The Use of Rhetoric in Julius Caesar

In Act III Scene ii of Julius Caesar, the power of rhetoric and oratory is quite visible. At first, Brutus addresses the plebeians using prose, a simpler form of language instead of verse in order to appease the crowd and make them feel as if he is one of them and that his actions were in the best interest of all Roman citizens. Once he finishes his speech he has the crowd completely on his side to the point that they call for him to be the next Caesar (which Brutus did not intend for), but that quickly changes once Antony is given the opportunity to speak.

Before Antony begins to speak to the crowd, he first thanks Brutus for allowing him the opportunity to speak. By doing so, he humbles himself to Brutus, making it seem that he has much respect for him. Antony speaks to the plebeians in verse. Instead of reducing himself to the intelligence level of the plebeians, as Brutus did, he addresses them eloquently to invoke sympathy for the murder of Caesar. He says he is not there to praise the man Caesar was, but only to bury him and remember all the good Caesar did for Rome instead of burying it along with the man, saying, “The good is oft interrèd with their bones,” (III.ii.75). He proceeds to repeat over and over how Brutus is an honorable man, but that he was wrong about Caesar being and ambitious man. Antony reminds the plebeians how Caesar cried when the poor cried, how he brought many slaves to Rome, and how refused the crown three times. How can Caesar be the ambitious tyrant that Brutus claims if he acted this way? As he continues to say how Brutus is an honorable man, the undertone of sarcasm grows and grows. He then weeps about Caesar’s death and brings the body to the center of the room and uncovers the wounds, showing where Brutus stabbed Caesar. The end of his speech has stirred the plebeians stirred to kill the conspirators. Antony’s use of rhetoric causes the crowd to flip their feelings about Caesar and the conspirators completely, gaining their favor.