Friday, October 25, 2019
Julius Caesar Essay: Mark Antony as the Genius of Julius Caesar
Mark Antony as the Genius of Julius Caesar Mark Antony - the guy is a genius. He gives the most powerful and emotional speech ever conjured up by a human mind. He gets this powerful emotion from the pain of the loss of his friend, Julius Caesar. In Shakespeare's play about the ill-fated Roman ruler, a band of conspirators plot to kill Julius Caesar. They succeed in doing so, and Caesar's best friend Antony is infuriated. However, he manages to keep his cool, until he is allowed to speak at Caesar's funeral. Brutus, the leader of the conspiracy, attempts to win the popularity and support of the crowd, and he does so with a speech full of glittering generalities. His speech sounded good, but really meant nothing. The people favor Brutus until Antony takes the stand and delivers the cold hard facts, turning the mob of people into an angry stampede. The persuasive techniques that were used by Antony helped him to gain the crowd's support. If he did not use these techniques, Antony would sim ply be carried off the stage and thrown into the mob. The techniques that he used (to make his speech persuade the mob to help him) were: the fact that he acknowledged the opposing argument, his slowly rising emotional expression, and the use of a simple refrain that gets more and more sarcastic each time around.            Antony must acknowledge the opposing argument, because it helps him to show the crowd that he does not have a selfish or one-tracked mind. "The noble Brutus hath told you Caesar was ambitious. If it were so, it would be a grievous fault." (Act III, Scene ii, 79-81) Although the crowd knows it, Antony says that Brutus said that Caesar was ambitious. Why? Antony restates what Brutus said to make a very p... ... Antony has just made a complete fool of Brutus. Again, only one small detail changed in the refrain to produce the sarcasm - the "and sure." It is hard to believe that only changing a few little words can cause that much of an impact on a speech.            Through the use of these three persuasive techniques, Mark Antony succeeds in winning the support of the entire mob. By acknowledging the opposing argument, slowly letting his emotions take over, and using a "simple" refrain, Antony delivers the perfect crowd-manipulating oration. Antony knows the psychology of persuasion, and he shows it when he gives the speech. The qualities of a persuasive speech, to speak of Antony's methods, are not obvious at all. They come slowly, and that is the way to get a crowd in your hands. Works Cited: Shakespeare, William. Julius Caesar. New York: Simon, 1975. Julius Caesar Essay: Mark Antony as the Genius of Julius Caesar Mark Antony as the Genius of Julius Caesar Mark Antony - the guy is a genius. He gives the most powerful and emotional speech ever conjured up by a human mind. He gets this powerful emotion from the pain of the loss of his friend, Julius Caesar. In Shakespeare's play about the ill-fated Roman ruler, a band of conspirators plot to kill Julius Caesar. They succeed in doing so, and Caesar's best friend Antony is infuriated. However, he manages to keep his cool, until he is allowed to speak at Caesar's funeral. Brutus, the leader of the conspiracy, attempts to win the popularity and support of the crowd, and he does so with a speech full of glittering generalities. His speech sounded good, but really meant nothing. The people favor Brutus until Antony takes the stand and delivers the cold hard facts, turning the mob of people into an angry stampede. The persuasive techniques that were used by Antony helped him to gain the crowd's support. If he did not use these techniques, Antony would sim ply be carried off the stage and thrown into the mob. The techniques that he used (to make his speech persuade the mob to help him) were: the fact that he acknowledged the opposing argument, his slowly rising emotional expression, and the use of a simple refrain that gets more and more sarcastic each time around.            Antony must acknowledge the opposing argument, because it helps him to show the crowd that he does not have a selfish or one-tracked mind. "The noble Brutus hath told you Caesar was ambitious. If it were so, it would be a grievous fault." (Act III, Scene ii, 79-81) Although the crowd knows it, Antony says that Brutus said that Caesar was ambitious. Why? Antony restates what Brutus said to make a very p... ... Antony has just made a complete fool of Brutus. Again, only one small detail changed in the refrain to produce the sarcasm - the "and sure." It is hard to believe that only changing a few little words can cause that much of an impact on a speech.            Through the use of these three persuasive techniques, Mark Antony succeeds in winning the support of the entire mob. By acknowledging the opposing argument, slowly letting his emotions take over, and using a "simple" refrain, Antony delivers the perfect crowd-manipulating oration. Antony knows the psychology of persuasion, and he shows it when he gives the speech. The qualities of a persuasive speech, to speak of Antony's methods, are not obvious at all. They come slowly, and that is the way to get a crowd in your hands. Works Cited: Shakespeare, William. Julius Caesar. New York: Simon, 1975.
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