Ethos Logos Pathos

One of the most famous excerpts from "Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare, are the speeches given to the Roman citizens by Brutus and Antony, following the death of Caesar. Brutus and Antony both spoke to the crowd, using the same rhetorical devices to express their thoughts. Both speakers used the three classical appeals engaged in their speeches. Although both speeches have the same structure, Antony's speech is significantly more effective than Brutus'.

Antony appeals to different type of emotion by using ethos. The most convincing use ethos in Antony's speech is his first line. "Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears." By asking this of his fellow Roman citizens, it is evident that he wants to get into their hearts with his status as a trustworthy man. Antony also created a sense of honor when he repeats, "Yet Brutus says he was ambitious, and Brutus is an honorable man." Antony uses a sarcastic tone, hinting that Brutus, the leader of the conspirators, is anything but honorable. Antony wanted to convey to the public what a true honorable man is. He then states, "I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke." This line outlines the irony that Antony uses and displays how trustworthy of a man Antony is because he persuades the crowd to turn against the conspirators, essentially Brutus, without ever actually stating that what the conspirators did was wrong. "Good friends, sweet friends! Let me not stir you up to such a sudden flood of mutiny. They that have done this deed are honorable...I come not, friends, to steal away your hearts."

Mark Antony uses a large amount of logos, or facts, throughout the course of his speech. One of the main examples, is when he declares that "When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept." This is a very smart thing to say because the crowd that he is speaking to isn't necessarily the richest. Thus, when he says that Caesar cried for poor people, the crowd gets angry and starts to believe that it is wrong to kill a man that genuinely cared for them. Antony's next use of logos appears when he speaks of Caesar's will for the people. "To every Roman citizen he gives seventy-five drachmas." This statement carried the power that made the Roman citizens grieve even more over the death of Caesar. Antony cleverly uses logos to demonstrate how much Caesar loved them.

Mark Antony used pathos the best in his speech to move the crowd. He embodies love when he stated, "You all did love him once, not without cause. What cause withholds you then to mourn for him?" He is somewhat confronting the crowd by telling them that Caesar was always true to the people, and at one point, all of Rome loved him, however after his death, no one shed a tear. Antony makes the crowd feel even more horrible when he weeps, "My heart is in the coffin with Caesar, and I must pause till it come to me."