Rhetorical Devices In Marc Antony's Speech

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. These seven devices were the keys to Marc Antony 's success.
To begin, the first words out of Marc Antony …show more content…
Whenever he uses the words honorable, noble, or good to describe the men who murdered Caesar it is almost as though you can hear his tone of voice. Antony does not believe that a single conspirator is good. He knows this from the beginning. What he is truly implying is that the men are dishonorable Not shockingly, it takes awhile for the countrymen to catch his meaning. Once they do however, Antony 's speech becomes much more interesting. Each seemingly complimentary statement about Brutus and the others becomes a disguised insult. Every kind word is another jab. This is another tactic used by Antony to dance around Brutus 's demands, and one that works …show more content…
Antony goes on and on about Caesar 's accomplishments, his kindness, and all the things that he had done for the good of Rome. He describes Caesar as a just man, one that Rome will never again find the likes of. He tells the Romans how much their Caesar loved them. All the while, he is critiquing the conspirators. Antony describes Casca as envious, he calls Brutus "Caesar 's angel," and tells the people of their love for each other. Then he declares how when Brutus stabbed Caesar, it was not the knife that ended Caesar 's life. It was Brutus 's betrayal. Antony throws caution to the wind, going as far as to call Brutus a dishonourable traitor. What he does is deflate the conspirators as he fills Caesar up. To illustrate how much the people had depended on Caesar, Antony says, "Great Caeasr fell. O, and what a fall was there my countrymen! Then I, and you, and all of us fell down." To Antony, and now to the Roman populace, Caesar was a giant who 's shoulders they had been standing on, and the conspirators were the monsters who had taken that support from beneath