Julius Caesar Rhetorical Analysis

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In William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, Mark Antony begins his funeral speech faced with two difficulties; the people are well disposed toward Brutus and his reasoning, and the promise to say nothing against the conspirators. The loyal and underestimated Antony gives his speech to his fellow Romans to incite the crowd into a mob frenzy, turning the citizens minds from the fact that Caesar had to die for the good of Rome, to Caesar had been murdered. Anthony's tone moves between two poles- irony and sincerity, the crowd in turn feeling grief and vengeance on Brutus and Cassius for murdering their beloved Caesar. Antony appeals to the audiences greed and vengefulness through irony and rhetorical question to create doubt, so that the people would begin to take revenge on all the conspirators of Caesar's assassination.…show more content…
He counteracts all of Brutus’s claims, putting into question his honor. By progressively claiming that “Brutus is an honorable man” (3.2.103) he soon calls this term into question, inciting the crowd to realize what has actually happened. His characterization of Brutus is deeply sarcastic as he portrays him not as honorable, but in fact as a traitor. He doesn’t directly disparage the murder, instead he uses repetitive aspect to persuade the crowd and make his point. Anthony's prime weapon at the beginning is his conspicuous ambiguity regarding Brutus, “Yet Brutus says he was ambitious.” (3.2.102). Both men have claimed Caesar as their friend, they have equal authority to speak on the subject of Caesars disposition. Antony, however, has the advantage of not needing to justify his actions. Instead, Antony can focus on sawing the limb out from Brutus’s
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