In Act II, scene ii in William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Antony conducts a speech in front of all the citizens of Rome in attempts to undermine the intentions of Caesar’s conspirators and turn the Roman citizens against them. In the previous act, Antony declares his thirst for vengeance after disarming Brutus’ suspicions and receiving his trust. Then, Brutus leaves Anthony alone to address the Roman people. In his absence, he cunningly plants seedlings of doubt in Brutus’ explanations of his true intentions in Brutus’ involvement in Caesar’s death to create suspicion against his conspirators. Throughout the speech, Antony utilizes a persuasive and sarcastic tone when addressing the Roman citizens. Antony compares Brutus’ claims about Caesar being ambitious with examples of times in which he was, in fact, not
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Throughout lines 85-86 of his speech, Anthony states “Come I to speak in Caesar’s funeral. He was my friend, faithful and just to me.” In these lines, Anthony is appealing to ethos. Antony is appealing to himself since he is attempting to appear more knowledgeable by saying that Caesar was his friend and that he knew him very well to get his audience to trust his claims about Caesar. Moreover, Anthony employs the rhetorical appeal of pathos because he is appealing to the audience’s emotions. He brings out Caesar’s body so the plebeians can see how devastating the attack was to garner sympathy from the citizens and fuel their hatred for Caesar’s murderers. Additionally, Anthony further persuades the Roman citizens to turn against Caesar’s conspirators using logic which is logos. Antony points out that all of the Roman citizens had loved Caesar once; there is not a cause that is withholding them from mourning his loss. This shows that, logically, if they used to love him, they should mourn for
Throughout lines 85-86 of his speech, Anthony states “Come I to speak in Caesar’s funeral. He was my friend, faithful and just to me.” In these lines, Anthony is appealing to ethos. Antony is appealing to himself since he is attempting to appear more knowledgeable by saying that Caesar was his friend and that he knew him very well to get his audience to trust his claims about Caesar. Moreover, Anthony employs the rhetorical appeal of pathos because he is appealing to the audience’s emotions. He brings out Caesar’s body so the plebeians can see how devastating the attack was to garner sympathy from the citizens and fuel their hatred for Caesar’s murderers. Additionally, Anthony further persuades the Roman citizens to turn against Caesar’s conspirators using logic which is logos. Antony points out that all of the Roman citizens had loved Caesar once; there is not a cause that is withholding them from mourning his loss. This shows that, logically, if they used to love him, they should mourn for