Yara Mneimneh
Mrs. Kate Bowler
English 10 A
12 December 2015
Analysis of Marc Antony’s Funeral Speech
In Act III Scene II, Marc Antony presents his famous speech that begins with “Friends, Romans, Countrymen, I come to bury Caesar not to praise him”, this speech was able to change the minds of the audience to turn against the conspirators. The purpose of Antony's speech was to show tribute to his friend Caesar in a eulogy and to revolt the audience. Antony wanted the audience to revolt for him to seek revenge on Caesar’s brutal murder. The purpose contributed to the significance of the speech in the play. The speech was crucially significant because in Brutus’s speech, it is claimed that the reason Caesar was killed was for the best interest …show more content…
Firstly, Antony uses the stylistic choice of irony when the conspirators and Brutus were called honourable men. Everytime Antony described Brutus as “honourable” he would use an increasingly sarcastic tone, until the last time in the speech, it was felt as if the meaning was changed. The last time Antony calls Brutus honourable, the speech hugely impacts the crowd to changing the mindset of Brutus’s, which is that Caesar was killed for the better of Rome, to the mindset that Brutus and the rest of the conspirators are traitors. The use of irony converted the mood of the audience from accepting Caesar’s death, to feeling angry and in need to assassinate Caesar’s killers. Additionally, the use of irony in the speech advocates the theme of fire and blood, because Antony was trying to convey the message of assassinating Brutus and also, he was smearing Caesar’s blood among all the conspirators. Secondly, Antony uses the stylistic choice of rhetorical questions like “Does this in Caesar seem ambitious?” (III.II.90) to make the audience reconsider the stereotype of Caesar being ambitious and also for Shakespeare to convey Antony’s main argument. Linking back to the purpose, Antony uses a tone of frustration to convey the fact that Caesar was rather not ambitious and evidence is used when the refusal of the crown three times was refused. After this piece of evidence was …show more content…
It will start out with a little bit of an aggressive tone to reflect Antony’s frustration with the audience being disruptive. Then the scene will continue with this tone until Antony starts to call Brutus “honourable” here, a sarcastic tone will be used but it will be subtle at the same time, to reflect how Antony is trying to send the opposite message to the audience, but he is trying to be benign about it. The subtle tone will proceed for a short amount of time, as it will be become a much louder tone, when Antony calls all the conspirators honourable, because in this moment he will be underlying scorn. The tone will become much more emotional rather than aggressive, as Caesar’s faithfulness will be stated and it will reflect the memory of Caesar. During the rhetorical questions (about Caesar’s ambition), Antony will ask these in a way that an answer is expected to show the audience the wrong of their thinking. In the end of the scene, it will be the most emotional as the performer will start to feel tears in the
Mrs. Kate Bowler
English 10 A
12 December 2015
Analysis of Marc Antony’s Funeral Speech
In Act III Scene II, Marc Antony presents his famous speech that begins with “Friends, Romans, Countrymen, I come to bury Caesar not to praise him”, this speech was able to change the minds of the audience to turn against the conspirators. The purpose of Antony's speech was to show tribute to his friend Caesar in a eulogy and to revolt the audience. Antony wanted the audience to revolt for him to seek revenge on Caesar’s brutal murder. The purpose contributed to the significance of the speech in the play. The speech was crucially significant because in Brutus’s speech, it is claimed that the reason Caesar was killed was for the best interest …show more content…
Firstly, Antony uses the stylistic choice of irony when the conspirators and Brutus were called honourable men. Everytime Antony described Brutus as “honourable” he would use an increasingly sarcastic tone, until the last time in the speech, it was felt as if the meaning was changed. The last time Antony calls Brutus honourable, the speech hugely impacts the crowd to changing the mindset of Brutus’s, which is that Caesar was killed for the better of Rome, to the mindset that Brutus and the rest of the conspirators are traitors. The use of irony converted the mood of the audience from accepting Caesar’s death, to feeling angry and in need to assassinate Caesar’s killers. Additionally, the use of irony in the speech advocates the theme of fire and blood, because Antony was trying to convey the message of assassinating Brutus and also, he was smearing Caesar’s blood among all the conspirators. Secondly, Antony uses the stylistic choice of rhetorical questions like “Does this in Caesar seem ambitious?” (III.II.90) to make the audience reconsider the stereotype of Caesar being ambitious and also for Shakespeare to convey Antony’s main argument. Linking back to the purpose, Antony uses a tone of frustration to convey the fact that Caesar was rather not ambitious and evidence is used when the refusal of the crown three times was refused. After this piece of evidence was …show more content…
It will start out with a little bit of an aggressive tone to reflect Antony’s frustration with the audience being disruptive. Then the scene will continue with this tone until Antony starts to call Brutus “honourable” here, a sarcastic tone will be used but it will be subtle at the same time, to reflect how Antony is trying to send the opposite message to the audience, but he is trying to be benign about it. The subtle tone will proceed for a short amount of time, as it will be become a much louder tone, when Antony calls all the conspirators honourable, because in this moment he will be underlying scorn. The tone will become much more emotional rather than aggressive, as Caesar’s faithfulness will be stated and it will reflect the memory of Caesar. During the rhetorical questions (about Caesar’s ambition), Antony will ask these in a way that an answer is expected to show the audience the wrong of their thinking. In the end of the scene, it will be the most emotional as the performer will start to feel tears in the