Rhetoric Of Antony

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We are going to examine Antony’s speech. We must first remember the situation. He has promised the conspirators that he will not speak ill of them in front of the crowd. Furthermore, Brutus has successfully convinced the crowd that Caesar deserved death, and they are ready to give Brutus “a statue with his ancestors” for his heroism. Thus Antony indeed faces a hostile audience. After reading his speech again carefully, use the following questions to help you analyze his rhetorical abilities. 1. First, does he successfully convince the crowd that Caesar was wronged? ___________________ 2. To what extent is he successful or unsuccessful? _________________________ Now let us examine HOW he masterfully manipulates his audience. Section One: 1. What does Antony say in line 3? _______________________________________ 2. Why does he say this? (Hint: What is the state of the crowd as Brutus leaves and why would he want to use “logos” first? How is this also “ethos”?) ____________________________________________________________ ______ 3. In lines 11-12, how does Antony refer to Brutus and the other conspirators? ____________________________________________________________ ______ 4. Does he really feel this way? _________ . Why does he say it? ____________________________________________________________ ______ 5. In lines 14-34, does Antony appeal to ethos, pathos, logos or a combination of the appeals? Provide evidence. ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________ 6. Does he provide evidence of Caesar’s “ambition”? ____________ What does the evidence show? ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________
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