Clever, Clever Brutus
Politicians twist the truth. Most of the time, what they say is accurate but the techniques they use have a way of manipulating listeners. All politicians do this, in fictional stories, throughout history, and even to this present day. In William Shakespeare’s play, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Brutus uses manipulative devices in order to appeal to, pathos in which he evokes the feeling of being loved from the plebeians, logos in order to convince Cassius of his superior military plan, and ethos to establish trust with the commoners.
Brutus’s appeal to pathos was intended to extract, from the audience, the most powerful feeling in the world, which is: love. To illustrate, Brutus is elaborating on the reasons he has for murdering Caesar, and he justifies himself by saying:“ With this I depart,/ that, as I slew my best lover for the good of Rome,/ I have the same dagger for myself, when it shall/ …show more content…
In particular, Brutus is beginning his funeral oration to the plebeians when he says, “If/ there be any in this assembly, any dear friend of/ Caesar’s, to him I say that Brutus’ love to Caesar was/ no less than his” (J C. III. ii. 16-20). Brutus, as the closest friend of Caesar, knows Caesar more about him than any of them, which means that Brutus is more qualified to make decisions on behalf of Caesar. The Romans trusted Caesar, therefore they now have a foundation of trust within Brutus due to friendship that existed between them.
Brutus is successful in winning his arguments because he appeals to ethos, pathos, and logos appropriately. Using the perfect combination of all three rhetorical devices will guarantee a win in any dispute. This is how politicians gain a vast supporting because it is not about what is said, it is about how it is said. Would you rather lose every argument or be a clever politician like
Politicians twist the truth. Most of the time, what they say is accurate but the techniques they use have a way of manipulating listeners. All politicians do this, in fictional stories, throughout history, and even to this present day. In William Shakespeare’s play, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Brutus uses manipulative devices in order to appeal to, pathos in which he evokes the feeling of being loved from the plebeians, logos in order to convince Cassius of his superior military plan, and ethos to establish trust with the commoners.
Brutus’s appeal to pathos was intended to extract, from the audience, the most powerful feeling in the world, which is: love. To illustrate, Brutus is elaborating on the reasons he has for murdering Caesar, and he justifies himself by saying:“ With this I depart,/ that, as I slew my best lover for the good of Rome,/ I have the same dagger for myself, when it shall/ …show more content…
In particular, Brutus is beginning his funeral oration to the plebeians when he says, “If/ there be any in this assembly, any dear friend of/ Caesar’s, to him I say that Brutus’ love to Caesar was/ no less than his” (J C. III. ii. 16-20). Brutus, as the closest friend of Caesar, knows Caesar more about him than any of them, which means that Brutus is more qualified to make decisions on behalf of Caesar. The Romans trusted Caesar, therefore they now have a foundation of trust within Brutus due to friendship that existed between them.
Brutus is successful in winning his arguments because he appeals to ethos, pathos, and logos appropriately. Using the perfect combination of all three rhetorical devices will guarantee a win in any dispute. This is how politicians gain a vast supporting because it is not about what is said, it is about how it is said. Would you rather lose every argument or be a clever politician like