Julius ceasar

Student Name
Teacher’s Name
World Literature Honors
10 December 2010
Julius Caesar

[Thesis] In William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Mark Antony’s strategies in his speech mark him as a superior orator. [CM] Brutus tries, however, to seem superior, yet the countrymen’s reaction to Antony’s speech make him supreme. [CM] Antony’s ability to use Brutus’ words against him also contributes to his superiority. [TS] Mark Antony gains the respect of the commoners through his familiarity with them. [CD] Antony cleverly gains the commoners’ favor with familiarity by starting his speech with, “Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears” (Shakespeare III ii 46). [CM] By starting with the word “Friends,” Antony tries to make the people believe that they are his friends rather than just another person. [CM] The commoners believe that Antony is supreme because he points out that they are all his friends, while Brutus says that they are just Romans to him. [CD] Additionally, Antony makes the commoners aware of his relationship with Caesar by saying, “He was my friend, faithful and just to me” (III ii 46). [CM] By stating that Caesar is his life-long friend, Antony attempts to get the commoners to feel the same way about the late Caesar as he does. [CM] Additionally, Antony uses his relationship with Caesar to his advantage in persuading the commoners. [CS] Using his familiarity with the people, Mark Antony shows that he is a far better orator than Brutus is. [TS] Additionally, Mark Antony craftily twists the meaning of Brutus’ words in his speech. [CD] For example, Antony quotes Brutus by saying, “The noble Brutus hath told you Caesar was ambitious” (III ii 46). [CM] Antony attempts to use Brutus’ misuse of the word “ambitious” to describe Caesar to his advantage by saying the word with a certain amount of seriousness and sarcasm in his voice. [CM] Furthermore, Antony twists Brutus’ definition of “ambitious” into a more unsuitable word in describing Caesar. [CD] Additionally, Antony skillfully uses sarcasm in his speech when he says the phrase, “And Brutus is an honorable man” (III ii 47). [CM] Antony clearly says the word “honorable” to describe Brutus in a sarcastic manner, because Brutus is not honorable in any way. [CM] Furthermore, Antony is forced to use word play, such as sarcasm, so that he can prove himself to be a superior orator, as well as to stay within the guidelines that Brutus has given him. [CD] Mark Antony proves himself to be a far superior orator by intelligently twisting Brutus’ speech into his own. [TS] Most importantly, Mark Antony controls his audience’s emotions with his clever use of visual prompts. [CD] For example, Antony persuades the commoners by saying, “But here’s a parchment with the seal of Caesar; I found it in his closet; ‘tis his will: Let but the commons hear this testament—Which, pardon me, I do not mean to read…” (III ii 48). [CM] By supposedly showing the commoners Caesar’s will, Antony gains their favor and interest. [CM] Additionally, Antony makes the commoners believe that he does not want to open the will, which causes them to start begging for him to open it. [CD] In addition, Antony uses Caesar’s own body as a visual prompt to show the commoners the damage that the conspirators’ daggers did to Caesar by saying, “Look, in this place ran Cassius’ dagger through: See what a rent the envious Casca made: Through this the well-beloved Brutus stabb’d…” (III ii 49). [CM] Mark Antony makes an attempt to gain the sorrow of the commoners by showing them the bloody stab wounds that the conspirators inflicted upon Caesar. [CM] Furthermore, Antony puts a large amount of description into the wound inflicted by Brutus in order to manipulate the commoners’ anger toward Brutus. [CD] Mark Antony’s use of visual prompts to manipulate the commoners’ emotions plays a key part in showing that he is a far superior orator. [Thesis] In conclusion, Mark Antony is a far superior orator compared to Brutus in William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. [CM] Mark Antony’s use of word play and visual prompts in his speech allow him to persuade the audience into feeling sorrow toward Caesar and anger toward Brutus. [CM] Lastly, Antony shows his superiority by clearly making Brutus look foolish.