Rudyard Kipling once said “Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind”. In Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, we are constantly reminded of the power of language, from small things such as disproving somebody’s dream to persuading a whole population, it has a very distinct presence in the play. A character who succeeds in manipulating the English language for their own gain is capable of controlling any person as language is the most effective method of persuasion and manipulation. We see this (what?) in three ways in the play Julius Caesar, that you can manipulate friends, superiors and strangers, which also demonstrates the advantages an eloquent speaker possesses.
Manipulation of those closest to you can be one of …show more content…
One of the only ways to identify a good speaker from a less eloquent one is to have them try to persuade a group of people they do not know for they have to cater to a group of people they do not know personally. We see this test of eloquence between Antony and Brutus in act 3 scene 2. The best way to examine the differences between Antony and Brutus’ ways of speaking is to deconstruct two very similar sentences that they both said. To greet the plebeians, Brutus says “Romans, countrymen, and lovers, hear me for my cause, and be silent / that you may hear” (3,2,13-14) while Antony greets the same crowd with “Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears” (3,2,65). Due to very small differences in these sentences it is clear who is more effective in persuading the crowd. For example, we see that Brutus is much more condescending as he demands for the crowd to “hear” him and “be silent”, while Antony is much more welcoming, as he addresses the crowd as “friends” and asks them to “lend” him their ears. As the citizens of Rome are looking for a leader who caters to their needs and not only those of the nobles, therefore it is easy to assume that Antony is a better speaker as he knows what this crowd is looking …show more content…
It is through these intelligent wordings and persuasive appeals that Brutus joins the plot against Caesar, that Caesar gets murdered and finally that the plebeians turn against Brutus. It is due to the fact that manipulation of language is the most effective method of persuasion that Shakespeare is able to embody people’s power and make sense of the seemingly bizarre decision made by people in the play, for example Caesar going to the Senate or Brutus joining a plot against his dear
Manipulation of those closest to you can be one of …show more content…
One of the only ways to identify a good speaker from a less eloquent one is to have them try to persuade a group of people they do not know for they have to cater to a group of people they do not know personally. We see this test of eloquence between Antony and Brutus in act 3 scene 2. The best way to examine the differences between Antony and Brutus’ ways of speaking is to deconstruct two very similar sentences that they both said. To greet the plebeians, Brutus says “Romans, countrymen, and lovers, hear me for my cause, and be silent / that you may hear” (3,2,13-14) while Antony greets the same crowd with “Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears” (3,2,65). Due to very small differences in these sentences it is clear who is more effective in persuading the crowd. For example, we see that Brutus is much more condescending as he demands for the crowd to “hear” him and “be silent”, while Antony is much more welcoming, as he addresses the crowd as “friends” and asks them to “lend” him their ears. As the citizens of Rome are looking for a leader who caters to their needs and not only those of the nobles, therefore it is easy to assume that Antony is a better speaker as he knows what this crowd is looking …show more content…
It is through these intelligent wordings and persuasive appeals that Brutus joins the plot against Caesar, that Caesar gets murdered and finally that the plebeians turn against Brutus. It is due to the fact that manipulation of language is the most effective method of persuasion that Shakespeare is able to embody people’s power and make sense of the seemingly bizarre decision made by people in the play, for example Caesar going to the Senate or Brutus joining a plot against his dear