Marc Anthony Speech Analysis

William Shakespeare is widely regarded as one of the most influential playwrights in history. Believed to have first been performed in 1600, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar quickly gained recognition, and has been recognized since as one of Shakespeare’s more famous works. The play revolves around its three central characters, Julius Caesar, Mark Anthony, and Brutus. In the play Mark Anthony delivers one of the most famous speeches ever given; better known as the "Friends, Romans, Countrymen" speech. This speech is delivered right after the assassination of Julius Caesar, and is the second memorial speech spoken to the Roman plebeians, Brutus’ being the first. It is a subtle entreaty to embolden the citizen’s of Rome to avenge Caesar’s death, revealing Mark Anthony’s true repugnance toward the conspirators because of what he sees as their murder of Caesar, and what they see as a heroic deed. A moving speech, the impact of the “Friends, Romans, Countrymen” speech was so powerful partially because of Antony’s skill as an orator, and partially because of the strong rhetorical strategies of appeals to logos and pathos, repetition, verbal irony, style and tone.

Anthony appeals to logos in a number of ways. Anthony begins his speech by using the idea from Brutus’ speech that Caesar was an ambitious man. Brutus used this thought to support his basis for killing Julius Caesar. Antony presents evidence of Caesar’s “ambition,” when he states, “he was my friend, faithful and just to me; but Brutus says he was ambitious and; and Brutus is an honorable man.” Anthony also declares, “He [Caesar] hath brought many captives home to Rome whose ransoms did the general coffers fill,” and then asks,” Did this in Caesar seem ambitious?” This rhetoric question emphasizes Anthony’s point that Caesar was in fact not ambitious at all. Though Anthony is presenting the information about Caesar as evidence of his “ambition,” he is actually discrediting Brutus because the evidence does not logically exemplify an ambitious person. After Anthony finishes presenting evidence of Caesar’s lack of ambition he appeals to pathos. Anthony says, “You all did love him once, not without cause: What cause withholds you then to mourn for him?” He continues, “Bear with me; my heart is in the coffin there with Caesar and I must pause till it come back to me.” He appeals to the citizens’ sense of empathy, and the dramatic pause gives the audience a chance to answer his rhetoric question for themselves. This appeal to logos and ethos in his speech conveys Mark Anthony’s abhorrence toward the conspirators and their crime against Caesar.

Anthony’s speech relies on verbal irony to get his feelings about the conspirators across to the audience. As discussed earlier, Anthony proves Caesar as not ambitious, by stating that he is ambitious. After each piece of evidence that Anthony spoke to the people he would state, “But Brutus says he was ambitious and Brutus is an honorable man.” This assertion that Brutus is an honorable man has the denotation of honor, but in Mark Anthony’s context it comes to have