Did Marc Antony ever warn Caesar?

In William Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar, a great and ambitious leader has been assassinated. Continuing with the assassination of Julius Caesar, the gruel minds of the senators protrude in front of the people. The truth of the senators for instigating only ONE reason to assassinate Caesar when saying, “our reasons are so full of good regard” (III.i.242).

The noblest, Marc Antony, denies there is no reason to kill a “god”. Staring at the mutilated body, Antony is in outrage and seeks total vengeance for the assassination of Caesar. “Domestic fury and fierce civil strife/ Shall cumber all the parts of Italy;/ Blood and destruction shall be so in use/ And dreadful objects so familiar/ That mothers shall but smile when they behold/ Their infants quartered with the hands of war” (III.I.286-291).

Antony is so full of rage and expresses the future as Rome will be cast into civil war, and mothers will smile when they see their infants were quartered since of such incredible violence. With revenge on his palm, Antony refers to sensitive persuasion for the people to seek justice to the assassination of Julius Caesar. Antony, since of his obedient and loyal service to Caesar, speaks to the people to persuade indulgently of all Caesar has brought them.

Antony’s funeral oration is a historical achievement in the standard of speaking. The “heart” of Antony guides him to twist the minds of people and make them realize what has just happened. Antony uses an assortment of persuasive devices such as specific evidence, repetition and props.

The most significant device used by Antony during his oration speech is subsequently utilizing specific evidence. Specific evidence is facts used to strengthen a claim, support an argument, or reach a conclusion. Specific evidence is constantly used in this play.

Antony expresses the positive aspects of what Caesar has done for Rome. Antony states that Caesar refused the crown three times since he did not want to imitate a king or tyrant ruler. The citizens loved him for that and at the moment of the funeral, they are sided with Brutus for Brutus only explained one side of Caesar that was his downfall, his ambition.

Antony also not quite directly expresses how Caesar’s ambition was actually good for Rome. Julius Caesar conquered Gaul and had many military victories since of his ambition. Caesar’s emotions also played an important role as he cried when the people suffered.

“When the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept;” (III.ii.98). Antony also states that Caesar had brought ransoms from captives to Rome to put in the government’s treasury. With all of these memoirs, this gets the people to start thinking.

Antony uses the specific evidence from past events, which were all successes and achievements for Caesar and for Rome. The people are now persuaded to keep listening to Antony as they nearly forget what Brutus had said was the fault of Caesar. During the speech, Antony wants the people to know that Caesar was his friend.

“He was my friend, faithful and just to me;” (III.ii.92). The spectators know that Antony is very smart and noble, so when he says Caesar was his friend, the people realize how much Antony honors him. Antony persuades the people not just by using specific evidence, but by also including repetition of phrases and words to get the people deep in thought.

Repetition is the use of any element or language more than once. Antony uses a mix of words and phrases to repeat throughout the play. These repeated words/phrases will sink into the people’s thoughts and they will construe the importance of the words.

For example, Antony keeps referring Brutus as noble and honorable. Antony refers Brutus to saying that Caesar was ambitious over and over throughout the play. “But Brutus says he was ambitious,/And Brutus is an honorable man.” (III.ii.93-94).

Antony refers Caesar’s ambition as good for conquering many lands. A deeper and more exaggerated meaning into the context explains what honorable and noble really means. Antony explains right after he says how Brutus said Caesar was ambitious, and that Brutus is an honorable man; he incorporates a specific evidence right after.

“He hath brought many captives home to Rome,/Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill. /Did this in Caesar seem ambitious?” (III.ii.95-97). The people can now think what the term honorable means.

Later on, Antony says he has the will of Caesar. He sarcastically says “I fear I wrong the honorable men/Whose daggers have stabbed Caesar; I do fear it.” (III.ii.164-165). He is incorporating the term honorable as murderer, liar and killer.

This repetition of the word “honorable” is being defined differently during Antony’s speech. This persuasive article by Antony shows how one word can mean an entirely different meaning to the people. Repetition is very crucial for Antony’s oration speech when persuading, but props are used to get the viewers attention emotionally and physically.

Antony uses a variety of props during his speech in the forum. Props are physical artifacts used to get the audience to visualize something. Antony uses several important props such as, Caesar’s will, mantle and even corpse.

Antony first grasps the people’s attention by showing Caesar’s personal mantle. “You all do know this mantle. I remember/ The first time ever Caesar put it on.

/ ‘Twas on a summer’s evening in his tent,/ That day he overcame the Nervii.” (III.ii.184-187). The mantle symbolizes the success of Caesar defeating a Belgian tribe thirteen years ago. The mantle is being used to let the audience visualize Caesar’s victory over the Nervii and how great the day was.

Another prop Antony uses is Caesar’s corpse. He shows the audience all of the marks and stabs made by the conspirators. He then uses Caesar’s scarred cloak to get the plebian’s full attention for them to weep.

“Kind souls, what, weep you when you but behold/Our Caesar’s vesture wounded? Look you here! /Here is himself, marred, as you see, with traitors.” (III.ii.209-211).

By showing the audience at the market the bloody and cut cloak, the people fully realize how could someone who marred Caesar like that be honorable. This prop is utilizing the people to start thinking about killing the conspirators. Antony now finishes off what he started, by reading the people the will.

“Here is the will, under Caesar’s seal. /To every Roman citizen he gives,/To every several man, seventy-five drachmas.” (III.ii.256-258). Antony now has total control over the people and now achieves his goal of bringing them to mutiny.

He used his final prop to start the civil war and all he wanted was for them to hunt and kill the conspirators. The final object affected the Romans so much in rage that they immediately started to chase the assassins. Antony’s funeral speech was no doubt clever and manipulating to the Romans.

In Julius Caesar, Antony is full of rage and seeks vengeance over the conspirators for assassinating his great Caesar. He persuades the Roman audience at the forum to mutiny and killing the conspirators by using specific evidence, repetition, and props during his extravagant speech. Specific evidence was most important, such as stating Caesar did not want the crown three times which concludes Caesar did not want to be a king or tyrant; this influences the Romans thinking of the joy when Caesar refused.

Repetition of words and phrases in his speech also convinced the audience such as exaggerating the context of the word honorable by meaning killer, liar, and murderer. Finally, the use of props during the play allowed the Romans to visualize the importance of Caesar’s mantle and vision how “honorable” men mutilated Caesar. If Antony could persuade a crowd to mutiny and revenge, could a current influential political leader do the same?