Marcus Antony's Speech Analysis

In the Tragedy of Julius Caesar, the people of Rome have opinions that are very easily swayed. However, there is one man who does this best in comparison to the rest. This man is Marc Antony. He sways the crowd in favor of his ideas through his use of the will, his speaking techniques of ethos and logos, and by speaking directly to the hearts of the people of Rome.

Plato once wrote that, “Rhetoric is the art of ruling the minds of men.” Rhetoric is the foundation of any solid argument, and any good speaker must learn to use it effectively. Creating a strong argument is a difficult task for any speaker, but Mark Antony’s eulogy for Caesar shows us that it can be done with the use of rhetorical strategies and arguments. Antony argues that Caesar was killed unfairly, and wants tells rome to revolt. He accomplishes this argument by using a combination of appeals to the audience's emotions, logic and facts, as well as reasoning and humility.

In Julius Caesar, Mark Antony is given the opportunity to speak at Caesar’s funeral by the conspirators the murdered him. Through his words, Antony seeks to cause dissent and let mischief reign over his audience, the plebeians of Rome. Antony uses rhetorical questioning to provoke the crowd into a fit of rage over Brutus’ words. Antony disguises his true intents in his speech, putting him at a moral high ground over Brutus. He finally uses ambiguous meanings in his words to hide his feelings about both Caesar and Brutus.

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.

Antony and Cassius, unlike Brutus, never separate their private affairs from their public actions while Brutus tries to prove himself by acting only with respect to honor and virtue, completely ignoring his personal concerns. For example, Cassius disliked the fact that Caesar became “godlike” in the eyes of the Romans, so he leads Brutus to believe that Caesar had become too powerful and must die by sending him forged letters claiming that the Roman people support the death of Caesar, ultimately converting Brutus to his cause. At last Brutus ends up murdering his good friend in an act he truly believed was honorable. Marc Antony, who also shares in Cassius’ selfish trait, persuaded the conspirators that he is on their side, therefore gaining their leniency. He proceeds to persuade the plebeians of the conspirators’ injustice and gains support of the masses.

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 play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, an honorable man, Brutus, is planning to overthrow the soon to be king, Julius Caesar. Brutus is persuaded by Cassius that Caesar is a liar, too ambitious, weak, and not fit to be Rome’s king. Brutus soon believed Cassius, and they and the conspirators made a plan to kill Caesar. After Caesar’s death, Brutus planned to justify his actions of killing Caesar at his funeral in his speech to the people. After Brutus’s speech, the citizens of Rome were all in agreement that Brutus did the right thing for Rome. Brutus then decides to allow Caesar’s best friend, Antony, to speak in honor of Caesar. Antony speaks, and he convinces the citizens that Brutus’s actions were unjust and turned the people against Brutus.

Julius Caesar was a popular dictator of the Roman Republic. He was a successful leader of the military who grew the republic into parts of Spain, Germany, France, Belgium, and Switzerland. He was also well known for writing about his travels, theories, and political views. Alongside Caesar was the Senate, a group of politicians who were not elected and helped shape the government and Roman policy. They resented Caesar’s increasing power and popularity. They called themselves the “Liberators” and invited Caesar to a sporting event where they stabbed him to death 23 times. The Liberators who killed Caesar initially thought they were saving the Roman Republic, but instead, the majority of the Roman public ended up hating them and a long civil war ensued. The conflict arose between Caesar’s adopted son, Octavian, and his general, Marc Antony, with the help of Cleopatra. The winner of the war would gain ultimate control over Rome. The civil war ended when Octavian seized the weak Roman Republic. He went on to rule Rome as its first emperor under the title Caesar

Many people know that Julius Caesar was betrayed and killed by many people who he had thought to be his friends. Some less common knowledge is that he did still have friends and others who stayed loyal to him. One man named Mark Antony was the most loyal of them all, even after Caesar’s death. When he found out Caesar had been killed, he began plotting to get on the traitor’s good sides and make it seem as if he had joined them so that he could convince the citizens to fight against them with him. He deceived the traitors and convinced them to let him speak at Caesar’s funeral, and in this speech he turned the citizens against them using very powerful rhetorical skills. After he had drove the traitors from the city, he took control of the city and led them to victory in a war against the conspirator’s armies. These are three telling examples that prove Antony’s skill and potential as a leader.

Antony, another Julius Caesar character, employs three Machiavellian skills: using fickleness to his advantage,“...while you treat them well, they are yours” (Prince 3), and ruling by fear. Antony’s objective was revenge toward the conspirators for killing Caesar. Antony also successfully used the fickleness of the Roman people to his advantage. After Brutus explained why the conspirators had killed Caesar, the crowd was understanding and agreed with the conspirator’s actions. The Roman peasants are convinced; they even want Brutus as their new emperor, with better qualities than Caesar. The plebians say, “Caesar’s better parts / Shall be crowned in Brutus” (3.2.54-55). But the level of the masses’ support for Brutus did not deter Antony’s opinion of the wrongdoing of the conspirators. In Antony’s speech, he spoke both confidently and assertively, which led to Antony convincing the crowd to support his cause and fight against the conspirators. Additionally, in Machiavellian style, Antony understands the crowd’s perspective; they need praise to believe in Antony’s cause. Antony appeased the Roman masses when Antony

Consequently, the citizens of Rome are starting to realize that the murder was corrupt and not justifiable. Another appeal Mark Antony utilizes is logos, or logic. To elaborate, Antony temps the citizens with the will of Caesar, “Here’s a parchment with the seal of Caesar./ I found it in his closet; ’tis his will” (3.2.125-126). The use of the parchment is to entice the citizens into wanting to know more about Caesar. His will is very generous and makes him look like a gracious and giving ruler, which is the exact opposite of what the conspirators thought. The factual evidence presented in the will provides the citizens with the rage they need to revolt against the conspirators. In brief, Pathos, Ethos, and Logos help Antony gain the citizens support and convey his counterpoints to the audience of his speech.

In The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Caesar had just returning to Rome from a great victory against Pompey. As Caesar was traveling down the roads of Rome, other senators were starting to get nervous about his growing power. The jealousy throughout lead up to the death of Caesar. This brought conflict between Brutus and Antony. During the funeral Brutus and Antony gave really convincing speeches. During the speeches the men both used great examples of ethos, logos, and pathos.

The passing of Rome's finest leader, Julius Caesar, led none other than Mark Antony to take his place, but only after the battle between the conspirators and Antony’s allies. Those of the Senate also guilty for their part in the stabbing of Julius Caesar so that they could rule. This might have all just been prevented had Julius listened to his wife Calpurnia, warning him not the go to the House of the Senate, for her dream had him and a fountain of blood. Or the soothsayer who told him to be careful and watch for the Ides of March, and the man who was outside the House of the Senate trying to give him a letter as a warning, minutes before his death. Mark Antony is and will be a great leader to the people of Rome, he also sees the good in others,

In this speech recorded by Dio Cassius, Augustus seems to be very extreme in his speaking. Most inhabitants of these societies would love the opportunity of the throne, and to live a luxurious life, better than the life they were given. In this case, Augustus rejects this opportunity, to avoid to hardships he would face while being on the throne. Augustus has fought in many wars, been an important public figure, and is a strong inhabitant of this society. However, he wishes to end save his life and sanity by rejecting the throne. I believe that Augustus is trying to tell us the hardships and degradation he would endure if he accepted this position to rule. He goes as far to mention that he rather end his own life than be able to live forever as a private citizen. In order for a person to give up their life in order to avoid this position, they must believe that the harm outweighs the good, and it is better if someone else takes the position.

Imagine thousands of confused eyes, all staring at you, listening to your every word. If you don’t convince them that the group of murdering conspirators are wrong, then they’ll follow the evil men blindly, ruining the once great Rome. The great Mark Antony was faced with this very same situation in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, and proved to be a triumphant leader. With the skilled use of language, and the love of his people and his country, he is able to pull the crowd away from the ideas Brutus and Cassius set in their heads. A worthy ruler gives his best to the people and their country, and works alongside them to make their home a better place. Antony knew that the two conspirators, Brutus and Cassius, would lead their followers into disaster. Although many view Brutus’ logical thinking to make him a great leader, Antony demonstrates true leadership and language qualities, which carry him much further.