Julius Caesar Funeral Speech
Lend me Your Ears
The empire of Rome has fallen into mourning due to the assassination of Julius Caesar. Rome needs a new leader, one who can rebuild the peoples’ faith and rule with a benevolent grace. As a rule, men worry more about what they can't see than about what they can. Rome needs a ruler that can bring its hidden problems to light and deal with them accordingly. Marcus Antonius should be the new leader of Rome. Marc Antony is a persuasive man that has a way with words. Before he gives his funeral speech at Caesar’s funeral, he is told by Marcus Brutus that he cannot speak until Brutus is done, and that he must not say anything negative about the conspirators. However, he does name the conspirators as traitors: “Kind souls, what, weep you when you but behold Our Caesar's vesture wounded? Look you here, Here is himself, marr'd, as you see, with traitors.” (3.2.190–92) He convinces the crowd that the assassins of Caesar are traitors, while praising them at the same time by referring to them as “honorable men”: “For Brutus is an honorable man; so are they all, all honorable men—” (3.2.81–82) He uses sarcasm to persuade the crowd of citizens that the assassins are not “honorable men”, but traitorous assassins. …show more content…
By using sarcasm, he demonstrates the ability to manipulate the crowd to do the opposite of what he claims to be doing; that is, telling them to mutiny while saying he is not telling them to mutiny. “O masters, if I were disposed to stir your hearts and minds to mutiny and rage, I should do Brutus wrong, and Cassius wrong—who, you all know, are honorable men.” (3.2.121–23) Antony was able to rally the people into doing what he wanted. In the same speech, he also brings up Caesar’s will and reads what Caesar left for the people. He plays on the interests of the crowd and uses this to get them to do what he
The empire of Rome has fallen into mourning due to the assassination of Julius Caesar. Rome needs a new leader, one who can rebuild the peoples’ faith and rule with a benevolent grace. As a rule, men worry more about what they can't see than about what they can. Rome needs a ruler that can bring its hidden problems to light and deal with them accordingly. Marcus Antonius should be the new leader of Rome. Marc Antony is a persuasive man that has a way with words. Before he gives his funeral speech at Caesar’s funeral, he is told by Marcus Brutus that he cannot speak until Brutus is done, and that he must not say anything negative about the conspirators. However, he does name the conspirators as traitors: “Kind souls, what, weep you when you but behold Our Caesar's vesture wounded? Look you here, Here is himself, marr'd, as you see, with traitors.” (3.2.190–92) He convinces the crowd that the assassins of Caesar are traitors, while praising them at the same time by referring to them as “honorable men”: “For Brutus is an honorable man; so are they all, all honorable men—” (3.2.81–82) He uses sarcasm to persuade the crowd of citizens that the assassins are not “honorable men”, but traitorous assassins. …show more content…
By using sarcasm, he demonstrates the ability to manipulate the crowd to do the opposite of what he claims to be doing; that is, telling them to mutiny while saying he is not telling them to mutiny. “O masters, if I were disposed to stir your hearts and minds to mutiny and rage, I should do Brutus wrong, and Cassius wrong—who, you all know, are honorable men.” (3.2.121–23) Antony was able to rally the people into doing what he wanted. In the same speech, he also brings up Caesar’s will and reads what Caesar left for the people. He plays on the interests of the crowd and uses this to get them to do what he