Paragraph Analysis #2

“Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears!”

 As Antony is speaking to the citizens of Rome, he tries to convince them that Caesar’s death is not something that can just slip by. The love they used to have for Caesar has to be a reason for revenge against the conspirators. His convincing speech has enough rhetorical devices to make the crowd a rowdy one. Pathos, parallelism, and counterarguments all contribute to overpower Brutus' earlier speech. To prove that Antony uses pathos, he states: "I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. / The good is oft interred with their bones; / So let it be with Caesar..."(Caesar 3.2    ) This proves that Antony did love Caesar and his love for him will not die. This maintains Antony's view of Caesar being great and the citizens reflect on all the things that Caesar has provided for them. Once Antony has captured his audience's emotions, he includes counterarguments proving that Brutus was wrong about Caesar. "When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept;/ Ambition should be made of sterner stuff:/ Yet Brutus says he was ambitious." (Caesar 3.2    ) This counterargument demonstrates the modesty and compassion Caesar had for his people, and Brutus is a liar in saying he was an ambitious man. Together with the counterarguments, Antony integrates parallelism to emphasize the "bad" Brutus. "For Brutus is an honorable man; / And Brutus is an honorable man, / And Brutus is an honorable man." (Caesar 3.2    ) At this point, the crowd is convinced that Brutus was a traitor and a murderer. Over the course of the speech, the diction and repetition used in Antony’s allows him to win the Romans over, and a civil war is going to occur.

 

Speech Analysis #1

                                                            “No, Not an Oath”

            As Brutus talks to his new followers, he is trying to make up his mind how to get rid of Caesar in an honorable way. In the process of convincing his new followers, Brutus incorporates rhetorical devices as a method of persuasion. Pathos and ethos are used. To show emotional attachment Brutus says: “The sufferance of our souls and time’s abuse-/ If these be motives weak, break off betimes.” (Caesar 2.1. 115-116) What this quote brings is belief in the upcoming task and a reason to follow Brutus. This was an example of pathos. The audience can now understand that the murder will be difficult emotionally and they start to feel uncomfortable( I did. ). The next rhetorical device used is ethos. As Brutus tries to convince his new fellows (and himself) that this gruesome killing will be for the better he states: “To think our cause, did need an oath… if he do break the smallest particle/ of any promise that hat pass’d from him.” (Caesar 2.1. 134-140) What this brings to the table is a realization of how serious the situation is. If the situation they are in now (under the rule of Caesar) is not enough to fuel their passion for righteousness, then they might as well not try to kill Caesar. We as readers give credit to Brutus to still find the good in bad, and know that the killing of Caesar will be for the better. Through these two rhetorical devices, Brutus not only convinces his new followers to believe in their motives, but he also assures himself that this is the right thing to do. Emotionally, Brutus goes through a hard time making the decision to get rid of such a “great” ruler, however he still finds a way to do the murder in an honorable way.

Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears!

I chose this speech because well… I like it. In this particular speech, Antony convinces his audience that what Brutus has done was crude and evil. He also wanted to prove the Brutus was trying to demean Caesar and take away all the glory that he has earned. This speech is spoken right after Brutus’ speech during Caesar’s burial. Rhetorical devices were effective and made Antony believable. Pathos, ethos and rhetorical questions were all the types of rhetorical devices that Antony used, and each helped to further get the audience on Antony’s side. The effect of this speech? Civil war, and political turmoil. The city goes crazy, and Antony’s new followers are out to kill the Caesar’s life-enders… 

Motion Picture vs. Words

To me, Shakespeare's script for the play Julius Caesar is much better than the movie. One reason for this may be because of the evolution in movies over the years. Today, movies are filmed better and teenagers today.. well, we like stuff done the new way. The play itself has the power to be analyzed and an internal meaning can be found. The movie is based on the play (word for word) and basically plays what is written in the book. I believe that all great scriptures need to be read and not watched because they capture the essence of the past, and no movie can truly recapture the true past. This play was an extremely good choice for our persuasive unit because the speeches spoken all applied certain devices to persuade. The use of pathos, ethos, and rhetorical questions all forced the readers to interact with the story. This connection was never really established in the movie, and that is what definitely made the script better than the movie. 

Eragon By Christopher Paolini

Eragon is hunting for game in the Spine. His family is desperately in need of food before the harsh winter season approaches. He sees a deer, draws and arrow... "boom!" The eerie blasts sends Eragon scattering to the floor, and the deer is shocked away. It was a blue mystical object, and little did Eragon know that it would turn out to be his new dragon.

I thought this book would be one that you read on a lazy Sunday with nothing else to do. "It's about dragons, how good can it be?" I asked myself. My sister was obsessed with it and was drawn into the mystical world Christopher Paolinin creates every minute of every day until she was finished reading it. "O well, I guess I'll read it." Probably the best book I have read this year! I could not put this book down, and if I had to go to bed, my parents had to pry the book out of my hands just to make me get enough sleep. Great adventure book, and suitable for all ages! READ THIS BOOK!

"What I think about Shakespeare..."

Shakespeare to me is a writer who creates portals back into time. Every once in a while, as we read on in Caesar, I can picture the scenes he describes, and the asides tell me more about the characters. He is an accomplished writer, who by many, is recognized as an old person who uses weird language. Although this may be so, if we do not have Shakespeare, we have lost part of history. His writing reflects the times he lived in, and gives the new era of writers more ideas of what to write about. His other piece of writing, Romeo and Juliet, was long (all his writing is) yet it is the basis of most love stories today. When people hear William Shakespeare, they immediately think of long meaningless lines that only would have been spectacular in the times it was written. I believe that all his writing needs to be disected piece by piece to attain the true understanding of his works. I have grown to like Shakespeare, however sometimes lines and scenes turn out to be extremely cheesey. (The movie isn't any better) However, it has taught me a lot about literature. Shakespeare needs to be kept in all classrooms around the world so that new age writers experience literature to the fullest.