Mark Antony is a loyal lieutenant of Julius Caesar, so after Caesar is stabbed to death in the senate house, Antony vows to avenge Caesar's death by forcing destruction and war upon the conspirators. In order to do this, Antony must attain permission to speak at Caesar's funeral, and Brutus, the leader of the conspirators, grants permission under two conditions: Antony must speak no ill of the conspirators, and Antony must speak only good about Caesar.
Brutus believes that allowing Antony to speak will make the conspirators appear as fair-minded, loving men who "purged" Rome in order to purify its leadership and improve the lives of the people. However, Antony's oratory proves to do the exact opposite, revealing the men to be traitors and murderers.
In the funeral oration given by Brutus, which takes place at the beginning of the funeral, Brutus asks the crowd three questions which were meant to appeal to their logic:
Who is here so base that would be a bondman? If any, speak; for him have I offended. Who is here so rude that would not be a Roman? If any, speak; for him have I offended. Who is here so vile that will not love his country? If any, speak; for him have I offended. I pause for a reply (act 3, scene 2).
Brutus is asking the plebeians to consider Caesar as a tyrant who would have restricted their freedoms and rights. At first, the people agree and praise Brutus as an honorable man and as a Roman hero.Antony speaks directly after Brutus. During his speech, the people are already set against him. Their minds are made up, so he must instead appeal to their hearts. In order to create sympathy for Caesar, Antony must refute the claim that Caesar had the personality of a tyrant. Just as Brutus had three questions for the crowd, Antony uses three pieces of evidence to reveal Caesar as a good man. In the passage below, Antony tells of instances in which he witnessed Caesar behaving generously:
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 LupercalI 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 (act 3, scene 2).
By listing these instances, Antony is honoring his promise to Brutus, but he is also forcing the audience to question how honorable Brutus is. Caesar cannot be both generous and ambitious, so either Brutus or Antony is not telling the truth. These pieces of evidence are more convincing to the audience than the three leading questions from the earlier oration, and from there, Antony creates sympathy for Caesar by narrating an examination of Caesar's wounds, by revealing Caesar's marred body to the people, and by reading Caesar's very generous will which contains gifts for the people of Rome:
O, now you weep; and, I perceive, you feelThe dint of pity: these are gracious drops.Kind souls, what, weep you when you but beholdOur Caesar’s vesture wounded? Look you here,Here is himself, marr’d, as you see, with traitors. . . .
Here is the will, and under Caesar’s seal.To every Roman citizen he gives,To every several man, seventy-five drachmas.
With these lines, the people have now changed their minds and their hearts, and Antony has created an angry mob. The people vow to burn down the houses of the conspirators, and Caesar becomes a martyred, godlike figure to them. Ultimately, it is the miscalculation of Brutus that allows Antony to set the people against him and the other conspirators.
Friday, May 10, 2019
How does Mark Anthony try to get the citizens to sympathize with Caesar during the funeral oration?
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