In William Shakespeares tragedy Julius Caesar, powerful words are used to influence characters, which move the plot forward. The greatest manipulators of the play are Cassius, Decius and Antony, who repeatedly demonstrate the power of words.

International Baccalaureate World Literature

When people get their way with others, they use words to do it. Those who fall victim to a person’s words, may unknowingly make decisions based on persuasive rhetoric and emotional appeals. In William Shakespeare’s tragedy Julius Caesar, powerful words are used to influence characters, which move the plot forward. The greatest manipulators of the play are Cassius, Decius and Antony, who repeatedly demonstrate the power of words.

Cassius uses his powerful words to influence Brutus. On the day of Caesar’s return to Rome, Cassius has a private conversation with Brutus concerning Caesar becoming king. After discovering that Brutus doesn’t want Caesar to become king either, Cassius uses his words to persuade Brutus to join the conspiracy. He is intelligent and realizes that to convince Brutus to join he will have to appeal to Brutus’ honorable character and manipulate his belief against a one-man rule. Cassius claims “A man of such feeble temper should / So get the start of the majestic world / And bear the palm alone.” (Act1.Sc.2.Line129-131). In this quote he attempts to convince Brutus that Caesar’s death is the best thing for Rome because a man so weak will not be able to rule the Empire alone. As well, this quotation reveals Cassius’ conniving nature because he knows that honorable Brutus would do anything for Rome. Cassius also has to convince Brutus that he is a good friend and that he would never lead him in the wrong direction. He tells Brutus

So well as by reflection, I your glass,

Will modestly discover to yourself

That of yourself which you yet know not of.

And be not jealous on me, gentle Brutus.

(Act1.Sc.2.Line68-71).

He tells Brutus that he will help him discover himself but Brutus must trust him and should not be suspicious of him. Power of words is used in Cassius’ advantage to encourage Brutus’ to join the conspiracy because Cassius believes that if Brutus is a part of the assassination their actions will look honorable.

Decius is also an important manipulator in Julius Caesar. Caesar tells Decius that ...

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So well as by reflection, I your glass,

Will modestly discover to yourself

That of yourself which you yet know not of.

And be not jealous on me, gentle Brutus.

(Act1.Sc.2.Line68-71).

Decius is also an important manipulator in Julius Caesar. Caesar tells Decius that he will not go to the Capitol because of the dream his wife had, in which Caesar’s statue was bleeding “like a fountain with a hundred spouts” and “lusty Romans” came to bathe their hands in his blood. Decius informs them that Calpurnia had interpreted the dream incorrectly and in truth the dream was a good omen. He tells him that healthy, smiling Romans bathing in Caesar’s blood means that Rome shall “suck reviving blood” from Caesar and become greater and more powerful. Decius realizes that Caesar is very keen on becoming king because of his ambitious nature so he tells him “…the senate have concluded / To give this day a crown to mighty Caesar. / If you shall send them word you will not come, / Their minds may change.” (Act2.Sc.2.Lines93-96). Likewise, power of words may come from realizing a person’s weakness and exploiting it with words. He knows that Caesar is arrogant. “…Besides it were a mock / Apt to be rendered, for some one to say / Break up the senate till another time / When Caesar’s wife shall meet with better dreams.” (Act2.Sc.2.Line96-99). He tells Caesar that he will be mocked and laughed at if he does not go to the senate, recognizing that by saying this he is hurting Caesar’s pride. Decius uses his powerful words to convince Caesar to go to the Capitol. Had Decius failed to convince him and Caesar did not go to the senate on the Ides of March, his assassination would not have occurred.

After the assassination, Anthony plans to avenge Caesar’s death. His plan is to turn the crowd against the conspirators. He puts his plan into action when he delivers part of the eulogy at Caesar’s funeral. He speaks after Brutus, who has given the crowd his reasons behind the murder. Essentially, Antony plans to provoke the crowd to question Brutus’ rationale. He makes sure that he is not forcing them to retaliate against Brutus and the other conspirators but instead he uses his words to convince them that they came to the decision themselves. “Good friends, sweet friends, let me not stir you up / To such a sudden flood of mutiny.” (Act3.Sc.2.Line208-209). In the preceding quotation, Antony subtly encourages mutiny while seeming to deplore the idea. Further in his speech he speaks the following: “And being men, hearing the will of Caesar, / It will inflame you, it will make you mad. / ‘Tis good you know not that you are his heirs;” (Act3.Sc.2.Lines143-145). This is the birth of curiosity and greed among the commons. In this citation, Antony conveys that if the commons are living men they should be enraged by Caesars death and creates a reason for the mob to want to murder the conspirators because now money is involved which eventually leads to the war.

In Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, Cassius, Decius, and Antony use the power of words to manipulate other characters, which helps develop the plot. Cassius uses his word to influence Brutus to join the conspiracy, Decius convinces Caesar to go to the Capitol on the day of the assassination, and Antony persuade the plebeians to revolt against the conspirators. The power of words allows the manipulator to control the character’s behavior and emotions which influences the decisions the character makes. In many situations, when a person wants others to agree with them, they get their way by using words.