Preview

comparison between brutus and antony speech

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
848 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
comparison between brutus and antony speech
In a classic Shakespeare play, Julius Caesar, Antony and Brutus go toe-to-toe at Caesar’s funeral, although, to Brutus’ dismay Antony’s speech was better than his. Marcus Brutus makes his speech very formally to reason the mob for killing Caesar. Brutus appeals to the people's minds and leaves an impression that Caesar would have become a tyrant. But What Brutus terms as his reason is a hypothetical situation and is not reason enough for killing Caesar. He does not provide any evidence to his statement that Caesar was ambitious.
To begin, Brutus’ speech was formal and more directed to the Romans. In his introduction he starts with “Romans, countrymen, and lovers! Hear me for my cause, and be silent, that you may hear: believe me for mine honour, and have respect to mine honour” This was used to join everyone together and later help him justify Caesar’s death. But he starts speech taking listeners as inferior, mindless and ignorant people who could sweep by easily. He was bound to fail as he could not understand the nature of the audience and projected himself superior on the basis of past but audience want to know about the present scenario and future. He had only one reason to kill Caesar which seemed as hypothetical and unproven, although, he found it enough to take mob on his side. Throughout the text he describes Caesar as an “ambitious” man. Calling Caesar ambitious makes it seem that Caesar only thought about himself. On the other hand, Antony’s speech was more personal and sarcastic. First of all, Antony enters dramatically to the pulpit with Caesar's body to win the sympathy of the mob. In contrary to Brutus he opens his speech with “Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears”. This sets up his later statements of being Caesar’s friend and also a patriarchic. It also conveys him as a friend to listeners unlike Brutus who gave speech as a ruler to Romans.
Specifically, Antony repeatedly used the word “honorable” to describe Brutus and other

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Brutus and Antony each gave their own speeches at Julius Caesar’s funeral to persuade the people of Rome to make them their new leader by using many rhetorical devices. Brutus came off as a traitor of Caesar, claiming that they killed Julius Caesar for the sake of Rome. He tried to overthrow what had occurred by striking fear into the people’s eyes, stating “Had you rather Caesar were living and die all slaves, than that Caesar were dead, to live all free men?” By letting the people of Rome envision what horrible things and events would unfold if Caesar was still alive and ruler. He also uses fallacy to allow the audience to think about what their lives would be like tied down under Caesar’s rule then what it will be like with Caesar gone and…

    • 335 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Brutus’s speech is delivered in prose, a somewhat unpolished and unsophisticated manner of speaking. The use of prose in this instance appeals to the audience as they are able to directly relate to this manner of speaking, being of a somewhat lower class, thus allowing Brutus to connect with them on a higher level. He also arouses patriotism and plays on the rights to civil freedom of the audience to offer further persuasiveness to his speech. He does this by inferring logical and restrained reasoning for Caesar’s death which appeals to the audience’s intelligence and commonsense. The high modality of the rhetorical question “Who is here so vile that will not love his country?” is extremely powerful in agitating the existing devotion the audience has towards Rome. Similarly in the essay Arguments against…

    • 873 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In each of Antony’s speeches, he displays a type of poetic eloquence that causes them to be beautiful as well as effective. In his eulogy of Caesar, Antony claims to be a “…plain blunt man…” (III. ii. 212), but we soon find this to be far from the truth. Antony later uses metaphor to tell the people that if he were a good orator as Brutus is, he would raise the people up against the conspirators. He does this by saying “But were I Brutus, and Brutus Antony, there were an Antony would ruffle up your spirits and put a tongue in every wound of Caesar should move the stones of Rome to rise and mutiny.” (221-225). His use of figurative language here subtly yet adequately shows the people his desire for their support against the conspirators. Antony…

    • 234 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Antony's speech, he talks about the bad things that Caesar has done and how Brutus was ambitious. It says, "The noble Brutus hath told you Caesar was ambitious. If it were so, it was grievous fault, and grievously hath Caesar answered it." (III.ii.75-78) Which is a logo because it is a logic on how Caesar and Brutus are both ambitious. It also says, "But Brutus says he was ambitious, and Brutus is an honorable man. He hath brought many captives home to Rome whose ransoms did the general coffers fill." (III.ii.84-87) Which means that Brutus is an straightforward man by reason of him brought captives home. Antony is speaking satisfactory about Brutus so the people would listen to Antony more effectively because of the nice things he is saying.…

    • 508 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lastly, Brutus supports his claim by asserting that he loved Caesar, but his pride and ambition would’ve hurt Rome and its people in the end. He uses repetition to appeal to logos when stating, “As Caesar loved me, I weep for him; as he was fortunate, I rejoice at it; as he was valiant, I honour him; but, as he was ambitious, I slew him” (Shakespeare). The author repeats “I” and “as” in a specific form to explain the reasoning for Caesar’s death. Brutus claims that he respects and loves Caesar, which keeps the respect of the public, but says that his power and authority was getting too strong, which he claims would hurt the Romans. Also, the word “slew” is a very strong use of diction, which implies that Brutus did not only kill Caesar, but he violently got rid of Caesar and his power all together. The people of Rome understand the justification, and can believe Brutus and continue to respect him. Overall, Brutus combines his reassuring and comforting tone with these appeals to effectively convince the people of Rome that Caesar was killed for a good and noble cause, and that the Romans will benefit and be saved from his…

    • 512 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Senators Swansong

    • 913 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Brutus and Antony go in different directions when it comes to ethos. Brutus gets on the stage and says, “Believe me for mine honour, and have respect to mine honour, that you might believe me” (III.i.14-15). He is telling the crowd to believe him based on his honor, and while they are judging what he has done, remember how honorable he is. His approach is formal and almost condescending. He is on the stage and he knows he has accomplished more admirable deeds than his audience which merits him honor. But, highlighting this sets him above his audience. Antony however comes up and says, “Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears” (III.i.60). This opening is similar to Brutus’ except for one key word, friends. This automatically changes the entire tone of the speech. Now, Antony approaches the crowd on the same level as them, as equals. He is no better, no worse. He is a citizen of Rome, just like them.…

    • 913 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Analysis Oh Rhetorics

    • 334 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The tone of voice Brutus used in his speech was subjective and also persuasive. Brutus wanted the citizens to know that he did the right thing by killing Caesar. Brutus specifically states that he killed Caesar for the love of Rome. Brutus also states that Caesar was ambitious, which is used as a negative connotation in the speech. In the speech, Brutus tries to gain the citizens respect while explaining himself. Brutus displayed strong emotions, which is portrayed throughout the whole poem. Brutus wanted the citizens to agree that killing Caesar was a good thing and not a mistake. Also in the speech, Brutus used a lot of rhetorical questions which also helped establish a serious tone.…

    • 334 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Brutus believes he must kill Caesar to avoid a one- man rule and for the good of the country. His tragic flaw allows him to be fooled into this by the other conspirators. Brutus believes his motives are honorable. If Caesar was really being killed for the good of Rome and not because the other conspirators were jealous of his power, Brutus motives would be…

    • 792 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Antony had the better of the two speeches in the play, “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar.” By William Shakespeare. Antony does a very good job of molding the crowds mind about Brutus and to even show his sympathy about the death of Caesar. Brutus knows that he will lose this battle with Antony, yet he holds onto the hope that maybe, just maybe, that the crowd will believe him instead of Antony. “Et tu…

    • 565 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The speech is succinct and balanced stating “But as he [Caesar] was ambitious, I slew him.” Brutus’ lack of emotions reinforces that the assassination was purely for the greater good and not for personal profit. “There is tears for his love, joy for his fortunes and death for his ambition.” Brutus uses rhetorical questions to attempt to justify his actions and whether Caesar’s lust for power threatens Rome’s democratic society. “Had you rather Caesar were living to die all slaves, than that Caesar were dead, to live all free…

    • 1236 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, Decius Brutus and Mark Antony, both Roman Senators, eulogize Julius Caesar, each using a different technique and approach. Brutus, in a somewhat arrogant, to the point, eulogy, attempts to sway the people. He justifies conspiring against Caesar by stating that Caesar's ambition would have hurt Rome. However, in Antony's eulogy, he focuses on Caesar's positive traits, and cunningly disproves Brutus' justification for killing Caesar. The fickle Romans waver between leaders, responding emotionally, rather than intellectually, to the orators.<br><br>Brutus seeks to explain why he conspired against Caesar. He begins his speech with "Romans, countrymen ...", appealing to their consciousness as citizens of Rome, who,…

    • 844 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Before his speech begins, the whole crowd is going wild with overwhelming support for Brutus. Knowing this, Antony is quickly able to capture the attention of the people by saying, “For Brutus’ sake, I am beholding to you” (64). By starting off with saying that Brutus endorses whatever Antony is able to say, they are suddenly more curious to hear what he say and what exactly their beloved Brutus approves of. By saying this, Antony is able to borrow Brutus’ honest reputation and use it as his own. Towards the end of his speech, Antony borrows Caesar’s renewed ethos, once again merging voices and giving Antony even more credibility. He asks the audience, “Wherein hath Caesar thus deserved your love?” (234). Antony successfully borrows Caesar’s great reputation and increases his credibility for the people to trust him.…

    • 684 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Building upon Brutus’s opening statement, Marc Antony begins his speech with “Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears;” By putting “Friends” first, Antony appeals to the people on a more personal level than Brutus, and sets a more informal tone for the rest of his speech, making himself part of the crowd instead of someone above it. Throughout his speech, he also predominantly uses “you” and “your”, only using personal programs when relating anecdotes about Caesar. This draws attention to the people…

    • 1015 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the Shakespeare play Julius Caesar after Caesar is murdered by Brutus and the other conspirators he and Mark Antony give speeches. Brutus’s speech is over the reasons that he and the others murdered Caesar. Mark Antony’s speech the surface telling the citizens of Rome to not go against Brutus but is actually designed to stir up the people of Rome so that they will go into rebellion against Brutus and that so Mark Antony can Rome. Both these speeches give a huge amount of insight into not only the characters of Brutus and Mark Antony but also goes into the central message of Julius Caesar. The outcome of both speeches is that the crowd of people gathered around to hear the speech sides with the speaker and since Brutus speaks first and Mark Antony speaks second the crowd ultimately sides with Mark Antony and rebel against Brutus and all of the other conspirators. The crowd is so stirred up that they beat an innocent poet just because his name was Cinna which was the name of one of the conspirators that killed Caesar.…

    • 657 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    When Brutus comes out to confront the crowd, he addresses his speech to everyone, " Romans, countrymen, and lovers, hear me for my cause, and be silent, that you may hear."(298) When he starts his speech, and is presenting it to the people of Rome, he sounds believable, and trustworthy. He tells of that, " Not that I lov'd Caesar less, but that I lov'd Rome more."(298) He wants the People of Rome to know that, if this were not to happen to Caesar, "then you all will live like slaves."(298) Caesar was ambitious and that is why he must be killed. Since he is dead you all can be freemen, Free to live your lives without Caesar, but under the control of a new leader.…

    • 474 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics