Brutus opens his speech with a lot of imperatives by telling the crowd to ‘listen to him and believe him for his honour and have respect for his honour that they may believe’, that he killed Caesar only for being ambitious (3.2.14-16). However Anthony’s speech begins with the famous lines, "Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears". (3.2.70) These show Anthony thinking of the plebeians as his peers, and lend me your ears shows respect for them by asking them to listen him rather than how Brutus’ speech begins by telling the crowd to listen to him . His speech continually praises Brutus as "an honourable man" who has killed Caesar for being ambitious yet also describes Caesar as the most honourable and generous of men. In this way, Anthony appears to praise his friend while also respecting the men who murdered him; in fact Anthony is inciting the crowd against Brutus, Cassius and the conspirators. “Brutus is an honourable man”, reveals much about the character of Brutus: not only does Anthony’s quote point obviously to the fact that Brutus is seen as an honourable man, but it implies that Brutus is not honourable enough to decide the fate of all of Rome.
After Caesar’s assassination, Brutus gains the attention of the people by asking them to Believe him for his honour and have respect to his honour that they may believe (3.2.14-16).Before Anthony actually spoke, the crowd were actually neutral with him but were now praising Brutus so Anthony had to be very careful in what he said and he does that in his first opening sentences. He does this throughout the whole of his speech with a multiple number of rhetorical devices, and as a result wins the confidence and favour of his rowdy audience. “Whose ransoms did the generals coffers fill: did this in Caesar seem ambitious?” Was a rhetorical question by Anthony and he uses this to show the plebeians how good Caesar was to his people.
Brutus made his speech effective in persuading the people by using tone and rhetorical devices. Brutus was compassionate when referring to how he loved Caesar as much as he did before he killed him. Brutus was showing compassion on lines18 - 20 when he said, "If there be any in this assembly, any dear friend of Caesar's, to him I say that Brutus's love to Caesar was no less than his." Brutus said this to help the people understand that it was not for the hate of Caesar but it was really for the love of Rome. Also Brutus on a whole gives a logical, unemotional speech winning the crowd over to the suggestion of making Brutus the new Caesar.
Anthony does two things in the first fifteen lines of his speech. First, he picks up on Brutus's self-characterization as "honourable" and turns it into a chorus that at first is congruent with the points he makes. These choric words, "And Brutus is an honourable man," are then repeated over and over throughout the first part of the speech, but not only does Anthony’s quote point, obviously, to the fact that Brutus is seen as an honourable man, but in its tone and application, it also raises questions as to whether this honour is rightly placed, and each time it is said it clashes more and more strongly with the material they surround, also each time its repeated through the speech makes Brutus seem more and more as a foil to Caesar. At first, however, they do not contradict Brutus. If Caesar was ambitious (and Brutus the honourable man said he was), then it is right for him to be killed. No challenge yet to Brutus. Then, by calling himself Caesar's friend, Anthony then begins to put in his own views on how Brutus thought Caesar was ambitious. Though Brutus also referred to the fact that Caesar loved him, Anthony’s language rings truer, "He was my friend, faithful and just to me (3.2.85)." so he talks about what he knows then later says then as we all know Brutus is an honourable man.
Anthony also involves the crowd in his speech, asking them a question and forcing them to ponder whether the assassination of Caesar was nothing but a disservice to the Roman Empire. Anthony does this by taking a dramatic pause at the end of his speech, to imply to his audience that he is overwhelmed with emotion.
