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English 2 H
6 December 2011
The Speech That Lead Rome Into Civil War
When trying to defend on someone's behalf, the most important aspect is the way one presents him or herself to the Audience. In William Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Antony, who was Caesar's close friend, gives a speech at Rome's capitol on the platform after Caesar's death . His speech's purpose was to show how Brutus was wrong in saying that Caesar was ambitious but rather a good man and that Brutus was not a honorable man. By using sarcasm, persuasion, and rhetorical devices to either to persuade or appeal to the crowd, Antony is able to get the plebeians, who were the fickle and angry common people that had just heard Brutus' speech, to understand that Caesar was a good man. Antony becomes a far more important character when giving his speech full of several touching rhetorical devices.
Caesar's Death. Attention: Image is laterally reve...
Photo of the first page of Julius Caesar from a fa...
Brutus and the Ghost of Caesar. Copperplate engrav...Antony's choosing in rhetorical devices to blame the conspirators is so well thought out that the plebeians cannot help but feel betrayed by the Conspirators.
To begin, Antony chooses to use a lot of pathos appeals in his speech in order to persuade the crowd into being on his side. For instance, in his opening line he uses the rule of three when he says, " Friends, Romans, Countrymen..." (3.2.69). This indicates that Antony is trying to get the plebeian's attention by using emotional views on the plebeian's place in power by setting Caesar and himself on the same level as the plebeians. By doing this, Antony is referring to the audience as Caesar's friend and not enemy in order to get the crowd to understand that Caesar was a good man and a good friend to Rome. Another instance is in...