The play Julius Caesar, written by Shakespeare, includes various amounts of literary elements, the main element being persuasion and rhetoric. Throughout the play, the characters are constantly persuading, and in most cases, manipulating too. While there are other forms of persuasion and rhetoric in Julius Caesar, manipulation is the most significant form. Scene Two opens with Cassius and Brutus having a heated conversation about the Roman king, Caesar. During their discussion, Cassius uses many modes of rhetoric to persuade Brutus to go against Caesar, and join the conspiracy. In his convincing, Cassius states, “What should be in that ‘Caesar’? / Why should that name be sounded more than yours?” (1.2.142-143). Cassius uses the technique of manipulation in these questions, forcing Brutus to contemplate whether or not Caesar should truly be in power. Another instance of Cassius’ manipulatory ways comes from his soliloquy, in which he reveals his devious plans for Brutus. “I will this night/ In several hands, in at his windows throw/ As if they came …show more content…
During his funeral oration, Antony addresses Brutus’ speech often, manipulating the people into seeing why Brutus is wrong about his ideas. Antony states, “When that the poor have cried. Caesar hath wept/ Ambition should be made of sterner stuff/ Yet Brutus says he was ambitious/ And Brutus is an honorable man” (3.2.93-96). Antony makes it seem as if Brutus was lying when he said Caesar was ambitious, causing the crowd to turn against Brutus. Further into his speech, Antony reveals Caesar’s will to the crowd, but says, “And being men, hearing the will of Caesar/ It will inflame you, it will make you mad” (3.2.144-146). Antony is tricking the crowd, making them crave the will’s contents more and more. It is clear that Antony is manipulating the crowd; he makes the them disbelieve Brutus, and also convinces them to praise him as he has the power to read Caesar’s
“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.
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar In Act III Scene II in William Shakespeare’s play, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Antony delivers a speech at Julius Caesar’s funeral. Antony uses a sarcastic, empathetic, and persuasive tone in order to turn the citizens of Rome against Caesar’s conspirators and murderers. Antony’s purpose is to convince the citizens of Rome that killing Caesar was unjust. He attempts to convince the plebeians that Brutus, Cassius, and the other conspirators are not as honorable or innocent as they are acting by delivering his speech in a manner that is hardly noticeable. He does it like this because does not want to overstep his boundaries or rules given to him by Brutus.
Meanwhile, Marc Antony was ready to verbally attack Brutus for killing Julius, and he was trying to ensure Brutus could not persuade anyone that he was innocent. In Shakespeare’s drama Julius Caesar, Brutus gives a more persuasive speech and stronger argument because of his strong use of rhetorical devices such as dialogue, repetition, and motive compared to Antony. The first persuasive rhetorical device used by both people is dialogue, or verbal communication between two or more people. After Antony speaks about Caesar’s will, the crowd responds by saying “read it Marc Antony.
and he also uses a hyperbole. Antony says, “When the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept” (Anderson 835). Caesar actually crying is used as a misrepresentation to make the people believe he is just like them in a certain aspect. In other words, Antony knew who his audience was and how easy they could be manipulated, but Brutus did
Mark Twain, an American writer, once said that “actions speaks louder than words but not nearly as often.” This certainly holds true in William Shakespeare’s play, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. In this play, after conspirators led by Brutus succeeds in killing Julius Caesar, the dictator of Rome, Mark Antony, Caesar's friend, is given a chance to speak at his funeral. Although through verbal words instead of actions, Antony is able to manipulate the plebeians to seek revenge and revolt against the conspirators. If we examine Mark Antony’s funeral oration, we can see that he persuades the crowd to his side by applying the three rhetorical devices, ethos, pathos, and logos.
Brutus was manipulated through Cassius’ clever planning, bad judgment calls, and his nobility. Throughout the play Brutus’ apprehension of killing Caesar is very much apparent. But it all started with Cassius planting a little doubt in his head. Cassius is a wise guy and knew just what to say to get Brutus talking.
In Brutus’ speech he says “As Caesar loved me, I weep for him; as he was fortunate, I rejoice at it; as he was valiant, I honor him; but, as he was ambitious, I slew him.” He lists all the good qualities about Caesar then contradicts them with the one bad quality that overrides them. The audience begins to think that maybe Caesar wasn’t so good after all. Throughout Antony’s speech he gives reasons why Caesar could not have been ambitious but not soon after he says “Yet Brutus says he was ambitious, and Brutus is an honorable man.” As a result of this, the crowd begins to doubt Caesar’s ambition and Brutus’
Antony’s Speech Using Rhetorical Appeals In William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, after Caesar’s death, the Romans are conflicted about what should be done. After Brutus’ speech the Romans are ready to crown Brutus king and be on the conspirators’ side. Though Brutus then leaves the crowd while Antony delivers his speech, the crowd realizes what should be done of Caesar’s murder and Antony prevents the conspirators from getting away with the murder of Caesar.
Near the beginning of his candid speech, he uses several rhetorical devices to sadden the crowd. Antony talks about his friendship with Caesar: O judgement, thou art fled to brutish beasts, And men have lost their reason! — Bear with me; My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar, And I must pause till it come back to me.
Entrepreneur Jim Rohn once said, “Words do two major things: They provide food for the mind and create light for understanding and awareness.” This quote is relevant to the Tragedy of Julius Caesar because Brutus uses rhetoric to convince himself to join the conspiracy against Caesar. Throughout the story, Brutus’ compelling persuasion skills influence his decisions and sway others to follow his ideas. Joining the conspiracy and killing Caesar are justified by Brutus’ powerful arguments. One of Brutus’ major points for allying with the conspiracy is that Caesar could turn his back on the people when he reaches the top and is untouchable.
Desire For Power In Act III, scene ii, lines 74-139 of Julius Caesar Antony’s speech portrays a powerful argument which he used to sway the citizens of Rome to side with him. Antony elaborated the truth behind the conspirators actions, which proved to the citizens that Caesar didn’t rule through ambitiousness like Brutus claimed in the speech prior. The scene took place moments after Brutus ' speech to the people claiming that Caesar 's control ultimately ended his reign,which he justified as the betterment of Rome. Shakespeare uses repetition, tone, and hyperbole throughout his speech to demonstrate the major fault in the conspirators plan, ultimately showing Antony’s need for power.
This is powerful in manipulating Brutus, because Brutus is an honorable man, and he is always concerned with what the most honorable decision is. Moreover, Cassius distorts Brutus' view of Caesar by telling Brutus that, "[Caesar has] become a god," and that Cassius "is a wretched creature," that if, "Caesar... [nods at] him," he, "must bend his
The art of manipulation itself is a tactic used by skillfully managing or influencing another, and is especially used in an unfair manner. Throughout the entirety of William Shakespeare’s play, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, one can find manipulation weaved within the majority of the actions carried out by the characters within the tragedy. A multitude of characters within The Tragedy of Julius Caesar utilize the tool of manipulation in order to achieve a desired goal. Proceeding the stabbing of Julius Caesar, Antony swore to reek havoc in the name of Caesar by turning the Roman people against the conspirators.
Caroline Craine 1/24/2023 English 9 Manipulation and Persuasion in Julius Caesar To influence Brutus, Portia and Cassius exploit their relationships with him to solidify their argument and control over him. Since Portia and Cassius both try to influence Brutus, they use similar tactics, but sometimes need to apply other techniques of either manipulation or persuasion to get their point across based on factors such as their background. To understand these influences, the matter of how manipulation and persuasion are similar, different, and applied comes into play. Both Portia and Cassius display manipulative and persuasive techniques with Brutus, as well as when they exploit their connections with him to support their arguments. But first,
Cassius wants Brutus to think that if Throughout the play Julius Caesar, written by William shakespeare, Cassius uses manipulation to form his group of conspirators and make them perform his biddings. Most importantly, Cassius turns Brutus, one of Caesar’s greatest friends, to his side through various creative tactics. Body 1: During the Feast of Lupercal, Cassius pulls Brutus aside to begin his manipulative plan. Cassius explains to Brutus that “Men are sometimes masters of their fates”. They have the potential to change their future.