Rhetoric in William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar Essays -- Rhetoric, Ju

Cassius, Brutus, and Antony use rhetoric successfully in William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, albeit each differently and for different causes. Each of these men uses his skills in rhetoric to convince each other and at some points the entire population of Rome to follow his beliefs. However, each of these men has different motivations to do so, as well as different characteristics and general worldviews. Cassius uses rhetoric successfully to persuade Brutus to come over to his cause—killing Julius Caesar. Cassius is a sharp minded politician whose motivations are personal and not always in the interest of the state of Rome. He uses rhetoric as his means of convincing others to help him reach his cause and goal. Cassius uses many tactics to convince Brutus, one of which is underscoring his connection and close friendship with Brutus and trying to make Brutus guilty by implying that he is not maintaining his end of the friendship well enough: â€Å"[Brutus, y]ou bear too stubborn and too strange a hand / Over your friend that loves you† (I.ii.39-40). Cassius then moves on to flattery in his persuasion: I have heard Where many of the best respect in Rome (Except immortal Caesar), speaking of Brutus†¦ Have wished that noble Brutus had his eyes. (I.ii.65-70) Moving on from flattery, Cassius attempts to make Brutus feel flawed and in need of help: â€Å"And since you cannot see yourself / So well as by reflection, I, your glass / will modestly discover to yourself / That of yourself which you yet know not of† (I.ii.75-78). Here, Cassius paints himself as able to help Brutus with these flaws. Finally, Cassius exploits Brutus’ one mention of fear so that Brutus will choose to act on this fear: â€Å"[Brutus:] I do fear, the people choose Cae... ...en, and lovers† (III.ii.13-14) and appearing superior to and more wise than the plebeians who are his fellow citizens rather than his friends, Antony instead makes it clear that these people are above all his friends through his actions, such as standing at their physical level, and his words, such as the opening line of his speech. All three of these men attempt to persuade people, but they each do this uniquely. Although each Cassius, Brutus, and Antony use rhetoric in different ways in William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, each of these men, who hold different characters and worldviews, use their skills in rhetoric to convince others to support them and their ideas at some time in the play. This is a powerful example of the fact that in Julius Caesar the power of rhetoric is stronger than the will of humans. Works Cited Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare