What Are The Rhetorical Devices Used In Antony's Funeral Speech

During Antony’s funeral speech he utilizes sarcasm, repetition, paralipsis, elevated diction, and emotional appeals to help build his argument and achieve his ultimate goal of mutiny.
Antony decides to lead his argument delicately with “Friends, Romans, Countrymen” (1) to make his presence known and inviting, without negating anything Brutus had said. He also chooses to address Brutus as “noble” (5), even though it goes against his true feelings, because in order to get the people to listen to him, he must use respectful language to address the people his audience trusts. We also recognize Antony’s use of repetition developing when he says “But Brutus says he was ambitious; and Brutus is an honourable man.” (10-11). In this context, the lines act as an attempt to convince the audience to simply listen to what Antony has to say, and not immediately dismiss him.
Antony’s sarcastic tone becomes prevalent as he asks, “Did this in Caesar seem ambitious?” (14). This is done as an
This is done to reel his audience back in, and assure they do not instantly discard the audacious ideas he has just expressed. To expand upon the assurance of his audience he reminds them that they “all did love Caesar once” (30). Finally, Antony results to using pity to persuade his flattery driven audience. He mournfully declared that his”heart [was] in the coffin there with Caesar, and [that he] must pause till it come[s] back to [him]” (34-35). On the surface, it appears that Antony is grieving for the death of his dear friend, which causes his audience to empathize with him. However, his ulterior motive of pausing his speech, was to give the people a chance to talk amongst themselves. As a result, his audience as a whole is all believing one idea. This ultimately allows him to coax a larger mass of people into believing his