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Antony In Julius Caesar Research Paper

Decent Essays

As said by J. K. Rowling, “No story lives unless someone wants to listen.” In the same way, Shakespeare’s tragedy, Julius Caesar, portrays how one man can turn a crowd with the correct words. Both Brutus and Antony choose to continue Caesar’s legacy; by doing so, they rouse up the people to defend Antony and Brutus’s stories of Caesar’s death. Though Brutus’s flawless use of ethics seem the most influential on first glance, Antony’s use of pathos far surpasses Brutus’s oratory; Antony’s passionate description of his and Caesar’s friendship as well as his ability to indirectly blame Brutus for Caesar’s death ultimately allow Antony to construct a stronger argument. Antony reiterates many times that Brutus and the other conspirators should …show more content…

Antony first bids the crowd, “‘You all do know this mantle; I remember the first time ever Caesar put it on’” (3.2.171-172). Using a semblance of mourning and by telling the story of Caesar’s mantle, Antony portrays his and Caesar’s deep friendship; the flashback to the past serves to move the reader to sympathize with Antony. Therefore, the pathos Antony creates serves to demonstrate that one simply needs the personable connection to Caesar and Antony in order to sympathize with them. Finishing his oration, Antony describes himself as “a plain, blunt man, that love my friend;” showing his devotion to Caesar, Antony declares, “‘Here was a Caesar! When comes such another?’” (3.2.220,253). By this, Antony officiates his friendship and the deep love he felt for Caesar; this ultimately gives Antony the advantage of the listener’s sympathies. While Brutus first employed logic to win over his listener, this passage demonstrates how Antony’s expression of friendship becomes the defining trait of his speech that makes it more believable than Brutus’s. Antony, with his charge that no one greater than Caesar will come soon, at this point wins over his listeners using his simple expression of friendship. Therefore, logic, as seen in Brutus’s speech, cannot overcome the persuasive power of

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