Julius Caesar Compare and Contrast Essay

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06 February 2012 “Julius Caesar” Compare and Contrast Essay March 15th suddenly became a horrendous day when a great man, Julius Caesar, was betrayed by his friends and stabbed to death by the people he is most close to. This appalling event, in Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar,” aroused two men, Brutus and Marc Antony, to present their differing opinions of the conspiracy in two orations directed toward the citizens in order to sway the Roman populace in favor of their own conceptions. Both Brutus and Marc Antony give similar emotional and logical orations in order to influence the Roman citizens; however, Brutus’s strategy appeals to the city of Rome and its people, whereas Antony’s strategy focuses on justifying Caesar’s misguided actions. Brutus and Marc Antony both logically appeal to the citizens of Rome by introducing a series of questions in order to sway the Romans in favor of their own opinion regarding Caesar’s death; however, Brutus’ approach inquires about the nationalism and loyalty of the Romans, while Antony’s approach examines the various interpretations of Caesar’s actions. Brutus questions the national pride and character of the Roman citizens when he asks who “is so base that would be a bondman…so rude that would not be a Roman… [and] so vile that will not love his country?” Brutus utilizes an anthypophora to confirm his nationalist feelings toward Rome and impose his reasoning behind Caesar’s death on the citizens, not allowing them to voice their own opinions. By expressing his love for Rome as his justification for killing Caesar and questioning the nationalist qualities of a Roman, Brutus utilizes a tactic that does not allow the Romans to challenge his opinion, but rather convinces the citizens to unite under their mutual love for Rome. Marc Antony, however, applies a different persuasion tactic as he repeatedly asks the commoners if “this

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