Mark Anthony's speech analysis
The play "Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare begins with the victory of Julius Caesar’s battle against Pompey. The Roman people gain great respect for Caesar and celebrate his victory in the festival of Lupercal. The senators begin to fear that Caesar would become king and over power them; taking away the Roman people's freedom. To prevent this from happening the senators end up plotting a plan to kill Caesar. This plan was led by two of the conspirators, Brutus and Cassius. After Caesar was murdered by the conspirators Antony asked them for permission to say a speech at Caesar's funeral and Brutus allows him to do so. In his speech, Antony uses the technique irony by saying one thing but meaning another as an indirect means of persuasion, uses repetition, and the beneficiaries of Caesar’s will. Antony began his speech by explaining his purpose for speaking at Caesar's funeral. Antony tells the crowd, "I come to bury Caesar not to praise him" (3.2.83). Antony says this meaning another because he knows that the Roman people at the moment think of Caesar as a bad man who deserved his misfortune of being murdered by the conspirators. In that case, Antony has to make himself look as if he is on the conspirator’s side otherwise the crowd would refuse to listen to him any further and most likely would of killing him. In addition, Antony uses repetition to emphasize the
Mark Antony for President. It's a time of sorrow. Caesar has been stabbed and killed. A civil war has ensued.
Mark Antony for President It's a time of sorrow. Caesar has been stabbed and killed. A civil war has ensued. The leaders of the conspirators are dead. It is time for a new leader of the newly formed Roman Republic to be elected. Marc Antony is the most popular candidate running for President and is supported by many and I am of the foremost of his supporters. Rome needs a leader that is loyal, clever, and a great orator! Mark Antony fits the bill. He is by far the most highly skilled orator in all of Rome. His words and voice are what caused the second civil war, where the conspirators were defeated. In his funeral speech, at which Brutus did not attend, he swayed the Roman crowd, inciting them into such a frenzy that they completely forgot about the will he was going to read in their mad and hurried attempt to find and kill the conspirators who killed their beloved Caesar. In his speech, Antony repeatedly uses the word honorable to sarcastically refer to the conspirators and uses the word ambitious to describe how they wronged Caesar and killed him using the excuse that he was ambitious. Antony then takes Brutus’ reasons for killing Caesar and easily flips them around with a few well said words and uses them against the conspirators. Although he is proven to be a well spoken man, some say he was cold hearted for wanting to kill the conspirators but that was because he
How Shakespeare Creates Tension in Julius Caesar Act 1 Scene 3.
Julius Caesar Act 1 Scene 3 Tension In act one scene three of Julius Caesar, there are many things that help to create tension and really help the reader to understand the immediate danger that is to follow. For example, the scene itself uses pathetic fallacy to set the scene and create a sense of tension. The ‘thunder and lightning’ effect our emotions in such a way that we are able to foreshadow things to come and realize that this is no ordinary scene. Furthermore, we can see further foreshadowing when Caska explains ‘For I believe they are portentous things.’ The word portentous helps to create a sinister and ominous setting and is an indication of things to come. Further tension is created when we see that this is no ordinary night on which the conspirators meet. Many strange occurrences happen that seem to create a sense that the whole world has been turned upside down. For example, we are told that ‘a common slave held up his hand, in which the flame burned, yet his hand remained untouched,’ ‘a loin walked the streets,’ ‘men, all in fire walk up and down the streets,’ ‘a bird of night did sit even at noonday upon the market-place’ and ‘a tempest dropping fire’. All of these are extremely strange and are importantly stressed by Caska and Cicero. It gives us a sense that the world has been turned upside down and everything has become
"Machiavel or Passionate Idealist" - Which of either applies to Mark Antony?
"Machiavel or Passionate Idealist" Which of either applies to Mark Antony? Introduction Antony was slow to emerge, and it wasn't until he was forced to show his true potential, could he really be judged. He was a character with many hidden traits until he was forced to show his true character while defending Caesar after his death. He was misunderstood by all, and his true leadership qualities were underestimated. Once he became a leader of Rome, his true character was unrevealed. Antony loved Julius Caesar and became very dependent on him. Antony had desired the crown for Caesar so that all friction could have been avoided, and then after Caesar, he could have had the highest position. All this was changed however when Caesar became no more. It was impossible for Antony to subordinate himself to anyone else; least of all to the conspirators. Antony was looked down upon by all the conspirators except for Brutus. They feared Antony would become as powerful as Caesar and possibly a dictator. Brutus persuaded the others not to add the assassination by saying, "And for Mark Antony, think not of him: for he can do no more than Caesar's arm when Caesar's head is off." Brutus underestimated Antony and perceived him as a person who didn't always take life seriously, couldn't have a serious nature and therefore, not a thinker. Brutus judged him as being frivolous and simply
Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar Julius Caesar is one of Shakespeare's great history plays, written in the early 1600s. The play is about a famous Roman leader, Julius Caesar, and the stories of the wars he fought, the people he killed, until the betraying treason committed upon him, and thereafter the havoc caused by the dramatic death of the Roman leader. I will be working on Scene 2, which is about the two speeches of Brutus and Mark Antony (MA), talking to the crowd, after the death of Caesar. I will firstly explain Brutus' speech. "Not that I love Caesar less, but that I love Rome more", is a quote by Brutus, which depicts how he tried to make everybody think that the killing of Caesar was done for the good of Rome, purely for the country and its people. Another reason Brutus gives the crowd is "as he was ambitious, I slew him". The word "ambitious" signifies the attempt of Brutus to make Caesar seem power-greedy with the ultimate need of his killing. Also, the effect of the very powerful word "slew" emphasises Brutus' directness and his reliance on the truth to quieten the crowd's uproar. To summarise on Brutus' speech, I will give a short précis of his language. Brutus' language was clearly controlled, as he spoke very cleverly to entice the audience. He also as a stoic, didn't show his emotions, and didn't sound like he cared about Caesar. However this was not the case in
Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar In Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, Decius Brutus and Mark Antony, both Roman Senators, eulogize Julius Caesar, each using a different technique and approach. Brutus, in a somewhat arrogant, to the point, eulogy, attempts to sway the people. He justifies conspiring against Caesar by stating that Caesar's ambition would have hurt Rome. However, in Antony's eulogy, he focuses on Caesar's positive traits, and cunningly disproves Brutus' justification for killing Caesar. The fickle Romans waver between leaders, responding emotionally, rather than intellectually, to the orators. Brutus seeks to explain why he conspired against Caesar. He begins his speech with "Romans, countrymen ...", appealing to their consciousness as citizens of Rome, who, he later says, will benefit as freeman with Caesar's death. This shows that Brutus knows how to lure the crowd, appealing to their better judgement as Romans. He declares that he is an honorable man, and tells them that he will let them judge the validity of his claims. That is, he will allow the truth to speak for itself. This encourages the crowd to believe him, as an honorable man. He says that he wants them to know the facts; "Censure me in your wisdom, and awake your senses that you may the better judge." Sharing information with the people is flattering and it almost guarantees acceptance.
Julius Caesar
Robin Butcher Julius Caesar After analysing Mark Anthony's speech at Julius Caesar's funeral, I have come to some conclusions about the persuasive techniques used by Shakespeare to manipulate the crowd within the story and to turn the plebeians against Brutus and the other conspirators. The speech is also used to stop the commons making Brutus Caesar. Brutus has allowed Mark Anthony to give a speech at Julius Caesar's funeral but only after Brutus has given his side of the story, by now Brutus has all the commons/plebeians support. During his speech Brutus offers his life. Mark Anthony starts his speech with the words "You gentle Romans" this sounds as if he is taking pity on them immediately drawing their full attention to him. Next he addresses them as "Friends, Romans, countrymen" this is appealing to their consciousness as citizens of Rome Brutus but also by addressing them using the three words it becomes more personal instead of "everyone". Immediately Mark Anthony states his reason for his presence this being that he "has come to bury Caesar, not to praise him", this is because the commons have turned against Caesar and so do not want to hear good of him. Also by saying this it put Mark Anthony on their side. It is at this point we're told that while good is buried with the dead the evil lives on after them. This tells the commons that what Brutus has done
Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar Many critics argue that in Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar the key scene is in Act III Scene II when Brutus and then Mark Anthony address the crowd after Caesar has been murdered. I believe this is true because the whole play is dependent on the outcome of this scene, which becomes a war of words. If Brutus wins, the play is over, with him taking the role as head of the senate and then probably having to kill Mark Anthony, as he is too dangerous, and too much of a political threat. But if Mark Anthony wins he gets his chance to revenge his beloved friend by killing Brutus and the other conspirators. I know that after Caesar's assassination Mark Anthony is fuming with rage and wants nothing but retribution. '...Mothers shall but smile when they behold their infants quartered with the hands of war.' This gruesome image portrays the feelings of Mark Anthony clearly grieving the fact that his friend has been murdered, and when someone is grieving such a great loss they sometimes wish to see others suffer as they are suffering. This play depicts the turmoil within politics that we can still see today; many politicians lie and cheat to achieve their goals, certain western leaders have convinced soldiers to still keep looking for Nuclear weapons in Iraq. Many people say the first true political state was the Republic of Rome before it was malformed to the Roman
Julius Caesar
GCSE English Coursework: Julius Caesar Discuss the dramatic effectiveness of Shakespeare's presentation of the scene of Caesar's assassination and its aftermath. Written in 1599, Julius Caesar was the earliest of Shakespeare's three Roman history plays. It was the very first play performed in the Globe Theatre, on the south bank of the River Thames. During this time, it was the reign of Elizabeth I, in her mid sixties. Like Antony and Cleopatra and Coriolanus, Julius Caesar is a dramatization of actual events, Shakespeare drawing upon the ancient Roman historian Plutarch Lives of Caesar, Brutus, and Mark Antony as the primary source of the play's plot and characters. The play is tightly structured. It establishes the dramatic problem of alarm at Julius Caesar's ambition to become "king" (or dictator) in the very first scene and introduces signs that Caesar must "beware the Ides of March" from the outset. Before its midpoint, Caesar is assassinated, and shortly after Mark Antony's famous funeral oration ("Friends, Romans, and countrymen ... "), the setting shifts permanently from Rome to the battlefields on which Brutus and Cassius meet their inevitable defeat. Julius Caesar is also a tragedy; but despite its title, the tragic character of the play is Brutus, the noble Roman whose decision to take part in the conspiracy for the sake of freedom plunges him into a personal
Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar This is the attractive story based on true history of the birth of the Roman Empire, beginning with the brutal murder of their leader, Julius Caesar. Three of the characters show the human traits of being three-dimensional and dynamic, Anthony, Caesar's loyal companion; Cassius, one of the conspirators; and Caesar himself. This story begins from a Caesar's returning from a war. He brings a lot of money, slaves glory. Romans are very proud of him and they all love him. But Brutus, his friend, and Casius are jealous of him and they lead a team of men to conspire and kill the rule of Rome, Julius Caesar. They think that Caesar is too ambition. So along with cd-conspirators they kill him. Immediately after the death of Caesar , Brutus tells Marc Antony that he, too, loved Caesar but this personal tie is not so important as public consideration. On Caesar's funeral Brutus does a good oration where he explains that they killed Julius Caesar "not because they didn't love him, but because they love Rome much more that him. But than Marc Antony, a real friend to Caesar, is given the opportunity to speak at Caesar's funeral as long as he accepts by Brutus' rules "not to blame him and other conspirators", to speak only good of Caesar, and to speak in the same way as Brutus went with his speech. Challenged by the crowd and supporting the conspirator's purpose Marc
