SALIENT FEATURES OF ANTONYS SPEECH by SANKET SHIVANSH 2036

This text is an excerpt from a play by Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, written in 1599.

The play tells what happened in Rome in 44 BC : Caesar proclaimed himself emperor, but he is killed by
conspirators, and there is a subsequent war between the political leaders : Brutus, Cassius, Mark Antony and
Octavius. 

This particular scene takes place in the Forum. The conspirators, Brutus and Cassius, speak to the crowd, to
announce Caesar's death and justify their crime. Antony, who tells the speech, was not involved in the murder, but
he claimed allegiance to the murderers, anyway he remains loyal to Caesar.

While the crowd is on Brutus's side, throughout his speech, Antony manages to convince the crowd that Caesar is
not to blame, contrary to Brutus, for he betrayed his adoptive father and emperor. He ends up getting a lot of respect
from the people.
My presentation is aimed at showing how Shakespeare succeeds in writing a spectacular political speech, inserted in
a play.

Well I would bring out five movements in this speech, cause it is strictly composed :
1. An exordium (introduction for a discourse) which seeks to attract attention.
2. As Brutus justified himself saying that Caesar was ambitious, Antony develops an argumentation which goes
against his affirmation. 
3. A pathetic part, in the middle of which Antony stops talking to cry and touches the people.
4. The clever trick of the testament, which lights the fire in the crowd.
5. Finally the conclusion, a real twist, and the significant descent of Antony from the pulpit

The exordium is very classic. Antony tries to establish a link, to appear trustworthy. So he begins with an apostrophe
to the crowd he calls them “friends”. Then he pleases them : he does not intend to praise Caesar. He moves on to a
saying, that's important because it reduces Caesar at the commons' level, and it calms the people down. 

Then starts the argumentation. Antony implies directly that what Brutus said is doubtful. He makes a pun on
“grievous” and “grievously” to create ambivalence. 

“For Brutus is an honourable man” : the phrase that is repeated several times throughout the text, it is the most
outstanding figure of speech. The crime is legitimate since “Brutus is an honourable man”. This is the logical thread

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of the text. But Antony will spark doubt in people's minds, the sentence becomes more and more sarcastic, and then
the murder will not seem legitimate any more. 

To justify his point of view and rehabilitate Caesar, Antony gives three proofs of Caesar's moderate ambition :
Caesar payed ransoms → he was patriot and generous
Caesar wept for poor people → he had compassion for his people
Caesar refused the crown → he had humbleness. There is an epanadiplosis showing a distance between Caesar and
the monarchy. This is important because the monarchy is absolutely out of the question in Rome.
Rhetorical questions to make people think. He was in fact the perfect leader ! 
Antony repeats the sarcastic sentence, it becomes more and more antiphrastic thanks to the word “sure”. Then he
opposes Brutus's statements “to what he knows”, he means facts. He is to be trust cause he knows the truth, and
convinces the crowd rationally.

And then begins the pathetic part. Antony reminds the crowd that they appreciated Caesar and implies that they
would naturally mourn for him, he tugs at the heartstrings. Then he personifies the judgement and calls it with much
emphasis. This personification gives to his speech the power of transcendence.

In the following verse, Antony uses a metaphor to embellish his sadness : his heart in the coffin with Caesar. His
elegiac tone aims to touch his audience. Antony carries the acting so far that he stops his speech to cry. It perfectly
illustrates the dimension of action that an effective speech includes.

We can see that the citizens react according to Antony's expectations.

Antony speaks again with the same elegiac tone. He contrasts the past and the present to enhance the nostalgic
moment. He presents Caesar as a victim of ingratitude ; the hyperbole “and none so poor” stresses it. 

Antony then hypothesizes to raise the crowd against the conspirators. The repetition of the word "wrong" is like a
stubborn charge against the conspirators. His decisions to wrong himself and the people seem completely
antiphrastic, they are obviously ironic and sarcastic. The crowd now knows his views and agrees, but he has to ally
himself with them definitely. 

Now he raised their pity he uses the ultimate trick : the testament. You know when your read the passage that he is
brandishing it at people's sight. Thanks to it, he arouses people's curiosity, without saying what the testament says :
he makes a digression made of raw images, to make a strong impression. The figure of speech he uses is called
hypotyposis. At the same time, he deifies Caesar, he makes his apotheosis, and shines through this new symbol.
After citizens have demanded the will, Antony stirs their curiosity by a preterition : he pretends not to reveal the
testament, but he does reveal it and emphasizes it. His purpose is to revolt the audience, therefore his speech is more

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rhythmic, incantational and it ends with an onomatopoeia and an exclamation. He is increasingly interrupted by the
crowd. 

Now that he lit the fire in the crowd, he puts an end to the logical thread of “the honourable men” with a last
sarcasm. He looks like a master of ceremonies who reserves an exclusive surprise to a cheering crowd. But it
contrasts with the violent image of the daggers.

Antony now knows that the crowd is on his side, so he turns the situation. He accepts the request from the crowd,
and his new status of guardian of truth gives him an absolute legitimacy. We can notice he is close to people, as the
apostrophes indicate.

Finally, very symbolically, he descends from the pulpit to mingle with his people. He appears trustful and accessible

To summarise, the speech of Antony is remarkable for its effectiveness and the variety of devices. Indeed, Antony
combines rational and emotional speech, diction and action. He is a great actor, appears sad, violent or sarcastic. He
can communicate with the crowd very well. His speech has a lot of rhythm, there are tonal changes that make it
thrilling. He controls the repetition and thus leads the crowd to his idea : the conspirators are traitors and tyrants. But
he never says it clearly. In fact he has to attract the sympathy of the crowd also to anticipate the struggle for power
that is just beginning. In fact, this speech is very beautiful and substantial from a stylistic point of view, but it also
reveals an impressive political strategy and a remarkable talent for communication, which were veracious according
to history. It is a masterpiece of manipulation and populism.