In the play Julius Caesar, two prominent figures, Decius Brutus and Mark Antony, try to persuade a crowd of Plebeians. Both men use appealing tactics to sway the crowd. Brutus appeals to the crowd's love for Rome (patriotism), while Antony appealed to their emotion and logic.

Brutus' speech is defensive and poorly structured. He begins his speech by addressing the crowd as "Romans, countrymen..." (Julius Caesar 3.2, 13), making it known that he is talking to the crowd as Roman citizens. One of the first mistakes Brutus makes is he bases his whole speech on his honor. He tells the crowd to believe and agree with everything he says because he is an honorable man. This is not a strong line of defense or persuasion because it is hard to believe the things someone says espe

Brutus ends his speech saying that he would kill for Rome and die for Rome. Funny, why should anyone believe him? He doesn't even have evidence to prove his honor or Caesar's ambition. On what should the crowd base their belief in Brutus' loyalty, his honor? He didn't prove his honor, so the crowd shouldn't base their belief in that. Brutus gives an unpersuasive speech that lacks proof or emotion. Furthermore, his arguments are groundless (due to the lack of evidence). Without proven honor, emotion, evidence or grounded arguments, the crowd has nothing to be persuaded by. That is why Brutus fails to sway the crowd. Just because one attempts to sway a crowd doesn't mean he or she will.

Brutus attempts to cover up his lack of evidence by flattering the crowd by telling them that he will let them be the judge of his actions. (This is a big honor because in Rome at the time, Plebeians receive horrible, degrading treatment.) "Censure me in your wisdom, and awake your senses, that you may the better judge." (Julius Caesar 3.2, 16-17). Brutus continues to tell the crowd that he wants them to know all the facts so they can "awake their senses" and judge him better. This is rather ironic since Brutus never gives facts in his speec

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Approximate Word count = 830
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)