Rome. The death of Caesar could easily be seen as the cusp of his impact on the story; however, despite after death, Caesar plays a huge role in further development of the plot. Following his beloved friend’s assassination, Marc Antony delivers a stirring speech that could easily be seen as a critical turning point. Antony cleverly persuades the commoners to join his cause for vengeance. Throughout his empowering speech to the plebeians, William

Brutus speaks to the citizens of Rome to tell them why he killed Caesar, so that they will not turn on him. He talks about how he killed Caesar, not for his personal wants, but for the good of Rome. He tells the people that allowing Caesar to rule and fulfill his