Julius Caesar is
one of Shakespeare's greatest works.
It's about a group of conspirators who kill their king, Julius, in order
to be free. Antony, opposed to the assassination, felt that he
should avenge Julius's death. He
delivered a speech that convinced the Romans that the murder was unjust,
invoking their rebellion. Brutus, head
of the conspiracy, also gave a good speech, but the Romans didn't react to
it. A battle erupted, and most of the conspirators
committed suicide. The styles of the two
speeches were very different from each other.
Brutus's speech was logical. It contained facts about Caesar's
ambition. He reminded the people that
Caesar would have become a tyrant and would have enslaved everyone. Brutus also explained that he didn't hate
Caesar, but that he loved Rome more. The
people didn't understand, however. At
one point, they wanted to crown Brutus, who intended for everyone to be free.
Antony's speech was long and it evoked pity and
other strong emotions. He gave reasons
that proved Brutus's points to be incorrect.
Antony had the people surround Julius's body so that he could point out
the wounds. As Antony identified each
slice, he named the man who did it. In a sarcastic tone, Antony repeatedly
referred to these "honorable men." The Romans became enraged and
attacked Cinna, a man who they thought was a conspirator, who was actually just
a poet.
Brutus made a big mistake by letting Antony
speak at Caesar's funeral. Antony's
dramatic speech won the crowd over and ultimately resulted in the downfall of
the conspiracy. The emotional style of
Antony's speech was much more effective than the rational approach used by
Brutus.
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