Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar is a play deeply concerned with the idea of rhetoric, or persuasion. The play is driven by persuasion. Cassius convinces Brutus that Caesar must die, setting the story in motion. The resolution of the plot is decided by Antony's speech to the plebeians. Shakespeare sees rhetoric as one of the most powerful forces in the world; able to topple kings and crown them. The play, Julius Caesar, examines what gives rhetoric its power by pitting Brutus's speech against Mark Antony's. Shakespeare shows Antony's rhetoric to be superior by the effect he has on the plebeians.
Brutus's speech fails to convince permanently win over the crowd because he does not understand them. His first failure is at the beginning of his speech when he asks the plebeians to, "Censure me in you wisdom, and awake your senses". It seems as though he does not realize that he is speaking to an angry mob. His argument is based on cold and calculating reason. He argues that the love of freedom is stronger than the ties of friendship. "Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more". This logic cannot sink deeply into an emotional mob. He asks the plebeians to "Believe me for mine honor, and have respect to mine honor that you may believe". He cannot use his honor as a reason for belief in his story when his honor is in question. Brutus fails to offer any proof of Caesar's ambition, the central point of his argument. He ends his speech with a verbal attack on any who disagree with him, essentially calling them cowards. This silences dissension temporarily but when the other side is presented it does not help his cause. Brutus's argument fails because he much less a man of the people than he would like to think. Mark Antony's argument is a great piece of rhetoric. He successfully accomplishes his object of convincing the plebeians that Brutus is a traitor. He has mastered the use of emotion, subtlety and logic. He uses emotional phrases such as, "My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar" and "Oh judgment, thou art fled to brutish beasts". Which give him a connection with the emotion the crowd is feeling at the death of Caesar. He begins not by attacking Brutus, but by praising Caesar. This serves to give him a greater common ground with the crowd, who must have also remembered the things that Antony spoke of. He provides many counter-examples to Brutus's claim that Caesar was ambitious. "I thrice presented him a kingly crown which he did thrice refuse". These counter-examples give warrant to the crowd's rejection of Brutus. His reference to Brutus as an, "honorable man" progresses from a simple statement to a mordant denunciation over the course of his speech. His indirect way of showing the crowd his feelings makes his speech more effective. The crowd is guided but not forced to his conclusions so that when they accept his argument they feel like it is their own. Antony is ultimately the better orator because of his understanding of the crowd.

Both Brutus and Mark Antony struggle for the support of the plebeians, who are portrayed as dumb and fickle. This is at the heart of Shakespeare's idea of rhetoric. Rhetoric is pure persuasion; it is not bound by the same rules as debate. Shakespeare does not pass judgment on the absolute validity of either argument in that scene. The viewer is left to decide for himself who is truly right, but there is no doubt that Antony is the better speaker