The Speech of Marcus Antonius in Julius Caesar -- William Shakespeare

The linguistic process made by Marcus Antonius, c bothed Antony, in ferment Three, Scene Two of Julius Caesar shows that despite being considered a sportsman above all else, he is highly skilled with the art of oratory as well up. In the play by William Shakespe are, this speech is made at the funeral of Caesar later he is killed by Brutus and the other conspirators. Brutus claimed earlier, in his own funeral speech, that the killing of Caesar was justified. He felt that Caesar was a threat, and too ambitious to be allowed as ruler. more of this sentiment, however, was developed by the treacherous Cassius. Antony, on the other hand, felt that the conspirators were traitors to capital of Italy and should be dealt with. This speech employ a variety of methods to gradually form the crowd to his side, yet maintain his side of the deal with Brutus. This deal was that he, shall not in your funeral speech blame us... (3.1.245) for the death of Caesar. Antony holds his end of the deal for the bulk of the speech, yet by doing so convinces the crowd of Brutus and the others disloyalty. In many ways, this speech can be seen as the ultimate rhetoric, and it includes all three of Aristotles methods of persuasion. This are the appeal to credibility, called ethos, the appeal to emotions, called condolence, and the appeal to logic, called logos. All three of these devices are used to great effect during the speech of Marcus Antonius.Antony begins with the now famous words, Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears.(3.2.62) In referring to the commoners as equals, they feel a sense of empathy even at the number one line. This can be seen as a sort of ethos. He goes on to say that Brutus has said that Caesar was ambitious, and that this, if true, is a serious... ...2.248)Antony, though he kept to his bargain, brought the auditory modality to his side in a variety of ways. He used all three methods of persuasion to his advantage. He claimed the k illers of Caesar to be honorable and noble, and in the in truth act of doing so turned Brutus followers against him. This shows the true ability of Marcus Antonius, and that he is a far greater threat than the conspirators recognized. This power of words is well known, and Aristotles three methods of persuasion live on in modern speechwriters. Ethos, logos, and pathos are just as effective in our time as in that of Shakespeare, the Roman Empire, and wherever there are people to cover and people to listen. Thus even today, this speech of Shakespeare through Antony shows the sheer encroachment that mere words can have.Works CitedShakespeare, William. Julius Caesar. New York Simon, 1975.