Mark Antony’s use of rhetorical devices helped turn the crowd against the conspirators in multiple ways in the play Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare. Mark Antony was Caesar’s best friend and right hand man. Caesar was killed by the conspirators because they thought he was ambitious and was trying to take all the power and become king. The conspirators gave Antony specific rules for what he could and could not say when he gave his speech at Caesar’s funeral. Mark Antony’s use of motifs, personality traits, and rhetorical devices such as the appeal to ethos, logos, and pathos, and repetition in Julius Caesar help convince the crowd to rebel against the conspirators. Mark Antony’s appeal to the crowd’s ethos, logos, and pathos, helps him …show more content…
Mark Antony says, “Yet Brutus says he [Caesar] was ambitious.” This quote was used a grand total of three times in act 1 scene 2 on lines 95, 107, and 102. This excerpt is used to show that Caesar was not determined to take the crown and rule Rome. Each time this quote was used, Antony gave examples of how Caesar really wasn’t ambitious, such as when he says, “I thrice presented him the kingly crown, which he did thrice refuse” (3.2.105-106). This quote shows that if Caesar really was ambitious, then he would have taken the crown and become king, but instead he refused. Not only did he refuse once, but three times. These examples shows many examples as to why Caesar was not ambitious did not want to be king. Antony repeats the phrase, “And Brutus is an honorable man.” This quote was repeated in act one scene two in lines 96, 103, and 108. Each time this quote is said, Antony had recently described why Brutus is honorable, such as when he says, “He hath brought many captives home to Rome” (3.2.97). This quote paints Brutus as a hero for bringing Roman people held in foreign lands home. The quote also brings to question Brutus’s own motives, questioning if he performed these gallant acts because he himself is ambitious. The quote also questions why Brutus conspired against his best friend if he is so honorable. Antony talks a lot about “Honorable men” or “Honorable man.” He uses the quotes for a collective total of seven times. The quotes are used in act one scene two in lines 91, 92, 103, 108, 136, 149, 163. Antony was given a set of specific rules before giving his speech, one of which was that he can not talk bad about the conspirators. Antony uses the word honorable to make it seem as though the truthful and possibly bad things he says about the conspirators was not as bad since they were still honorable, but none the less, Antony got
Antony says about how Brutus is an honourable man, and how Brutus said that Caesar was ambitious, but Antony talks about all the wonderful things he had done, which don’t seem very ambitious. Antony talks about how even when presented with the crown, the crown of Rome, he had refused three times. ( THREE? I couldn’t even last one, but alright.) and how this was not
I thrice presented him a kingly crown, which he did thrice refuse. Was this ambition?" (Shakespeare Act 3 Scene 2 Lines 86-89, ). Every time Antony is able to counteract something Brutus says with facts he repeats the same few words, "Yet Brutus says he was ambitious, and Brutus is an honorable man." (Shakespeare Act 3 Scene 2 Lines 80-81, 84-85, 92-93). Antony makes sure to never directly say that Brutus is not an honorable man, but as he continuously states that Brutus is honorable it begins to lose meaning and worth. Antony indirectly shows that Brutus is not as honorable as he proves to be and deteriorates Brutus' justification for Caesar's death, his ambition, "I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke, but here I am to speak what I do know." (Shakespeare Act 3 Scene 2 99-100). Antony then closes his speech by showing a vulnerable side of himself in which he mourns for his friend, "Bear with me. My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar, and I must pause till it come back to me." (Shakespeare 103-105). He gets the last word and successfully wins over the
In William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, although Marc Antony is allowed to make a speech at Caesar's funeral, he must not speak ill of either the conspirators or Caesar. Antony was infuriated with Caesar's assassination, and wants to seek revenge on his killers as well as gain power for himself in Rome's government. He must persuade the crowd that has gathered that Caesar's murder was unjust, and turn them against Brutus and Cassius. He tries to stir his listeners' anger, rousing them into action and yet say nothing bad about his enemies. Marc Antony uses several persuasive devices in his speech, which allows him to successfully convince the citizens of Rome to turn
Throughout the play Julius Caesar, Shakespeare uses a variety of rhetorical strategies to articulate the points of many characters. More explicitly the use of different rhetorical strategies can be seen after the death of Caesar. Preceding Caesar's death speeches were given by Mark Antony and Brutus. In these speeches Brutus tried to justify Ceaser death with vague answers, while Mark Antony came to the support of Caesar and questioned why he really had to die. Brutus and Mark Antony's use of logos, pathos and ethos, allowed them both to give effective speeches. Although Brutus gave a strong speech, Mark Antony exceptional use of pathos and ethos provided him a slight edge over Brutus.
Antony used the explicit gap in Brutus's speech to turn the people quickly against Brutus. Antony began his speech with a detached tone in lines 77 -79 of his speech by saying, "The evil men do lives after them, the good is oft entered with their bones; so let it be with Caesar." Antony wanted the people to believe he was impartial toward the situation, therefore, he would speak the truth. Antony put Brutus's honor in question by telling how Caesar did and gave so much to the people, and yet the honorable Brutus said he was ambitious. Antony reminded the people Caesar gave the ransom Caesar collected from prisoners he had captured for the public funds, and wept for his people, and how refused a kingly crown three times. On lines 113 - 115 a plebeian said, "Mark ye his word? He would not take the crown, therefore 'tis certain he was not ambitious." showing the people
Emperor Julius Caesar was just killed by Brutus and other conspirators who believed Caesar would be a bad leader for Rome in the future. Mark Antony, one of Caesar’s advisors plans to take down the conspirators as punishment for Caesar’s death. In Antony's funeral speech, Antony uses rhetorical devices and appeals to show his discontent about the conspirators killing Caesar. Antony’s speech at Caesar’s funeral persuades the people of Rome that the killing of Caesar by the conspirators was unjustly in order to seek revenge against the conspirators.
In the tragic play Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, the ruler of Rome, Julius Caesar, is stabbed to death by some of his so-called friends. Brutus, one of Caesar's best friends, is approached by some of the other senators to join the conspiracy to kill Caesar. Brutus weighs his options and decides to join the conspirators for the good of Rome. At Caesars's funeral, Brutus gives a speech to convince the citizens that the conspirators were right to kill Caesar. In contrast, Antony gives a speech to convince the Romans that there was no real reason to kill Caesar. Both characters try to persuade the audience, but they achieve different tones using literary and rhetorical devices. The tone of Brutus' speech is prideful, while the tone of Antony's speech is dramatic and inflammatory.
The epic poem Julius Caesar written by William Shakespeare tells the story of Caesar, the ancient Roman dictator, and his story of how he also became king of Rome. Unfortunately, Caesar gets murdered by his “friends” before he could become crowned. His killing affected many people, one of which was his dear friend Mark Antony. Antony and Caesar worked together and through that they became good friends; so when Caesar died Antony wanted his revenge on the killers, aka conspirators. Moreover, Antony decided to speak at Caesar’s funeral and that speech helped Antony get his revenge on the conspirators. Consequently, through the power of persuasion and truth telling, Antony was able to get revenge on the conspirators for killing Caesar by telling
The speeches given by both Brutus and Mark Antony in William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Julius Caesar are very persuasive to the audience that they are given to, but rhetorical devices were used in different ways in order for each to have an effect on the people of Rome. In Brutus’s speech, he uses devices such as rhetorical question and antithesis to convince the Romans that he and the conpirators did a good deed by killing Caesar. In Mark Antony’s speech, he sways them to believe that Caesar did not deserve to die, and that the conpirators were the real enemies by using rhetorical devices like rhetorical question and apostrophe. Both speeches were very
Antony gave the most effective funeral speech to thoroughly convince the Roman people to side with him and rebel against the conspirators. In order to accomplish this, Antony uses the persuasive techniques logos, ethos, and pathos.
"Friends, Romans, and Countrymen lend me your ears"(49). In the play Julius Caesar written by William Shakespeare, Mark Antony is given an opportunity to speak at Caesar's funeral. In his speech, Antony addresses the death of Caesar and draws attention to the foul play at hand. Not only that, but he also discusses the legacy that Caesar left behind. In doing so, Marc Antony uses verbal irony to being to light the conspirator's betrayal toward not only Caesar, but to the people of Rome.
The play Julius Caesar written by William Shakespeare in 1599, is about the murder of Julius Caesar, a great Roman general who conjured many lands, and helped to form the Great Empire that we read about today. Caesar was to be crowned king of Rome, but he was savagely murdered by a group of conspirators before he received the crown. After Caesar's brutal murder, Brutus a very honourable Roman, who helped in in Caesar's death, and Mark Antony, one of Caesar's closest friends, gave speeches at Caesar's funeral, trying to convince the crowd to agree with them and turn against the other. Brutus and Antony both made convincing speeches, but Antony came out on top, because Antony let the people make up their own mind, by appealing to their emotions.
William Shakespeare, one of the most profound writers in all of history, skillfully used the character of Mark Antony in his play, Julius Caesar, in order to verify true the theme that loyalty and respect are two of the most extremely convincing tactics. He demonstrates the power of speech as he is manipulating words in order to prove a certain point in the speaker’s favor, whoever that may be. Mark Antony was a man who enjoyed spending the majority of his time at extravagant parties and receiving everything he wanted at his sudden demand. Shakespeare created Antony to be an expert in speech manipulation, which ended up making Julius Caesar to be what
Antony repeats the word “honorable” several times in his speech. He is doing this in order to emphasize Brutus’ honorability, and make the citizens question it. Antony also repeats the word “ambitious” a signifacant amount of times. Through the repition of “ambitious”, Antony mocks Brutus trying to justify his actions by saying that Caesar was too ambitious. Every time he was that word, he describes an honorable trait of Caesar that contradicts Brutus’ accusation. For example, he mentions that Caesar refused the crown three times , and asks the citizens whether if that would be considered ambitious. “My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar, and I must pause till it come back to me,”[He weeps](Shakspeare, III,ii 116-117). Antony uses pathos to draw emotions out of the citizens. This quote emphasizes how many Antony loved Caesar, and the sadness he is feeling now that he is dead. Antony’s grief makes the people of Rome sympathetic to him, which leads to them