Julius Caesar Essay Marc Antony’s Power of Persuasion

Marc Antonys Power of Persuasion in Julius Caesar In William Shakespeares Julius Caesar, although Marc Antony is allowed to make a speech at Caesars funeral, he must not speak ill of either the conspirators or Caesar. Antony was infuriated with Caesars assassination, and wants to seek revenge on his killers as well as gain power for himself in Romes government. He must persuade the crowd that has gathered that Caesars murder was unjust, and turn them against Brutus and Cassius. He tries to stir his listeners anger, rousing them into action and yet say nothing bad about his enemies. Marc Antony uses several persuasive devices in his speech, which allows him to successfully convince the citizens of Rome to turn†¦show more content†¦Because Antony cannot speak negatively about the conspirators, he uses verbal irony and repetition in his speech to say one thing, but make the audience believe the opposite. The tone of voice he uses in his speech is one indication that he does not mean what he says. When Antony calls Brutus and Cassius honorable men, he uses a sarcastic tone to show that they were actually not very honorable. Again and again he repeats the phrase honorable men, and each time the irony is more powerful. Antony connects the audiences new belief that Cassius and Brutus were not honorable to his message that they should not mutiny. He says, O masters, if I were disposed to stir/Your hearts and minds to mutiny and rage,/I should do Brutus wrong and Cassius wrong,/Who (you all know) are honorable men (III.ii.133-136). The crowd thinks that the conspirators were not honorable, therefore they believe that mutiny would be acceptable. To gain the full effect, Antony repeats that the crowd should not mutiny five times, so they lose the main point of his message, and only remember from the indignation in his voice that mutiny is a possible solution. Antony appeals to his audiences emotions: horror, sadness and anger, to persuade them to his view. Antony enters with Caesars body and shows his lamentation over his death, which reminds the plebeians what a horrible deed Brutus committed.Show MoreRelated Female Power, Maternity and Genderbending in Shakespeares Antony and Cleopatra3164 Words   |  13 PagesFemale Power, Maternity and Genderbending in Shakespeares Antony and Cleopatra The 19th century essayist and literary critic William Hazlitt wrote of Cleopatra, She is voluptuous, ostentatious, conscious, boastful of her charms, haughty, tyrannical, [and] fickle, which are great and unpardonable faults (Hazlitt 2-3). Much of the criticism of Antony and Cleopatra has recycled this judgement, depicting Cleopatra as a villainess uses her eroticism and sexuality to motivate Antony to