Compare and Contrast Essay of Julius Caesar

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Compare and Contrast Essay for Julius Caesar William Shakespeare penned two of the most famous funeral speeches ever written. Marcus Brutus aimed to persuade his audience that he and his conspirators had good reason to kill Julius Caesar. Mark Antony, speaking second, convinced the crowd that they wronged the beloved Caesar. Brutus and Antony used the rhetorical strategies of rhetorical question, parallel structure, and epistrophe; however Antony’s use of epistrophe was the most effective. Both Mark Antony and Marcus Brutus used the rhetorical question to persuade the crowd that their thoughts were correct. Antony contradicted Brutus’s entire funeral speech by stating that Caesar denied the crown three times on the Feast of Lupercal, and asks, “…Was this ambition?” (Julius Caesar Act III. sc ii. line 18). Reading first, Brutus enlightened the crowd of Rome’s oppressed fate under Caesar’s reign, and questioned, “…Who here is so vile that will not love his country?” (Julius Caesar Act III. sc iii. lines 23-24). Antony’s rhetorical question was better because he logically disproved Caesar’s kingly ambitions by stating a specific instance. Brutus evoked a feeling of patriotism in the crowd, which may have been more effective if he had spoken second. Antony’s rhetorical question educated the crowd of the nonexistent ambitions Brutus has made to excuse the murder. The rhetorical strategy of parallel structure was used well by Brutus. Antony told the crowd that he is not here to challenge Brutus, when in fact he is, and asserts, “I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke, but here I am to speak what I do know.” (Julius Caesar Act III. sc ii. lines 28-29). Brutus assured the crowd that the assassination was not a personal matter, and declared, “As Caesar loved me, I weep for him; as he was fortunate, I rejoice at it; as he was valiant, I honour him: but, as he was
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