Marc Antony's Motivations In Julius Ceasar

A detailed Summary of Marc Antony's Motivations In Julius Ceasar

William Shakespeare was well known for incorporating raw human nature into his

plays. In the play Julius Caesar, Marc Antony is one of the well-crafted characters. As

Shakespeare illustrates the three different methods to gaining belief he also shows the

three different modes used to display traits of characters. In the play Julius Caesar

Shakespeare tries to make the audience think about emotion and logic in a situation that is

far from black and white. To do this the author makes the emotional character, Marc

Antony, manipulative. To show this trait the author uses Antony's speech and language,

interaction with other characters as well as the description of Antony by other characters.

All three of these combine to mold our perception on Antony's character into a person we

can not only visualize but also relate to in a human way.

When Antony speaks he uses his language in a convincing way. He almost tricks people into thinking the way that he wants them to. After Caesars death he speaks to his "Friends, Romans, countrymen..." Even by calling them that he has a purpose. He addresses them with respect like trusted equals so that they might feel like they are important to him so they will feel more compelled to

Besides twisting his words into a convincing manner he warps his actions as well. For instance after Caesar's murder he says to the conspirators "Friends am I with you all, and love you all..." This makes him seem forgiving to the men who killed his friend, however, He later says to himself "A curse shall light upon the limbs of men..." He lures the conspirators into a false sense of security so they don't feel threatened and allow him freedom to speak to the public so in turn he can sway the Romans to his side with his trickiness. But then he had to do something cleverly manipulative to the countrymen as well to gain their interest. Besides his mesmerizing speech he offers Caesar's supposed will. "To every several man, seventy- five drachmas...all his walks... private arbors... et cetera..." The scene ends with Marc Antony congratulating himself for the chaos ensued by his offering of the will. By offering this last proof of Caesar's love for his countrymen he enrages the population of Rome. Once again adding passion and revenge to the hearts of his growing following. He manipulates human emotions and "boils the blood" of men to blinded servitude for his own personal vengeance.

"When the poor hath cried, Caesar hath wept:

He is causing the people to doubt Brutus's logic. The first line is to show Caesar's compassion and the second to show how this made him not ambitious. Brutus contradicts this therefore Brutus must be wrong making the fourth line wrong as well that Brutus by the law of syllogism must not be an honorable man. By pl

Some common words found in the essay are:
Friends Romans, Caesar We'll, Marc Antony, Antony Shakespeare, Shakespeare Antony's, Caesar Shakespeare, Caesar Antony, William Shakespeare, Shakespeare Antony, Marc Antony's, marc antony, julius caesar, ambitious brutus, play julius, play julius caesar, brutus honorable,

Approximate Word count = 1043
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English