Mark Antony's Guide to "Avenging Your Friend's Execution"
You might not
be able to name any one of his plays, but when you hear the name Shakespeare,
almost immediately the most iconic scene of his plays comes to your mind, the
bleeding Caesar, the treacherous Brutus and the words “Et tu, Brute?”. This shocking
moment is almost overshadowed by what follows, Mark Antony’s poignant words
that sways the Roman mob, ultimately foiling the plans of the conspirators. On
this episode, I would like to examine the subtle tools used by Mark Antony in
his speech.
The link to
the speech on YouTube:
The other day one of our professors
commented on how gullible the Roman mob was, who easily let themselves get
swayed by the words of Brutus and now Mark Antony. However, I would like to
disagree since, well, come on it’s really good!
Now let us consider what we have to work
with. Brutus effectively suppressed any doubt amongst the mob about his actions.
He called Caesar his friend, and explained how his love for Rome had exceeded
his love for Caesar. He further explained his reasons as to how Caesar was too
ambitious and would lead Rome into slavery. He exclaimed how difficult a choice
it was for him, and begs the mob for mercy for his actions which ‘had to be
done’. Moving words yes, but he subtly ignores his and other conspirators’ gains
due to Caesars death.
All hopes for justice seem lost, but here
comes Mark Antony!
“Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears.”
He now proceeds to use the big guns, let us
see what he does.
STEP ONE: Plant the seeds of doubt
If you observe the lines, there is a repeated
mention of how Caesar was too ambitious as claimed by Brutus and how Mark Antony
agrees that Brutus is an honorable man. It appears as though he supports the
conspirators but look how he carefully plants the seeds of doubt within the
audience. He claims all the great things done by Caesar, how he refused the
crown thrice and how he was loved by all until his death, all while repeating
the words, Brutus was an honorable man. The inception of deception has begun!
Now we have the mob questioning
themselves, but it’s not quite enough for a mutiny.
STEP TWO: Taunt
with hard evidence
Here Mark Antony produces Caesars Will, however
not reading it yet. He remarks how himself and the mob would rather wrong
themselves than question the “honorable” men. He says how foolish they all were
merely by thinking how Caesar would lead them into doom, all while hinting the
content of the Will. The mob, now desperately wishes to know the contents of the
Will however Mark Antony shall only tease the audience with it for now. Payoff
coming soon!
STEP THREE: Question
the humanity of the mob
Now
that you’re done with the share of ethos and logos, let us move on to pathos. Mark
Antony now goes to the body of Caesar, reflecting the wounds of treachery of
Brutus and the others. He narrates how Brutus would have inflicted the most
pain, since he was the closest to Caesar. This could effectively move the
humanitarian part of the mob, making them realize how they were accessories to
the heinous crime.
STEP FOUR:
The final blow. Payoff time!
Now that he has effectively moved the
audience, all Mark Antony needs now is to ignite a spark of mutiny. The mob
will follow. He now turns against the ‘honorable’ men that he seemed to support
in the beginning, bringing out their true nature, motivating the audience to
mutiny. As for the Will, he reads it now claiming how all his wealth shall be
distributed among the people;
“Here was a Caesar! When comes such another?”
------
To be frank, most
of us would be swayed by Mark Antony’s words. However, the worrying truth is
that such powerful language is used even today to control the unsuspecting mob,
us, be it media or entertainment. Either way credit where credit is due. Mark
Antony did an awesome job for which he deserves the win.
Let me know
your thoughts…
Until next
time dear reader!
Lan
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