Julius Caesar: Act Three

Analyze Antony’s monologue to the people at the funeral. Is his argument a logical one? How does he appeal to the emotions? In your opinion, do you believe the speech is effective? Explain with specific examples!!

I believe that Antony's speech was extremely logical and effective. He used Brutus' words of Caesar's "ambition" against him. He says, "He hath brought many captives home to Rome/Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill./Did this in Caesar seem ambitious?" Antony told of how Caesar brought success to Rome, and then requires the crowd to ask themselves if Caesar was the definition of ambition. Another example he presented was, "When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept;/Ambition should be made of sterner stuff." This showed the public that Caesar had a gentle side and that he cared for his people. This made the crowd realize that Caesar was not ambitious and it pulled on their heart strings. Since Antony proved that Brutus had wrongly accused Caesar of ambition, the crowd took Antony's side and agreed with him instead.