In the play Julius Caesar there are two characters who speak at Caesar’s funeral. Caesar had just been murdered by his best friend Brutus and the other conspirators. Brutus and a man named Mark Antony (who Caesar was both a close friend and father figure too) both speak at the funeral, but each had their own purpose and reason for doing so. Both speaks had their own unique way of addressing the crowd as well as different styles and because of this there are different effects on the crowd.
Brutus was the first to speak. He and the conspirators approach the stand with their hands dripping in Caesar’s blood. Brutus approaches the crowd by stating his reason for killing Caesar. We see from the start how he had to defend his and the other conspirator’s actions to the crowd.
“Not that I loved Caesar less but
that I loved Rome more”
He gains their sympathy in saying this. To achieve his goals, Brutus techniques were simple logical and rational, just like him. Brutus speech is very formal and controlled. It seems that all the sentences are perfectly structured.
Although he did a very good job at explaining to the confused crowd that murdering Caesar was for the good of Rome, he still hadn’t won them over yet.
He then asks rhetorically if the people would want to live their lives as salves under Caesar’s rule or would they prefer to live as freeman with Caesar’s dead.
In asking a question like this, he’s making it hard for the crowd to answer without making it seem as if they are traitors and to anyone insulted by his speech he poses the question;
“Who is here so base that would be a bondman?”
He stresses the point, by using emotive language, repeating the line;
“If any speak, for have I offended”
Then goes on to say: “I pause for a reply”. This allows them to respond to his rhetorical questions, giving them an even greater sense that he cares about them and their opinions. They can only respond;
“None, Brutus, none”
They do not disagree or argue with his words or actions.
Mark Anthony makes a big entrance with the body of Caesar. This has a huge impact on the crowd and Brutus is forced to leave before finishing his speech.
Antony begins by explaining that all he wants is to bury Caesar, not praise him. Antonym says that he does not wish to disgrace Brutus’ “honorable” name.
“But Brutus says he is ambitious and Brutus is an honorable man”
This show how antonym keeps mentioning how honorable Brutus was but antonym uses irony because he means the opposite. Anthony’s technique was very clever. He too uses repletion to reinforce particular words. His use of repetition created a sense of sarcasm about Brutus and the conspirators when he repeatedly referred to them as “honorable man”. The tone and stress that is put into this phrase tricks the crowd into believe in that he is not against Brutus but is insulting him indirectly by mentioning that Caesar was not ambitious for three reasons. One of which was when he gave the ransom of captives to the public treasury and not his own, another is how he wept for the poor, and finally when he refused the kingship that Antony offered him, three times. Anyone who was ambitious would never have done these things. Antony says;
“I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke”,
But that is exactly what he does. By listening to Brutus’ speech before hand he is able to plan what he is going to say and use Brutus’ own speech against him.
Antony has a dramatic effect on the people. First he enters the stage with the bloody body of Caesar. In doing this Mark Antony is able to use the crowd’s senses to his own advantage i.e. the sight of sight (Caesar’s body) and sound (his voice), where as Brutus was limited to only the sense of sound (his voice). Another dramatic effect Antony has on the people is the he uses emotive language towards the end of the speech to describe that his heart is still with the body of Caesar and ends his speech weeping. Mark Antony is therefore able to show his emotion openly, passionately and unashamedly to the crowd. Brutus, on the other hand hides his feelings so can seem rather cold and dispassionate. Mark Antony uses another ‘prop’ Caesar’s ‘will’ which he uses finally to entice the crowd by referring to the will, which offered seventy five drachmas to each citizen as well as Caesar’s land to be used as a public park
At first, the people were against Antony, due to Brutus’ pervious speech. Antony did an excellent job of persuading the crowd and moving them which was his original purpose,
Although it was Antony’s appeal to the crowds emotion that ultimately swayed them to his side. In conclusion, both Brutus and Antony’s speeches were very important to the drama so that their audience can see how easily manipulated the plebeians were. This enables Mark Antony to move the crowd to avenge Caesar’s death through civil war and finally the suicides of Brutus and Mark Antony.
