Written by: Sxyclr (leagally_gorgeous@hotmail.com)
The play ‘Julius Caesar’ is not merely about, Julius Caesar; the character who gives the play its title only appears in three scenes and just has a few lines. The play is much more centred round a struggle for power and the use rhetoric, the ability to persuade people.
A good persuasive speech will contain certain devices, more often than not it will be very emotive using imagery, it might use mockery or humour, the speech may contain rhetorical questions or repetition to get a point across but generally it will be aimed at exploiting human weakness and appeal to those it aims to persuade; it flatters them.
The first significant persuasive speech in the play is when Cassius wants to persuade Brutus to join his rebel group which has the aim of assassinating Caesar. It is vital to Cassius’ group that they manage to get Brutus on their side because of their reputations. Cassius, for example, is seen as having a ‘hungry look’ about him, the word hungry implying the fact that Cassius is ‘power-hungry’ whereas Brutus is seen as an honourable man ‘O, he sits high in all the people’s hearts’. The rebels believe that Brutus will change how people perceive their deed, the murder of Caesar; their act ‘…that which would appear offence’ in them will only be considered for the good of Rome if Brutus is alongside them,
‘His countenance, like richest alchemy,
Will change to virtue and to worthiness’.
The metaphor about alchemy is used because in Shakespeare’s time there were many alchemists/scientists that were trying to discover how to turn worthless metal into gold. The conspirators believe that Brutus will do this for their cause; he will turn their aim, in the public’s eyes, into something honourable rather than something for selfish gain.
The task of convincing Brutus to join the plot to assassinate Caesar turns out to be fairly easy and the catalyst that launches Cassius into trying to persuade Brutus that Caesar should be assassinated is when Brutus himself reveals the fact that he has doubt in Caesar as a leader.
‘…I do fear, the people
Choose Caesar for their king.’
Cassius then exploits this initial doubt in Brutus and helps it to grow. Cassius does this by revealing several weaknesses of Caesar’s that he has happened to witness. He wants to convince Brutus that Caesar is not ‘immortal’, a word which reinforces the fact that many believe Caesar has become a God, but still human and therefore he can be defeated.
Cassius then strives to prove that Caesar is not immortal by recounting various circumstances when even Cassius ‘a wretched creature’ must save Caesar, ‘Help me, Cassius, or I sink!’. The word wretched has connotations with vile and worthless, creating a nasty image of Cassius but because Shakespeare chose to write creature instead of person it lowers the image of Cassius even further, Cassius becomes a repulsive, bestial image. This is showing Caesar to be dependant on others and because Cassius has denounced himself, it seems as if anyone could save or corrupt Caesar therefore extending the doubt in Brutus’ mind that Caesar is not fit to be King. Cassius then goes a step further likening Caesar to himself, lowering Brutus’ opinion of Caesar and when Cassius says he would rather not live at all than live to worship a man as ordinary as himself,
‘…for my single self,
I had as lief not be as live to be
In awe of such a thing as I myself’,
Brutus is in complete agreement because of how Cassius has presented the argument; showing Caesar as weak and pathetic and not fit to be King, as ordinary as any other man.
Cassius devotes a lot of his speech to showing Caesar as being weak ‘His coward lips did from their colour fly’. Cassius is implying here that it was not the sickness that made him drain of colour but his cowardice. Cassius uses imagery to show Caesar as all powerful, ‘he doth bestride the narrow world / Like a Colossus’ but uses facts to show him as weak ‘He had a fever when he was in Spain’, this appeals to Brutus’ liking for logic. Cassius has convinced Brutus that ‘this god did shake’ and he often repeats the word God, however it is in a sarcastic tone, accentuating how weak Cassius believes Caesar is. He voices his opinion clearly to sway Brutus’.
‘…it doth amaze me
A man of such feeble temper should
So get the start of the majestic world
And bear the palm alone.’
Cassius acknowledges his doubt in Caesar in order to convince Brutus that he is not the only one who feels that way about Caesar, thus encouraging Brutus that Caesar as a king is not a good thing.
After convincing Brutus that Caesar is a weak leader, Cassius still needs to convince Brutus to act upon this. Cassius does this by using a “buzz word”, ‘honour’. Brutus has a weakness and in this case, all Cassius has to do is make the assassination of Caesar seem as if it is an honourable deed rather than an egotistical fight for power. We can identify Brutus as a man of honour because he himself says ‘…I love/ The name of honour more than I fear death’ and Cassius uses this to his advantage; convincing Brutus that their aim is for the good of Rome and that ‘honour is the subject of my story’. This is effective because it appeals to Brutus, and it would work for anyone; a good speech maker will write his speech in such a way that it appeals to the things that matter most to his audience.
Furthermore Cassius uses flattery on Brutus; flattery is a very useful technique when trying to persuade someone of something, and Brutus falls for it.
‘Brutus and Caesar: what should be in that “Caesar”?
Why should that name be sounded more than yours?
Write them together, yours is as fair a name;
Sound them, it doth become the mouth as well;’
Cassius is flattering Brutus to boost his ego and make Brutus question why Caesar ‘doth bestride the narrow world’ and not him. The question Cassius is asking is a rhetorical question, a device which actually derives from rhetoric, it is being asked in order to make Brutus think, the answer is implied and left unsaid.
Every device Cassius uses in his speech is effective in the persuasion of Brutus to join his cause; the same devices are used in other speeches by other characters to persuade other people and the same devices work yet again, for example Decius’ speech persuading Caesar to travel to the Capitol.
Decius uses rhetoric successfully and manages to persuade Caesar to travel to the capitol with him, even after Calpurnia has tried to convince Caesar to stay at home. Calpurnia lacks the necessary persuasive devices that are required to stop Caesar from leaving; her argument is all too easy to counter for Decius.
First Decius pinpoints Caesar’s weakness, for Brutus it was ‘honour’ and for Caesar it is being the greatest. We can say this because there is many an occasion when Caesar refers to himself as a title ‘Caesar is turn’d to hear’, he often uses his name in the same way that one would say God, and he also thinks that nothing can touch or harm him in any way.
‘…The things that threatened me
Ne'er looked but on my back; when they shall see
The face of Caesar they are vanished.’
This shows Caesar as a vain and arrogant man, a weakness Decius finds easy to expose, thus Decius can easily manipulate Caesar by way of flattery.
Decius knows that because Caesar likes to be flattered he is far more inclined to believe that the dream Calpurnia has of men washing their hands in Caesar’s blood is symbolic of how much the Roman people adored Caesar rather than a warning of the conspiracy against him. Caesar preferred this interpretation of the dream and so dismisses Calpurnia.
‘How foolish do your fears seem now, Calpurnia!
I am ashamed I did yield to them.’
However, just simple flattery would not fully persuade the ‘Most mighty Caesar’, Decius mocks Caesar and uses reverse psychology. Decius can use this because Caesar does not want to be seen as weak ‘…Danger knows full well/ That Caesar is more dangerous than he’. Personifying danger allows Shakespeare to create the image of danger actually shying away from Caesar. Decius uses Caesar’s insecurity about wanting to seem like a God, Caesar tries to create a strong image of himself, ‘Yet if my name were liable to fear’. Consequently when Decius goads and mocks Caesar ‘shall they not whisper, “Lo Caesar is afraid?”, Caesar does not wish to appear afraid so does not hesitate in trying to prove this wrong by actually going to the senators; towards the death his wife tries to warn him about.
Furthermore Decius uses what Caesar desperately wants, to become king of Rome, we can assume this because earlier in the play Casca mentions Caesar refusing the crown and how ‘he was very loath to lay his fingers of it’; he thinks Caesar was just trying to please the crowd. Hence when Decius tells Caesar
‘…the senate have concluded
To give this day a crown to mighty Caesar’
Yet again, the use of the word mighty, the word itself creates the impression of greatness but because of the context, Decius is using it to persuade Caesar to come to the Capitol to be murdered, and because it is repeated so often, the word has a sarcastic tone to it, as if Decius is secretly sneering at Caesar. Caesar is desperate for the crown Decius is promising and does not want to pass up the opportunity to receive it, especially if it means losing the crown for good as Decius suggests, ‘their minds may change’. As a result Caesar is tempted to travel to the Capitol and meet with the senate.
Calpurnia was not successful in her persuasion because she does not appeal to her audience (in this case Caesar) in the way that Decius does, this is a very important part of rhetoric. Decius flattered Caesar, he mocked him and he also dangled in front of Caesar the promise of a crown. Compared to Calpurnia’s ‘I do fear them’ there was no competition; Decius won the battle and Caesar will travel to the Capitol. ‘Give me my robe, for I will go.’
The next major speech that uses rhetoric is Brutus’ speech to the crowd about why he and the rebels have killed Caesar. Brutus needs to convince the plebeians that the murder of Caesar was for the good of Rome so they do not riot and rebel against Brutus and his group.
The first thing that is noticeable about Brutus’ speech is that he speaks in prose rather than blank verse. Prose is usually reserved for those in the play that are less important, the common people; the plebeians. Blank verse on the other hand is generally used by the nobleman, the characters that are rich, educated and have positions of power. The significance of this speech being in prose is that Brutus is trying to make himself seem more approachable and friendly ‘Romans, countrymen and lovers’. Also, he is being truly honest, what he is saying he is speaking from the heart and he truly believes what they have done is for the good of Rome and this comes across in prose because it is genuinely easier to understand.
He persuades the public that his actions are for the good of Rome by first convincing them that he loved Caesar just as much as ‘any dear friend of Caesar’s’ but the reason why he killed Caesar was because he ‘loved Rome more’. This appeals to the crowd, they want to hear how much they mean to Brutus.
Brutus uses logic in his argument. He believes a reasoned argument to be the best way to persuade the plebeians round to his way of thinking. He offers them two choices ‘Had you rather Caesar were living, and die all slaves, than that Caesar were dead, to live all freemen?’ Brutus gives the plebeians only those choices, he tells them, this would have happened and that is why killing Caesar was for the good of Rome. It is a reasoned argument, if what Brutus is saying is true, then the plebeians have little option other than to believe Brutus when he says he ‘loved Rome more’.
Furthermore Brutus manages to convince the crowd that they are all actually in agreement with him. He suggests that because Caesar ‘was ambitious’ that anyone against Caesar receiving ‘death for his ambition’ ‘would be a bondman’. Brutus says if anyone is against the killing of Caesar then they are against their country. Brutus then asks if he has offended anyone. Of course no one wants to stand out in a crowd and object to the killing of Caesar just after Brutus has said ‘who here is so vile that will not love his country?’. The crowd are persuaded that if Caesar had been left alive then they would have been made slaves because that is the only choice Brutus gave them.
Brutus’ argument is a very short argument and to the point, it is effective because it was logical and made sense, however it did not work because of a mistake Brutus made earlier in the play; letting Antony speak after him.
Mark Antony uses many devices in his speech to make it appeal to the crowd, he manipulates them and counters Brutus’ argument. Primarily we notice that Antony’s speech is in verse and iambic pentameter, this gives the impression of nobility and intelligence, which adds credibility to what Mark Antony is saying.
Mark Antony lies within the second line of his speech ‘I come to bury Caesar not praise him’. He does this to make sure the crowd will listen to him because he knows they have just been won over by Brutus’ undoubtedly contrasting speech. Firstly, Antony works to undermine Brutus’ sole reason he gave the plebeians for murdering Caesar.
‘…The noble Brutus
Hath told you Caesar was ambitious;
If it were so, it was a grievous fault’.
The word noble is used with a slight mocking tone and the use of the phrase ‘If it were so’ creates doubt, and a slight disbelief of what Brutus was claiming. Anthony is trying to prove that Brutus was lying without saying it outright.
Antony gives examples of things Caesar did that were great ‘ He hath brought many captives home to Rome’ then tries to suggest that it is these good things that Caesar did are the things that Brutus is saying were ambitious. Undermining Brutus in this way is a very good use of rhetoric, it helps him Antony make the crowd disbelieve Brutus’ argument and thus the crowd are now far more likely to start listening to Antony.
Also Antony uses repetition in his speech to get his point across.
‘Yet Brutus says he was ambitious,
And Brutus is an honourable man’
The same two lines are repeatedly used to, at first, appear as if Mark Antony is agreeing with Brutus, so the crowd will listen to him. However later on in the speech it is clear that Antony is being sarcastic and as a result the crowd doubt Brutus more and more.
An element of rhetoric that Brutus left out is emotion, Antony uses emotional blackmail in his speech.
‘…Bear with me,
My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar,
And I must pause till it come back to me.’
Antony cries to make the crowd feel sorry for him and they empathise with him.
A device Antony uses is saying the complete opposite of what he means, it is very sly. Antony has sworn not to speak badly of Brutus, Cassius and the rebels and so he tells the crowd ‘I will not do them wrong’ but by saying that, he is doing them wrong. It appears that he is being noble and thoughtful to the plebeians but he is at the same time undermining ‘such honourable men’. Antony repeats the word honourable a lot and due to this the word loses its true meaning and it just becomes a word of mocking for Antony.
Another technique Antony uses is the promise of a will, Antony dangles it in front of the plebeians saying he cannot read it because they ‘it will inflame’ them. This has the effect of getting the crowd to hang on to Antony’s every word and when he says:
‘Tis good you know not that you are his heirs,
For if you should, O, what would come of it?’
Of course, Antony has just revealed what the will supposedly holds. This is effective because now the plebeians have completely forgotten Brutus’ words and are set against the rebels ‘They were traitors. Honourable men!’. The plebeians are now in favour of Antony and Caesar.
Antony has another trick up his sleeve in the manipulation of the crowd, Antony has only achieved half of what he has set out to do; not only counter Brutus but to make the crowd so angry that they riot, so he reveals the body of Caesar. This is a shock tactic on the part of Antony, it has the effect of enraging the crowd. Antony shows them the stab wounds and sneers at the fact that Brutus…was Caesar’s angel’.
Furthermore Antony pretends to be useless at speech making
‘For I have neither wit, nor words, nor worth,
Action, nor utterance, nor the power of speech
To stir men’s blood.’
This is another lie on Antony’s part but the plebeians believe them, it is a good technique to use because the crowd believe they came to the conclusion that Brutus is a traitor themselves and that Brutus is an ‘orator’. Antony makes the crowd believe he is speaking from the heart, he completely counters Brutus. Antony is doing exactly what he claims not to have done ‘…move/The stones of Rome to rise and mutiny.’ Antony does not use flattery in his speech, instead he criticizes himself and his ability, this is effective because the crowd feel sympathy for him and find him more believable and trustworthy even though they are being severely manipulated.
Antony’s speech was extremely successful because it was emotional and very manipulative, he appealed to the audience because he promises them land from a will and he also claims not to be a good speech maker, just speaking from the heart. He counters Brutus’ argument that Caesar was ambitious and completely turns Rome against the rebels.
The power of rhetoric is huge; Shakespeare uses devices of rhetoric throughout his play to persuade many characters of different things. He uses emotions, rhetorical questions, mockery, bribery, sarcasm, repetition and many others to sway characters in the play. Rhetoric is still valuable today, the world’s leaders have to have it to run their countries, they need to please and appeal to their public. Without rhetoric one cannot be successful, the persuasion of people is a valuable skill which was in use centuries ago in Shakespearian times and is still in use today.