Evaluation Of Persuasion In Julius Caesar

1376 Words6 Pages
Carney Layne Mr. Anderson English II 5-2-11 Getting your friend to kill someone isn’t as tough a task to carry out as you may think--all you need to do is know simple persuasion technique! In fact, persuasion manifests in countless forms suited and built to capture and expanse our very minds. Every day we breathe in the powerful swaying effect of persuasive words and even breathe them out more than perhaps realized. William Shakespeare, in his timeless work “Julius Caesar” showcases with great accuracy how simple forms of persuasion can successfully sway a person’s way of thinking. The entire play is energized and wrapped around the power and outcome of persuasive strategies. Act 1, Scene 2 is just one of many excerpts that use such persuasive tactics when Cassius is persuading Brutus to take part in a conspiracy to assassinate Julius Caesar due his increasingly puffed up ego. Some of them being successful and some not: such as emotional appeal, flattery, attacks on the person, as well as the absence of loaded words. An example that proves to be quite obvious in the case of persuasive strategies is the presence of emotional appeal during this scene. Though to understand, we must first know the character of the person being persuaded while evaluating this strategy as it’s by nature a very personal oriented sort of persuasion. So Brutus, the one being persuaded, is a by the book, live for nobility, die for honor type of a Roman--and everyone in Rome knows it. Oh, but you don’t believe me? Well just take a look at what Brutus says in line 88-89 of Act 1, scene II and I’m sure you will: “88For let the gods so speed me as I love 89The name of honor more than I fear death.” This is fantastic! For we now know who Brutus is! Now to continue, Cassius, a friend of Brutus, is attempting to prove that Julius Caesar needs to be killed for
Open Document