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Rhetorical Analysis: Mark Antony’s Speech

Updated: Nov 15

Mark Antony's speech is often held up as a standard of excellence for rhetoric and rhetorical analysis. It refers to the speech given by Mark Antony to a Roman crowd at Caesar's funeral. It was a clever speech of masterful oratory that used irony and rhetorical questions to turn a Roman mob into a powerful political force against those who murdered Caesar.


The speech took place in actual history. However, when people speak about Mark Antony's speech, more likely than not, they are referring to Shakespeare's version in his play Julius Caesar in Act 3, Scene 2. This is the focus of this article. In this article, we look at the historical background of the speech and teh rhetorical devices and strategy used that made it so effective.

The Death of Julius Caesar, as depicted by Vincenzo Camuccini. Caesar was assassinated on the Ides of March (15 March) 44 BC.
The Death of Julius Caesar, as depicted by Vincenzo Camuccini. Caesar was assassinated on the Ides of March (15 March) 44 BC.

In doing so, we look at things such as tone, humor, and figures of speech (or rhetorical devices). Mark Antony’s speech was a famous speech that was depicted in Shakespeare's famous play Julius Caesar, which examined the assassination of Julius Caesar and its bloody aftermath. 


What is rhetorical analysis?


Rhetorical analysis is a genre of writing that analyzes the effects of a piece of writing, especially oratory-related writing, on listeners, especially in terms of its emotional effect. While the emotional reaction of the listeners is not obvious from what we read, we use what we know about language and human psychology to determine the effect that the speaker’s words would have had on these listeners. 


Historical background of Mark Antony’s speech


The speech by Mark Antony is a speech is based on both history and literature. Although the version of the speech that we will focus on is from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, it occurred in actual history.  Shakespeare based his play on the writings of a Roman historian named Plutarch.


Mark Antony’s speech was written centuries ago by Shakespeare in 1623. The speech occurs at the funeral of Julius Caesar who a day before was assassinated by Brutus (a close friend of Caesar) and several other conspirators. 


Caesar was a powerful man with powerful friends. However, with his sudden assassination, Brutus and the conspirators have the balance of power in Rome on their side. Chief of Caesar’s allies was Mark Antony, a Roman general who was a close friend of Caesar. 


He is able to convince Brutus to allow him to speak at Caesar’s funeral. However, this was a foolish decision on the part of Brutus. Antony’s uses the speech as an occasion to stir the Roman mob to mutiny. They turn against Brutus and the conspirators, who have to flee Rome to save their lives. 


How Mark Antony uses rhetorical devices


Mark Antony’s speech at Caesar’s funeral is often held up as a classic example of impressive rhetoric. The speech makes brilliant use of irony, erotema (or rhetorical questions), and various types of repetition. 


Shakespeare’s language is often criticized as too old-fashioned and difficult to follow by a modern audience. This may often be true, especially when Shakespeare deliberately makes his characters sound like the everyday man using the British dialect of his own era.


However, with Mark Antony’s speech, there is no such problem. It reads like a modern and updated piece of writing that anyone who can read or speak English reasonably well can appreciate. 


Mark Antony’s speech in full


Here is the speech in full. Julius Caesar, Act III, Scene 2


Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears;

I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.

The evil that men do lives after them;

The good is oft interred with their bones;

So let it be with Caesar. The noble Brutus

Hath told you Caesar was ambitious:

If it were so, it was a grievous fault,

And grievously hath Caesar answer’d it.

Here, under leave of Brutus and the rest–

For Brutus is an honourable man;

So are they all, all honourable men–

Come I to speak in Caesar’s funeral.

He was my friend, faithful and just to me:

But Brutus says he was ambitious;

And Brutus is an honourable man.

He hath brought many captives home to Rome

Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill:

Did this in Caesar seem ambitious?

When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept:

Ambition should be made of sterner stuff:

Yet Brutus says he was ambitious;

And Brutus is an honourable man.

You all did see that on the Lupercal

I thrice presented him a kingly crown,

Which he did thrice refuse: was this ambition?

Yet Brutus says he was ambitious;

And, sure, he is an honourable man.

I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke,

But here I am to speak what I do know.

You all did love him once, not without cause:

What cause withholds you then, to mourn for him?

O judgment! thou art fled to brutish beasts,

And men have lost their reason. Bear with me;

My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar,

And I must pause till it come back to me.


Mark Antony makes use of three main rhetorical devices here — irony, praeteritio, and erotema. The irony lies in the fact that Antony is saying something without saying it. The speech points out the treachery and dishonor of Brutus, who was treated by Caesar as his own son, all while referring to Brutus as “an honorable man.”  This is called praeteritio. 


Erotema is another name for rhetorical questions, which Brutus uses to point out the absurdity of Brutus’s allegation that Caesar was ambitious. By “ambition,” Brutus meant to suggest that Caesar had ambitions to end the Republic and become a king or tyrant over Rome. 


Mark Antony uses erotema to dismiss the notion. For example:


You all did see that on the Lupercal

I thrice presented him a kingly crown,

Which he did thrice refuse: was this ambition?

Yet Brutus says he was ambitious;

And, sure, he is an honourable man.


Mark Antony uses just about every known rhetorical device in this speech. It should also be pointed out the logical approach used by Antony in his speech. Let’s take a deeper look. 


Antony begins the speech with subtle irony: 


I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.

The evil that men do lives after them;

The good is oft interred with their bones;


The Roman crowd may have been slightly suspicious about the weird idea that a man’s good deeds should be ignored at his own funeral. However, Brutus’ grave wrong against Caesar probably became more obvious to them after Antony utters the first rhetorical question: 

           

He hath brought many captives home to Rome

Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill:

Did this in Caesar seem ambitious?


By the second rhetorical question, Brutus directly challenges Brutus’ claim that Caesar had ambitions to be king or dictator. 


You all did see that on the Lupercal

I thrice presented him a kingly crown,

Which he did thrice refuse: was this ambition?


Finally, Antony throws away all pretense and irony with his last rhetorical question: 


You all did love him once, not without cause:

What cause withholds you then, to mourn for him?

O judgment! thou art fled to brutish beasts,

And men have lost their reason.


The rhetorical question is further reinforced by Brutus suggesting that the crowd are as dumb as “brutish beasts” if they don’t realize how much of a crime has been committed against Caesar. 

 

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How EminentEdit can help with rhetorical analysis


EminentEdit provides editing and commentary on rhetorical analysis essays to ensure that you get proper practice and models for writing rhetorical analyses. Take a look at our editing SOP below to see how the process works. 

 
EminentEdit SOP
 

Our editing, proofreading, and commentary services are based on our deep and extensive familiarity with the standards of rhetorical analysis. These standards include the fundamental principles of literary and rhetorical analysis, as well as specific standards for exams such as the AP Lang. 

Our proofreading and editing services for rhetorical analysis include:


  • Editing for tone of voice 

  • Substantive editing to improve the quality of your writing on a sentence level

  • Proofreading to make sure your writing is grammatically correct with proper spelling and punctuation

  • Commentary to point out areas of improvement


Do you need help in editing and proofreading your rhetorical analysis essay? Get in touch through our contact page here: CONTACT US AT EMINENT EDIT. 

 

Cite this EminentEdit article

Antoine, M. (2024, November 10). Rhetorical Analysis Example: Mark Antony’s Speech. https://www.eminentediting.com/post/rhetorical-analysis-mark-antony-s-speech


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