Cassius Speech To Brutus Essay

“But if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought.” (George Orwell, 1984). William Shakespeare intensified his quality of work by insinuating manipulative and persuasive language within his writing. Cassius, a loyal server to Brutus, was easy to coax Brutus into rebelling against Julius Caesar, gaining an additional member to his group of conspirators. Cassius altered Brutus’ thoughts of Caesar’s ruling, within the use of multiple effective rhetorical techniques.

In Cassius’s speech to his brother he uses the method Ethos and establishes credibility and appeals to ethics or morals. One of the ways he does this is by saying that “[their] fathers say There was a Brutus once who would have brook’d The eternal devil” (Shakespeare 20-21). This shows that wiser people before them said that Brutus was strong and therefore, lends a hand towards Cassius’s argument that he should take action. Also by stating “I, as Aeneas, our great ancestor Did from the flames of troy upon his shoulder… Did I the tired Caesar” (Shakespeare 20-21).

In lines 15-22, Cassius was questioning Brutus of what they would do if Popillius was telling Caesar their plan. From the way Cassius spoke in the scene, I was able to understand Cassius' reason for questioning Brutus as he began to talk with a nervous tone, which indicates that he was unsure of what they would do. As the scene continues, Brutus told Cassious to stand firm because Popillius was not telling Caesar of their plan. I was able to understand this dialogue because in the film you can hear Brutus's command in his voice, which showed me he was sure of what he was doing and that nothing would go

In his thoughtful and critical speech, Brutus, a senator of Rome who is friends with Caesar, utilizes rhetorical devices in order to persuade himself that killing Caesar is beneficial to the people. Toward the middle of the speech, Brutus uses Pathos in a metaphor to prove to himself “that lowliness is young ambition’s ladder” that but once one reaches the top of the ladder, he will “[scorn] the base degrees by which he did ascend” (II, i, 22 & 26-27). This metaphor is comparing humility to a ladder in which ambitious people use to climb to achieve great power. Although, once one reaches the power, the ladder is no longer any use for them and they will look down on the steps and people that had helped them get to this place in scornfulness.

In Cassius’s eloquent speech against Caesar, he primarily utilizes persuasion through tools such as pathos, rhetorical questions, and compare and contrast. Cassius uses pathos to begin his monologue when he claims, “I know that virtue be in you, Brutus, / As well as I do know your outward favor” (Shakespeare 1.2.95-96). By expressing that Brutus has “virtue” and “outward favor”, Cassius appeals to Brutus’s emotions, but not to an exaggerated extent. This emotional appeal is a persuasion technique because it is used in moderation and in pertinent locations. The context is appropriate since rather than using it as a tool to feed on Brutus’s emotions, Cassius only uses it to get Brutus’s attention as an appropriate hook.

“And public reasons shall be rendered Of Caesar’s death.” (Act III, Scene II) In the play, “Julius Caesar” by William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar was killed by a group of conspirators who believed that his rule would result in the downfall of Rome, and that his death was the best solution. Marcus Brutus, who was viewed as the leader of the plot to kill Caesar, was the first to speak at his funeral, followed by Marc Antony. Each man’s speech included several examples of rhetorical strategies that ultimately swayed the audience to be in favor of one side or another. Marcus Brutus gave the better, more argumentative speech due to his effective use of rhetorical strategies.

In William Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar, Cassius is a foil to Marcus Brutus, for Brutus is consistently described as honorable and kind, contrasting the always clever and self-centered, Cassius. Cassius acts as a character who goes against the virtues and weaknesses of the main character. Brutus announces, “Why man, he doth bestride the narrow World like a Colossus, and we pretty men Walk under his huge legs and peep about To find ourselves dishonorable graves” (Shakespeare I. 2. 142-145). By appealing to Brutus' feeling of honor and loyalty to Rome, Cassius hopes to persuade him to join the conspiracy against Caesar.

Would you trust someone who kills their best friend for the good of their country or some guy who thinks they knew the leader? Exactly, you would want and trust a leader who would do anything for the good of their country. Julius Caesar was murder by Brutus and the other conspirators but they said it was for the good of Rome. Brutus and Antony both gave a speeches over Julius Caesars death to appeal to the plebeians. Brutus funeral speech was a more effective speech than Antony because his use of ethos, pathos, and logos made the plebeians focus on his words more.

Unfortunately, Cassius uses Brutus’ altruistic characteristic and devout loyalty against him by sending fake letters with concerns regarding the crowning of Caesar for Brutus to read and be persuaded to join the conspirators. Cassius’ manipulation of Brutus serves as an example of how Shakespeare

Cassius is obviously not a stoic. Throughout the play, Cassius shows his emotions at every turn. During the storm, he bares his chest and tells the gods to let the lightning strike him if he is not making the right decision. Cassius despises Caesar. He has seen Caesar at his most vulnerable and found him lacking.

He could be manipulative and scheming, allowing his flesh to rule his heart. Cassius hated to be subservient to any man, and especially to Caesar. Upset by the rich and powerful who allowed Caesar to rule, he began to think of a way to remove Caesar from his throne. By using other men's good intentions, Cassius orchestrated and

Brutus 's speech: Brutus speaks to the people of rome why he killed caesar so they will not turn on him. He talked about how he didnt kill him because he didn 't love him but because it was for the better of rome. He also tells the people of rome that letting caesar become king would mean the government type would change and all the wars and hard work his family had put into the government would go away. He also states, for the welfare of rome that he would die for rome if rome demands his death Rhetorical devices: Brutus used questions, logos, parallelism, and pathos to stir the people of rhome. Question-

In conclusion, Cassius was manipulative and not a good friend that

In this interview, I will be asking Brutus, Antony, and Cassius questions about their thoughts and feelings about the recent events. Q: Brutus, why did you betray your best friend? A: I truly believe Caesar was going to bring forth the downfall of Rome. He was too ambitious, and no one would be able to stop him if he officially became the emperor.

Marcus Junius Brutus and Mark Antony both deliver speeches to justify the death of Julius Caesar in 44 BCE and both use Logos and Ethos to convince the Roman citizens to join their sides. Both sides deliver their speeches with vehemence and start by elucidating why Brutus killed Caesar to begin with, why Antony’s desire for revenge is justified, and what the future of Rome will be because of his death. Antony teases the citizens of Rome with the will of Caesar that he holds in hand and claims it will dishonor Brutus and the other conspirators and is also one of his vital uses of Ethos in his speech. Most of the citizens, if not all of them side with Antony and will most likely help him accede to a great title of power in the future and also betray Brutus because of what Antony has them believe, i.e. an ignoble assassin. Brutus and Antony 's speeches were both compelling, although Antony´s speech was more successful, but it is because he was able to manipulate the people of Rome with