Mark Antony's Use Of Ethos In Julius Caesar

In William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, words play an enormous role in the outcome of this famous tragedy. They are used to inveigle, laud, coax, rally, uplift, and many more. There are three prominent writing strategies used throughout this play. First, ethos is used to interest the audience’s sense of ethics or morals. Second, pathos appeals to the audience’s heart and emotion. Third, logos is used to engage the audience’s logic or reasoning. These methods of writing can be found in the funeral speeches of Mark Antony, who had the most effective speech, and Marcus Brutus, who had a mediocre and schlocky speech. Everyone has some sense of right and wrong, whether it is based on the Bible or society. Both Marcus Brutus and Mark Antony take advantage of this when they are giving their speech at Caesar’s funeral. Brutus was a well-known and respected man in that society, and people are more likely to believe someone that they trust and like. He says in his speech, “Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more. …show more content…
In Brutus’s speech, the overarching lie is that Caesar was ambitious when he was not. Logically, that cannot stand because the people know Caesar and if they stop for a moment a think about all of Caesar’s actions they would clearly see that he was not. Brutus asks the people a simple question though: would they rather live as slaves with Caesar reigning or live as free men with him dead? (This question is also considered when discussing the use of ethos in his speech.) Antony, however, uses all that Brutus says to his advantage. He tells the people the following facts about Caesar: he brought captives home from Rome, he cried with the poor, he was offered a crown three times and refused all of them, and he was loved by the people. Antony says, “I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke, but here I am to speak what I do know.” The words Antony spoke were accurate and could not be