Julius Caesar

Brutus ends his speech very dramatically by pledging to kill himself if he fails Rome. This adds to the image of him being so patriotic and in love with his country that he would never do something to harm Rome in any way. Thus making the killing of Caesar look necessary.

When Mark Anthony comes on the scene he carries out Caesar's body with him. The body would have been bloody and horrifying for the crowd to see. This would immediately contradict the visions the crowd would have thought up after Brutus' speech. Brutus made the murder seem clean and honorable yet by seeing the state of Caesar's body this is obviously not the case. Anthony's sheer audacity to bring this 'prop' for the Romans to view shows that Mark Anthony knows how to play on the peoples emotions.

Anthony opens his speech the same as Brutus but Anthony calls the Romans his friends. Brutus did not do this. By calling the people his friends Anthony is hinting that their in this together and together they grieve the loss of Caesar. Anthony also over acts he feelings towards Caesar's death to win the crowd over. Although he was upset he is no where near as upset as he makes out.

Throughout his speech Anthony refers to Brutus and the other conspirators as honorable men. This tells us that Anthony indeed respects and recognizes the honorable side of these men and what they have done for Rome in the past. As the speech goes on when Mark Anthony refers to them as honorable men it becomes very sarcastic as he reveals the wickedness surrounding Caesar's death. It's obvious that Mark Anthony has planned his speech out and thought carefully about how to word it. Anthony has based his speech on emotion. Showing his own and playing on the crowds emotions too. This is very different to Brutus' speech, which was much more about a speech to excuse and justify the murder of Caesar. It was a speech to show his commitment and love for Rome. Anthony's speech came out a lot more powerful as he exaggerated his own distress to try to convey the crowd.

Anthony is trying to hint to the people how they should feel and how they should react to Caesar's death. Although he says it very innocently and never directly says what he really wants the people to do at this time he drops hints and suggestions to the crowd.

Anthony also brings out Caesar's will during his speech. By telling the crowd he has it right in his hands but not reading it out straight away puts tension and suspense over the crowd. Also expectancy comes over them as they wait to see of they themselves have been left anything. By Mark Anthony being the one carrying out this will it suggest that his generosity is like Caesar's and even though he is broken down with emotion because of Caesar's death he puts the people first by reading them the will.

Anthony's tactics of winning the crowd over come into play again this time he compliments the crowd he says "You are not wood, you are not stones, but men..." This is showing that he knows and recognizes that the crowd have individual feelings and emotions and he pleases them all by complimenting this. It is only natural for the crowd to approve and like Anthony more because of this. Again he is trying to out play Brutus and get closer to the people of Rome. Brutus in his speech was using the crowd as tools in his political games against Anthony and to prove his innocence

Anthony carries son with his well-planned speech and he is now playing on the natural feeling of nostalgia by referring to the past. By doing this he is implying that everything was better in the past when Caesar was alive and in power. He is painting pictures of a beautiful past into the minds of the crowd hoping that manipulating their feeling of nostalgia will make the crowd realize how bad things were now after Brutus had murdered Caesar.

For most of his speech Anthony has spent his time savaging his enemies so when he says that those who have done this deed are honorable it comes out very sarcastically indeed. This was brought up after Mark Anthony has split his heart and told the 'truth' to rubbish all what the conspirators have done and said. He then questions weather the men involved even realize what they have done by saying he doesn't know what private grief's these men have after killing such a beloved friend. This is posing a question about the conspirator's mental state implying that they are ill.

The effect Mark Anthony tries to achieve by saying, "I'm, as you know a plain, blunt man". This suggests equality with the people of Rome and is trying to make them see him as their friend unlike Brutus who addressed them all as if he was higher then the people. Suggesting equality could also influence the crowd's emotions because if Anthony is one of them and yet so upset then surely the other people of Rome should too.

Anthony then is very crafty. He tries to play down his speech making talents and suggest that what he is saying is unprepared and that it's coming straight from his heart. We know very well that his speech is very carefully planned out but yet he is trying to make it out that this is how he feels and if he was as good as Brutus and others at speech making then "the stones of Rome would rise in mutiny". By saying this the crowd, whom he has already won over could feel that if it were anyone else making the speech they would be in a stir of mutiny and rage yet because its Mark Anthony they aren't yet. This could change their reactions even more and make the crowd turn to a bloodthirsty mob.