The Rhetorical Analysis Of Mark Antony's Speech

Mark Antony uses imagery, rhetorical structure, and tone all throughout his speech to turn the Roman citizens against the conspirators who killed Caesar. Antony opens his speech using imagery saying, “If you have tears, prepare to shed them now.” Not only is Antony using imagery in this section of his speech, but he is also using the rhetorical structure of pathos by telling the plebeians they should prepare to cry about a man that when Brutus was just talking they were resenting Caesar. Through the speech Antony uses a very sorrow tone. He also attacks Brutus and the other conspirators by calling them “traitors” at the end. Antony uses ethos when saying, “For Brutus,

After Brutus finishes his speech, Antony speaks about his opinion on the issue; unlike Brutus, Antony acts slyly and communicates a very manipulative tone to persuade the Romans to rebel. Because of Antony's use of parallelism, he creates vivid reasoning for his speech. He states, “ I come here to bury Caesar, not to praise him” (III.ii.44). By using this device, he shows the people of Rome that he isn't praising Caesar, he is putting the leader to rest. This particular line creates a very manipulative tone, because his speech is all about what great this Caesar has done and how he wants to rebel against the conspirators. Further more, Antony uses a lot of irony to slyly get his point across. One example that he uses throughout the speech is “Yet Brutus says he was ambitious, and Brutus is a honorable man” (III.ii.44). Because of the repitition of this ironic statement, the meaning of it changes and intensifies. At first, his tone was sincere, but as the speech progresses, you can see his sarcastic tone increases. Antony does this because he has to use this device to surpass the regulations of Brutus, as well as make the romans listen. Lastly, he uses personification to give life and further meaning to a word. Early in the speech, Antony says, “The evil

"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.

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.

       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

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

Antony and Caesar were good friends, and when Antony learned of Caesar’s murder, he began plotting to dethrone the conspirators who had planned his death. He sent a citizen to the palace where the traitors were and told him to relay a message; “If Brutus will vouchsafe that Antony may safely come to him and be resolved how Caesar hath deserved to lie in death, Mark Antony shall not love Caesar dead so well as Brutus living, but will follow the fortunes and affairs of noble Brutus through the hazards of this untrod state with all true faith.” What Antony is saying to Brutus is that if

Antony prepares the crowd for his heart wrenching tales of Julius Caesar, and his injustice. “If you have tears prepare to shed them now” (III.ii.166). He goes on later in his speech, saying, “Look, in this place ran Cassius’ dagger through. / See what a rent the envious Casca made. / Through this well-beloved Brutus stabbed; / And as he plucked his cursed steel away, / Mark how the blood of Caesar followed it, / As rushing out of doors to be resolved / If brutus unkindly knocked or no; / For Brutus, as you know, was Caesar’s angel” (III.ii.171-178). Antony lets everyone know that Brutus has done so much wrong by Caesar, not only because he killed him, but because he was his trusted friend. “...These are gracious drops. / Kind souls, what, weep you when you but behold / Our Caesar’s vesture wounded?...” (III.ii.191-193). Antony tells everyone that it is okay to cry, which evidently makes him look kind, but also sparks up a fire in the citizens. They continue to scream, “Revenge! About! Seek! Burn! Fire! Kill! Slay! / Let not a traitor live!”

Introducing his points, Marc Antony begins with the rhetorical appeal ethos, the appeal to ethics, convincing the crowd that Brutus and the conspirators are liars. In discrediting the conspirators, Antony calls upon his authority compared to that of the conspirators. Antony claims the right to speak because Caesar was his “friend, faithful and just to” (III.ii.84) him. Consequently, by calling

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.

Mark Antony’s speech following Julius Caesar’s assassination uses his own understanding of ethos, pathos, and logos to make the crowd feel his pain and play effectively into his own motivations unknowingly. As Mark Antony delivers his speech to the crowd of plebeians his purpose and motivation is revealed when in context before the actual speech is delivered when Antony says, “A curse shall light upon the limbs of men; Domestic fury and fierce civil strife Shall cumber all the parts of Italy;” (III.i.262-264).Antony’s motives have been uncovered to reveal his desire for a civil war that will bring him more power and throughout his speech he is also trying to disprove those, in his opinion, false accusations of ambition Caesar’s murderers have given as cause for his death.

Antony uses repetition to impair Brutus' credibility. Anthony says in the beginning of the speech that “The noble Brutus/Hath told you Caesar was ambitious./If it were so, it was a grievous fault,/And grievously hath Caesar answered it” (III, ii, 76-79). Antony continues to call Brutus honorable, and brings attention to his claim of Caesar’s ambition. This seems counterproductive, until Anthony consecutively disproves Brutus's claim, bringing up examples of Caesar’s selflessness. The plebeians respond to this logic and begin to sympathize with Caesar. Antony uses repetition again, to put blame on the conspirators for killing Caesar. Antony pleads with the crowd, saying that Caesar “is himself, marr’d, as you see, with traitors./Let not a traitor live!” (III, ii, 191-193). As Antony calls the conspirators traitors, the crowd is forced to think of them as common criminals, who should be punished according to the Roman law code. Hearing this, the crowd falls into a mutinous rage, calling for the death of the traitors. It is in this moment that Antony has true control of the people, and has won revenge for

Marc Antony is highlighting themes of revenge as justice when he vows to murder all the conspirators. After the murder of Julius Caesar, mark antony talks to Caesar’s dead body and tells him that the conspirators will pay for what they had done: “Cry ‘Havoc!’ and let slip the dogs of war, That this foul deed shall smell above the

Right after Caesar had been killed, the conspirators had encountered Antony. Antony, being heartbroken with the death of Julius Caesar, had a simple request, which was to speak at Caesar’s funeral. Little did the men know the malevolent plan that Antony had in mind. When the day of the funeral came, and Brutus had finished speaking, Antony came up and began his speech declaring, “Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears… For Brutus is an honorable man; so are they all, all honorable men.” (Julius Caesar. II. ii. 70-79). Antony clearly does not believe the men that killed his beloved friend are honorable, yet he continues to call them this. Antony is demonstrating verbal irony by filling his words with sarcasm. Besides verbal, situational, and dramatic irony, Shakespeare also used the powerful tool of symbolism within The Tragedy of Julius