Essay on Marc Antony’s Funeral Oration - 1470 Words

In William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, Mark Antony pleads with his â€Å"Friends, Romans (and) countrymen† to lend him their ears in an effort to exonerate Caesar from false charges laid against him. The three main conspirators in Caesar’s murder, Brutus, Casca and Cassius portrayed Caesar as an ambitious tyrant to the Roman people. After Caesar was unjustly killed by his friends and comrades, the crowd was persuaded to believe that his death was necessary for the good of the republic. However, Antony’s oration cleverly manipulates the crowd through the use of pathetic appeals, especially enargeia, into rebelling against the assassins and mourning the death of Caesar. Caesar’s untimely and unnecessary death created a unique rhetorical†¦show more content†¦Marc Antony was given permission to speak at the funeral of Caesar, under the condition that he would not undermine the conspirators. And so, Marc Antony never directly states that Brutus and the other conspirators lied about their murderous motives. Marc Antony was constrained by the inability to publicly show his contempt for the gruesome murder, and so he took a more subtle approach by gradually turning the crowds against the murderers. Prior to Marc Antony’s oration the crowd had been convinced by Brutus that the death of Caesar was just and warranted. They were led to believe that Caesar was a tyrant and so when Marc Antony ascended to speak they were already hostile to his argument. Crowley and Hawhee state that members of an audience may hold one of three attitudes toward an issue or a rhetor’s ethos: they may be hostile, indifferent, or accepting. Communication researchers have found that it is easier to move people who care about an issue than it is to influence those who are indifferent. That is, it is easier to bring about a change of mind in those who are accepting or hostile than in those who are indifferent. (212) Before Marc Antony spoke the crowd called Caesar a tyrant and said â€Å"we are blest that Rome is rid of him† (3.2.73). The crowd had been easily swayed to believe the lies concerning Caesar’s ambition, and felt they were indebted to the murderers for freeing them from Caesar’s alleged tyrannical rule. However, after Antony’sShow MoreRelatedWilliam Shakespeare s Julius Caesar1119 Words   |  5 PagesAntony’s Funeral Oration in Julius Caesar, and Why It Wouldn’t Stand in Court â€Å"Circumstantial evidence is a very tricky thing. It may seem to point very straight to one thing, but if you shift your own point of view a little, you may find it pointing in an equally uncompromising manner to something entirely different.† – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. What does circumstantial evidence have to do with a speech, you may ask? 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Similarly to this phrase, Marc Antony uses several literary techniques to paint Julius Caesar in a positive light during his speech. In the play Julius Caesar several conspirators devise a successful plan to murder and overthrow the ruler of Rome. The death of Caesar could easily be seen as the cusp of his impact on the story; however, despite after death, Caesar plays a huge role in further development of the plot. 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Therefore, Antony begs to speak at his funeral where he convinces the plebeians that Caesar never means harm. At this point, Antony declares war on the Caesar’s killers. In the end, he defeats Brutus and Cassius, and the two conspirators kill th emselves. In The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, William