The speeches of Brutus and Anthony over the body of Caesar are, at first glance, very similar, but when one looks at the two speeches carefully and tries to analyse them, one finds that they contain distinct differences that make a huge difference to the overall effect on both the on-stage crowd and the audience watching the play. Straight away we can see a similarity between the speeches. They both begin by addressing the crowd in three ways. However, just these three words at the beginning of each speech set the tone for the entire speech. This is true in both cases. Brutus starts off by saying,
"Romans, countrymen, and lovers!"(IIIii10)
He starts off by calling them Romans. This shows that he sees them as Romans above all else. This is typical of Brutus' noble and generally very patriotic personality. This can be seen in IIi43-55 where he reads the letter sent to him by Cassius. He is too noble to even think that Cassius might possibly have sent him these letters. His patriotism shows through in the very speech that we are discussing.
"Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more."
He sees them not just as Romans but as lovers, lovers of Rome. This shows that he assumes that they share his beliefs e.g. loving Rome. However the crowd cannot share Brutus' beliefs because they do not understand them. He tries to talk to them about things they do not understand and that is where he goes wrong. Anthony on the other hand, begins by saying,
"Friends, Romans, countrymen" (IIIii75)
This shows that he sees them (or claims to) first as friends but not just friends, as equals. This is important because in his speech he calls Caesar his friend, in other words equal to him and so the crowd on stage will see Caesar as equal to them. The spectators in the audience will be able to see this and conclude that Anthony understands the crowd better. In just the first few words of each speech we can see Shakespeare's excellent deployment of language. In just a few words he can shape an entire speech and mould the views of a whole audience.
"Romans, countrymen, and lovers!"(IIIii10)
He starts off by calling them Romans. This shows that he sees them as Romans above all else. This is typical of Brutus' noble and generally very patriotic personality. This can be seen in IIi43-55 where he reads the letter sent to him by Cassius. He is too noble to even think that Cassius might possibly have sent him these letters. His patriotism shows through in the very speech that we are discussing.
"Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more."
He sees them not just as Romans but as lovers, lovers of Rome. This shows that he assumes that they share his beliefs e.g. loving Rome. However the crowd cannot share Brutus' beliefs because they do not understand them. He tries to talk to them about things they do not understand and that is where he goes wrong. Anthony on the other hand, begins by saying,
"Friends, Romans, countrymen" (IIIii75)
This shows that he sees them (or claims to) first as friends but not just friends, as equals. This is important because in his speech he calls Caesar his friend, in other words equal to him and so the crowd on stage will see Caesar as equal to them. The spectators in the audience will be able to see this and conclude that Anthony understands the crowd better. In just the first few words of each speech we can see Shakespeare's excellent deployment of language. In just a few words he can shape an entire speech and mould the views of a whole audience.
