Rhetorical Devices Used In Julius Caesar

Improved Essays
The first speech we hear is Brutus'. In his speech, he justifies why he killed Julius Caesar, and to also gain the backing of the other Romans. A hyperbole is used in Antony's speech, "When the poor hath cried, Caesar had wept." Caesar didn't actually cry, but he was very upset. This shows that Caesar wasn't as bad as he seemed.

Brutus tests the listeners to see if are proud to be Roman. "Who here are so vile that will not love his country." This entertains the audience and causes them to think. Brutus gets the reaction he was hoping for. Another rhetorical device is used when Antony says "In this this does Caesar seem ambitious?". Here he is asking the crowd if they think that refusing the crowd is ambition. Both of them require

Related Documents

  • Decent Essays

    In The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Brutus is a stoic man and he's also Caesar's best friend. Brutus thinks Caesar is ambitious so he slews him for Rome. He approaches the Romans with mob mentality because he doesn't want them to think that he killed Caesar for the throne. He did this because he values reason above emotion although, when he says, "Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more," Brutus is showing us a comparison between his love of Caesar and his love of Rome by using these opposite words, less and more, What rhetorical appeals does the speaker use? He is using what is called "Antithesis" and "Epimone."…

    • 243 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    All three of these speeches provide exceptional examples of rhetorical devices that are influential in literature. Throughout the duration of Antony’s speech, repetition is used to stress the significance of certain phrases. When referring to Brutus, Antony repeats the phrase, “honorable man” four separate times. This indirectly implies that in Antony’s eyes, Brutus is a sinner, and therefore, he is not honorable.…

    • 1695 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “There is tears for his love; joy for his fortune; honour for his valour; and death for his ambition.” In the Tragedy of Julius Caesar, there is a conspiracy planning to kill Caesar because they believe that he is becoming “too ambitious”. Caesar’s wife, Calpurnia, who had nightmares about Caesar being killed if he were to go to the Senate, but trickery was used to talk him into going even though it was beyond Calpurnia’s wishes. Caesar is told to “Beware the Ides of March” by the Soothsayer, which is the day that he is brutally stabbed by the conspirators. This murder of Caesar caused guilt within the people in the conspiracy, so one by one their deaths came upon them.…

    • 880 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Persuasion is the act of urging someone to do something. Some people may try to persuade others by being subtle and trying to make them do or believe something without them knowing whereas others will get straight to the point. There are innumerable different types or forms of persuasion. In the book Julius Caesar, Brutus and the conspirers assassinate Caesar in the attempt to save Rome. Brutus speaks at his funeral to try to persuade the commoners that what he did was appropriate.…

    • 699 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Brutus uses his own logic to appeal to the crowd by stating…

    • 704 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    When Brutus recites a speech in the market place after Caesar’s death the speeches exemplify parallelism, verbal irony, and witty use of rhetoric. With the Roman public watching on eager to see a reprisal for the death of Caesar, Brutus uses the undetected technique of coercion on the Romans taking advantage of their easily susceptible minds. In his speech he proclaims his love for Caesar passionately stating “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”. With the public making up their minds, Brutus plays his pathos card, showing he really did care for Caesar but claims, “Have you rather Caesar were living and die all slaves, than that Caesar were dead, to live all free men?” .Here…

    • 1114 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In Act III, Antony stands in front of the group of Plebeians after they have just listened to Brutus, the conspirator’s, reasonings as to why Caesar deserved his death. Mark Antony uses compelling rhetoric, to switch their mindsets, so the commoners pledge to his words instead of Brutus’s. Some may believe Brutus’s leadership skills make him a great speaker, but Mark Antony’s powerful, raw words…

    • 1013 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    He reminded the people that Caesar would have ruined Rome, become a tyrant and would have enslaved everyone, he said "had you rather Caesar were living, and die all slaves, than that Caesar were dead?". He says this as a rhetorical question: it has quite an obvious answer but probably would have been false anyway. Brutus says that last quote like it is fact and that it will happen. The fact makes it seem more real.…

    • 1412 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Because of this writing style, Shakespeare shows the audience internal conflict in his characters. Marcus Brutus was a very hesitant character, he constantly second guessed his decisions and pondered whether they were the correct choice. In the article Brutus’ Personal Failure is the Central Tragedy, the author says, “Brutus is the only one of the conspiritors who is portrayed as inwardly debating the justification for commiting the ‘dreadful thing’”. Almost immediately after the brutal stabbing of Caesar, Brutus doubts his hasty decision. On one hand, the killing of Caesar stopped the tyrannical reign and would hopefully restore freedom to all of Rome.…

    • 1235 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In William Shakespeare’s play “Julius Caesar” Mark Antony unleashes a powerful speech during Caesar’s funeral, aiming to persuade the people of Rome that Brutus was fallacious to kill Caesar and that they should avenge his death. In Antony’s oration, he argues his case against Brutus by using the rhetorical strategies of Ethos, Pathos and Logos to manipulate his audience to be on his side, rather than Brutus’s side. These three persuasion tools allow his audience to connect with him and he is able to effectively argue his case against than Brutus. Antony’s first priority is to establish ethos in his speech. Since Brutus is a friend of the powerful Caesar, Antony must transcend his credibility and prove to the Romans…

    • 1389 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    In Shakespeare 's Julius Caesar, Marc Antony had the herculean task of turning the Roman population against Brutus and the other conspirators. To do this, Antony needed to follow up Brutus ' powerful oration with a short, supervised speech. Still, in little time Antony had turned the tides and had the Plebeians on his side. He had used certain devices in his speech, several of which include equalization, repetition, emotion, humility, irony, inflation, and anticipation, to aid in his success. Antony 's strategies worked like a charm, and even before his funeral oration had finished he and the conspirators all knew who had the upper hand.…

    • 1348 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    While Brutus addresses the crowd with logic and reason, Antony uses emotion. The use of rhetorical questions, parallel structure, and repetition by Brutus and Antony throughout their speeches changes the views of the crowd and what they should believe. While…

    • 1002 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Which begs two questions did Caesar have too much ambition? Moreover, what was Caesar so ambitious about? In this essay, I am going to talk about Brutus’ funeral speech and whether it was more effective than Antony’s, what rhetorical appeals did both Brutus and Antony use, and if having too much ambition is a bad thing. In my opinion, Brutus had the better funeral speech he was unequivocal on why he killed Caesar and did not try to make friends with the people that did not accept what he did to help Rome.…

    • 1150 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Persuasion is a powerful tool that can either be used for good or bad. Having the ability to persuade any one and everyone is a talent to be afraid of. In Julius Caesar the plot revolves around a conspiracy to assassinate Caesar. One by one people are convinced to join the conspiracy by Cassius the leader of the group. Cassius is the leader of the conspiracy group against Julius Caesar.…

    • 363 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Brutus Speech Analysis

    • 759 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Which makes it seem like the people in the crowd are participating and forming their own opinions, when Brutus is really forming their thoughts for them knowing that everyone is going to give the same answer. During Mark Antony’s speech he uses the same technique, using repetition and rhetorical questions to prove that Caesar was not ambitious. He states, “He hath brought many captives home to rome,/ Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill./ Did this in Caesar seem ambitious? . . . You all did see that on Lupercal/ I thrice presented him a kingly crown,/ which he did thrice refuse.…

    • 759 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays