Mass Persuasion: The Power of Public Speaking Essay

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

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.

       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

Brutus made his speech effective in persuading the people by using tone and rhetorical devices. Brutus was

In the Tragedy Of Julius Caesar, Brutus and Anthony both presented a speech to the citizens of Rome. Brutus argued why his actions to kill Julius were acceptable while Antony contradicted Brutus’s views, arguing why Caesar should not have been murdered. Both speakers used ethos, logos, and pathos to persuade the people of Rome. Brutus’s speech was mainly based on logic, while Antony’s speech took more of an emotional approach . Overall, Antony had a sophistic style, he was much more artful and cunning than Brutus. He reeled in the crowd like a fish and captured them with his compelling diction.

First of all, Shakespeare/Antony was able to use logos as well as pathos. Brutus states “The question of his death is enrolled in the capitol” The logic in what he is saying is that his ambitions now lay in the questions in the capitol. Then Antony rebuttals with “He hath brought many captives home to Rome. Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill” He was able to destroy his ambition statement with a single lip movement giving an evidence that he is not ambitious. It was able to sway the people of Rome into believing and relate to some logic of the accomplishments Caesar was able to achieve. Which had brought home many people and reunited families that were once thought to be lost. Brutus was an honorable man and could be trusted, he was

In Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, Brutus and Antony attempt to persuade the audience of their position on the death of Caesar. While Brutus explains that his death was necessary, Antony claims that Caesar was not deserving of his demise. However, though Brutus does have ample credibility and taps into the emotional link with his audience to some extent, he does not convey as powerful of an argument as Antony, as he fails to provide sufficient factual evidence. Antony, on the other hand, utilizes logical argumentation with solid evidence, creates an emotional connection with his audience, and maintains credibility in order to support his own argument. Through this, it can be seen that Antony’s use of rhetorical appeals and devices is superior

“The broad masses of a population are more amenable to the appeal of rhetoric than to any other force” according to Adolf Hitler, a master in rhetoric, who was able to sway the people of Germany into electing him as chancellor, and who was able to brain wash an army into creating the biggest mass genocide on the planet. This type of strategy is mimicked by Mark Antony in William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. Mark Antony’s extensive knowledge of rhetorical strategies, such as appeal to the emotions of the commoners, knowledge of topic and reputation, and syntactical devices eclipse Brutus’ reasoning for killing Julius Caesar and wins over the Roman commoners.

Marc Antony’s eulogy wins the heart of his fellow Romans by undermining and destroying the conspiracy. The conspirators claim that it was necessary for the good of the republic to murder Caesar and convince the crowds of Romans to believe so. After he wins over the crowd, Brutus, a conspirator, allows Marc Antony to speak considering him as no threat to the conspiracy. However, Brutus is proven wrong when Antony’s oration manipulates the crowd into a mob thirsty for the blood of the conspirators. Marc Antony’s eulogy is more compelling to the crowd with his use of rhetorical appeals, ethos, pathos, and logos, compared to Brutus in the tragedy, Julius Caesar.

In Brutus’ speech he uses many kinds of rhetorical strategies to convince the audience of Rome he did it for them. One of the types of rhetorical strategies he uses is ethos. Brutus states that if Caesar was still alive, they would have lost their freedom. Brutus states, “believe me for mine honor, have respect for my honor, that you may believe” then after he admits that he was one of the killers and the did it for Rome and the citizens. He also talks about how Caesar was becoming a king like figure and how he killed Caesar for Rome and if his death is needed he to is willing to die for Rome.Another strategie Brutus uses is pathos to touch the angry emotion of the citizen by stating, ¨Mark Antony,who thought he had no hand in his death, shall receive the benefits”and “a place in the commonwealth; as which you shall not.”

In the book Julius Caesar there are two people, Brutus and Antony, who express there emotions using ethos, pathos, and logos. After explaining their thoughts on the idea of Caesar getting killed to the Romans, the crowd turned their thoughts on who they believe is correct. Brutus uses facts about Caesar and what he did or was going to do to turn the crowds opinion against him. Antony uses facts, personal opinion, and verbal irony to show the Romans what he believes is right. After examining the ethos, pathos, and logos in each speech, it is clear that Antony's speech was the most persuasive.

The most predominate and important aspect In the play Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare are the speeches given to the Roman citizens by Brutus and Antony, the two main charaters, following the death of Caesar. Brutus and Antony both spoke to the crowd,using the same rhetorical devices to express their thoughts. Both speakers used the three classical appeals employed in the speeches: ethos, which is an appeal to credibility; pathos, which is an appeal to the emotion of the audience; and logos, which is an appeal to the content and arrangement of the argument itself. Even though both speeches have the same structure Antony’s speech is significantly more effective than Brutus’s.

Brutus uses a proud tone conveyed by many literary devices to convince the audience that Caesar's murder was justified. Brutus asks, "Would you rather, Caesar were living, and you all die slaves, than that Caesar were dead, so you all live freeman" (Shakespeare 3.2.20-22). Brutus tries to persuade the audience that Caesar's murder was justified through the use of a rhetorical question and a hyperbole. He tells the audience if Caesar was not killed, Caesar could have become a dictator, and the people would have been oppressed. This persuasive question gives the Roman citizens time to contemplate what Brutus is saying, and prompts them to visualize the

In Act Three Marcus Brutus changes the people's opinion of the death of Caesar instantly. He convinces them that the assassination should not be considered evil, but seen as to the only way to survive while remaining free. The citizens of Rome trust and respect Brutus and believe him. Then Marc Antony convinces the people to come to a different conclusion than that portrayed by Brutus and his "honorable men". The crowd believes Antony that the conspirators committed this crime through jealousy, greed and the desire to limit Julius Caesar's growing authority. At first Marc Antony only plants a minor idea in the public's mind, allowing them to think about and discuss the new information presented to them. This method initiates the contemplation of serious issues for the crowd of citizens who need no more than this to come to their own opinion concerning what took place (III, 2, 62-106). Marc Antony then stirs his audience with emotions every person in Rome can relate to, focusing on guilt and anger. These passions intertwine, for when the crowd begins to feel guilty, they also start to become enraged. Marc Antony creates a dangerous situation with his riled audience and the possession of information that sets them over the edge into being an unforgiving mob (III, 2, 107-259). Having a serious effect on an audience is important when trying to be understood fully, however revenge is a dangerous topic especially when being

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