Topic > The speeches of Mark Antony and Brutus in Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar"

Funeral Speeches of Julius Caesar The funeral speeches of Mark Antony and Brutus in the book The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare were both very different and both had intentions different. One was to help the conspirators who killed Julius Caesar and the other was to bring justice to his death. I firmly believe that Mark Antony's speech proved to be much more effective than Brutus'. Both of these speeches also revealed important aspects of the characters. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayThe funeral speeches of Mark Antony and Brutus both served different purposes. With Mark Antony's speech he tries to trick Rome into thinking that Julius Caesar's death was unjustified and that the conspirators were wrong. He does this using rhetorical devices. “He was my friend, faithful and just to me, but Brutus says he was ambitious and Brutus is an honorable man.” (Shakespeare lines 94-96 Act 3 scene 2). The purpose of Brutus' speech was to protect himself and the conspirators from the fury of the Romans for killing their respected leader. He did this using rhetorical questions. “Would you rather that Caesar should live and all the slaves should die, than that Caesar should die, that all free men should live?” (Shakespeare lines 24-26 Act 3 scene 2).I firmly believe that in the end Mark Antony's speech ended up being more successful than Brutus's. However, Brutus' speech was still effective because he used rhetorical devices that allowed him to compliment Caesar while demonstrating that he needed to be killed. “As Caesar loved me, I cry for him; since he was lucky, I am happy about it; because he was valiant, I honored him but because he was ambitious, I killed him. (Shakespeare lines 26-28 Act 3 scene 2). Brutus also managed to convince the crowd that Caesar would become a tyrant and enslave them all. Mark Antony's speech was even more effective. Mark Antony also used rhetorical devices to prove Brutus' points wrong. He dispelled the idea that Caesar was too ambitious and needed to be killed. “He brought many prisoners back to Rome, whose ransoms filled the general coffers. Did this seem ambitious in Caesar?” (Shakespeare lines 97-99 Act 3 scene 2). In the end, Mark Antony's speech proved more effective because he managed to mobilize the crowd against Brutus and the conspirators. Both Brutus' and Mark Antony's speeches reveal important aspects of their characters. Brutus' speech reveals that he intends to justify Caesar's death and save himself and the rest of the conspirators from the fury of the Romans. Brutus' speech also reveals that he is skilled with rhetorical techniques that help him convince the Romans that Caesar's death was justified. This also reveals that Mark Antony's speech reveals that he intends to avenge Caesar's death and that he does not agree with his assassination. His speech also reveals that he is skilled with persuasive techniques because he is able to convince the crowd to believe in Brutus and believe in him. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Customize EssayThe funeral speeches of Mark Antony and Brutus in the book The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare were both very different and both had different intentions. Brutus' speech uses rhetorical devices to convince the Romans that he and the conspirators were justified in killing Julius Caesar. Marc Antony's speech is full of rhetorical devices to avenge Caesar and to convince the crowd that he was right and Brutus was wrong. In the end Mark Antony's speech turns out to be more.