Power Of Persuasion In William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar

    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.

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.

In Act I, Scene 2, the purpose of Cassis’ speech is to persuade Brutus to distrust Caesar, and to join him in a conspiracy against Caesar. In his speech to Brutus, Cassius uses a variety of persuasive and rhetorical devices to persuade Brutus to join his cause against Caesar. Cassius is desperate to have Brutus on his side because of his close relation to Caesar and great respect and trust from the people of Rome. The tone of Cassius’ speech to Brutus is introduced with Cassius appealing to Brutus’ sense of responsibility towards Rome. Cassius tells Brutus that he has, “Heard where many of the best respect in Rome, except immortal Caesar, speaking of Brutus and groaning underneath this age’s yoke, have wished that noble Brutus had his eyes” (I.ii.64-68). Cassius tells Brutus that he is admired by Rome, appealing to Brutus’ value of putting Rome ahead of himself. Cassius uses knowledge of this value to his advantage in his speech, insisting that killing Caesar will be for the good of Rome. Cassius also introduces his speech by persuading Brutus that he is honorable and can be trusted. Cassius tells Brutus that, “Honor is the subject of my story”(I.ii.99). This appeals to the speaker Cassius’ credibility and has an ethical appeal on Brutus, or ethos. This appeal is effective because it connects with something that Brutus values, honor. In Cassius’ speech to Brutus, he uses a comparison comparing Caesar to a Colossus saying, “Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world like a Colossus, and we petty men walk under his huge legs and peep about to find ourselves dishonorable graves”(I.ii.142-144). Cassius is using an analogy comparing Caesar to Colossus, which was a large statue. Cassius again uses Brutus’ value of honor to persuade when he tells Brutus that if Caesar is in power, he and Brutus will die dishonorable deaths. During the time period, an honorable death was very important to noble Romans, especially Brutus. When Cassius is comparing the two names Brutus and Caesar, he uses the strategy of asking rhetorical questions. “Brutus and Caesar: what should be in that ‘Caesar?’ Why should that name be sounded more than yours?(I.ii.149-151).” Cassius also asks, “Upon what meat doth this our Caesar feed that he

Is the man who calms the crowd is more persuasive? Or is the man who can angers one more effective? It is very obvious that Antony's speech was more effective after he convinced all of rome that Brutus killed Caesar in vain. Antony used many pieces of evidence to sway the opinion of the romans to believe that Brutus was wrong. He also uses emotion and establishes more credibility or effectively than Brutus. These arguments are far more effective than Brutus saying that he killed Caesar because he could have been ambitious.

“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.

The qualities that make humans different from other species are collectively called human nature. Part of human nature is how individuals see themselves and others. Shakespeare uses human nature in many of his plays, including Julius Caesar, which has many examples of persuasion. He shows that how humans perceive themselves allows them to be persuaded or persuasive. The way Brutus feels about himself, and how he acts, is what allows Cassius, and later Brutus himself, to convince him to assassinate Caesar. Later, after the death of Caesar, both Brutus and Antony try to convince the crowd of Romans to join them, using different forms of rhetoric. There are many other smaller instances of persuasion, most of which include Caesar, Brutus, or Antony.

The concept of persuasion through rhetoric and oratory has been used throughout history to manipulate the poor and disenfranchised. In Act Three, Scene Two of Julius Caesar, Shakespeare used Brutus and Marc Anthony to emphasize the power that properly used words have on the uneducated. When Brutus spoke to the crowd of plebeians, he used

Tricking him into doing “what's good for the people” . The next way they try to manipulate Brutus is by flattering him. In the play Brutus is a very self conscious character. He might be the same as Caesar but he doesn't see this. “I have heard Where many of the best respect in Rome, Except Immortal Caesar speaking of Brutus and groaning underneath his age’s yoke Have wish'd that noble Brutus had his eyes” (I.ii.60). Cassius is convincing Brutus into believing he really is a brave and noble man. By doing this Brutus will be more offended by Caesar's remarks and want to join the conspiracy. To wrap up, Brutus is in fact manipulated into killing Caesar.

The driving forces in the play Julius Caesar are the characters Marcus Brutus, Julius Caesar, and Marc Antony. Julius Caesar is the center of the ordeal of leadership in Rome when the play begins. When Caesar returns to Rome he is looked upon by the fickle plebeians as a glorious and triumphant hero. The authority of his heroism is questioned when the honorable Marcus Brutus speaks to the townspeople during Caesar’s funeral. Brutus proves to be the better leader for Rome rather than Caesar or Antony. Brutus is wiser and more honorable than the other Romans. He was the only one truly looking out for the good of Rome and not himself.

A person of great power has a large amount of control and influence over the vast majority of the population that they lead. Often times, their leadership position was gained through manipulation of the people as they try to sell themselves to them. This manipulation also affects any competition for that leadership position because a common technique to sway someone’s opinion is to make the competition look bad which then makes the people look down on the competition, causing the opposing side’s chances of success to plummet. William Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar demonstrates this as a tale of manipulation leads to the downfall of the weaker link. Cassius, Mark Antony and Julius Caesar have perfected the art of manipulation as they are

Persuasion was used many times throughout the play Julius Caesar. Firstly, it was used in the developing of the scheme to kill Caesar. Brutus was persuaded by Cassius to join in the plan to murder Caesar. Although he still loved Caesar, he had convinced himself that he was doing what was best and be beneficial to Rome. The second person who attempted to persuade someone was Calpurnia.

Giving a great speech means that the speaker is not only touching the hearts of other people, but backing up everything said with facts and trustworthiness to make it reliable and persuading. To do this people use various forms of logos, ethos, and pathos. Logos are the facts and proof the speaker is provided for the audience. Ethos is a form of credibility and trust, therefore the speaker must be serious about the topic and sound believable. Lastly there is pathos which is used to show emotion through the speaker and make the audience have sympathy.

After Julius Caesar is literally stabbed in the back in The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, two men give speeches. Those two men are Brutus, who conspired against Caesar because he believed it was the best for Rome, and Antony, who was a close friend to Caesar and thought his death was unjustified. The two speeches had many similarities and differences, including mentions of Caesar himself, the Romans living in the city, and Rome as a whole. The play then heads forward to the climax, which was effected by the speeches. Now, people can see how the two speakers changed the future of Rome in the play, and decide for themselves what happened when Julius Caesar was killed.

Shakespeare uses the power of persuasion through Brutus and Antony. Brutus resolutely believes that the balance of power is back to the people of Rome. However, Antony uses pathos in his oration to take back the power that was forcibly taken from Caesar. He addresses the crowd at Caesar's eulogy and uses power of persuasion to rally against the conspirators and says, “Have patience, gentle friends, I must not read it. It is not meet you know how Caesar loved you.

When the play first opens there is a celebration in the streets because Julius Caesar has proven victorious over Pompey in battle. However, this action is quickly rebuffed by tribunes Flavius and Marullus, who are quick to remind the plebeians that they once loved Pompey: