Brittany Grey

English 10, Period 3

Mrs. Buescher

6 May 2014

The Battle of the Speeches: Whose was More Effective?

In the dramatic tragedy of Julius Caesar written by William Shakespeare, two incredibly

memorable speeches were made by two of Caesars friends. One speech mourned the crude death

of Caesar, while the other was made to announce its benefits to the people of Rome. Each of

these speeches made by Caesars so-called friends, Antony and Brutus, proved to be very

powerful and intriguing to the people who were listening. The question of whose speech was

more persuasive lies in the thoughts of the reader. With that, it is very apparent that Antony gave

a more exquisite speech compared to Brutus, as he had stronger points of repetition, consonance,

and his use of Ethos.

In Antonys speech, he clearly draws in the audience by subtly bringing down Brutus. A

credible example includes a section of the speech where he states, Yet Brutus says he [Caesar]

was ambitious, and, sure, he [Brutus] is an honourable man (Shakespeare, 1). In a way, Antony

is trying to convince the audience that Brutus is not as honorable as he says he is, without being

obvious. His repetition of the phrase he is an honorable man suggests that Antony is being

sarcastic and snide when referring to Brutus in such a way. In Brutus speech he claims, Not that

I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more (Shakespeare, 2). In a way, this contrasts what

Antony had to say, as he is attempting to make a bold statement as to how he protected Rome
from Caesar. It is apparent that Antony rightfully disagrees with this statement, as he stated in his

use of consonance.

Antony also draws his peers into his speech more than Brutus, by stating noteworthy

reasons as to what Brutus did was wrong. For example, Antony states that he has come to speak

at Caesars funeral because he was a faithful friend to him (Shakespeare, 3). That statement

appealed to the crowd, and it caused them to grow increasingly angry toward Caesar. Along with

that, they grew increasingly praiseful towards Antony, as they should have. Brutus claims in his

speech, If there be any in this assembly, any dear friend of Caesars, to him I say, that Brutus

love to Caesar was no less than his (Shakespeare, 4). Brutus is trying to make a point to the

audience that even though he loved Caesar, he had to do what was right. Though, killing

someone is a little much when trying to prove something that had no meaning.

Along with that, Antony proclaims his speech in an appropriate manner by maturely

bringing up Brutus point of view. In a section of his speech he says, I speak to not disprove

what Brutus spoke, but here I am to speak what I do know (Shakespeare, 5). In other word he is

referring to the logic of the situation by subtly showing the crowd that Brutus has no idea what

he is talking about. It is very apparent that throughout his speech, Antony knows more

information about Caesar than Brutus does by a large quantity. On the other hand, Brutus is

trying to manipulate the audience into thinking that he is more of a valuable person to listen to,

because he is such an honorable man (Shakespeare, 6). This is simply not the truth, because if

a man as honorable as him loved his country and its leader so much, he would not have killed a

man of such high authority as Caesar. That goes to show that perhaps Brutus lied to to crowd that

was listening to him.

 With all of this being said, it is apparent that Antony gave a more persuasive speech with

his uses of repetition, consonance, and Ethos. Brutus speech does not even compare based on a

number of reasons, including his lack of truth, the fact that he killed a man who was so noble and

generous to his country, and his lack of acceptable reasons as to why he did what he did. Overall,

The Tragedy of Julius Caesar did an exceptional job at giving decently valid reasons as to why

the speeches were so extraordinary.