Explain speech of Antony and brutus
Brutus’ Speech
Brutus addresses Romans and urges them to listen to him silently. He intends to give them an explanation about Caesar’s assassination. He implores them to believe in his honourable decision. He asks them to be wise if they decide to condemn him and to keep their minds alert to judge him appropriately. He insists that he loved Caesar dearly, but his love for Rome was far more than his love for him. And that is the reason why he rose against his dear friend Caesar. Had Caesar lived, Romans would have ended up as slaves. Caesar was better dead than alive to Rome. He admires Caesar for his many good qualities but ultimately criticizes him for his ambitious nature. He states this as the primary reason why he partook in his assassination. He then asks them if he had offended any Roman since assassinating Caesar was the right thing for Rome. He receives support from the crowd who believe in his justification.
Antony’s Speech
Antony outdoes Brutus with his speech. He manipulates the crowd in a very clever manner to unveil the hollowness of Brutus’ argument. Antony exploits the loopholes present in Brutus’ speech and turns Rome against him and his conspirators. He starts his speech by saying that evil deeds of men are remembered even after their deaths. But the good deeds they do are often buried with them. Caesar is a good example of the above mentioned paradox. He states that Brutus is an honorable man and if his accusations of Caesar are true, then Caesar has dug his own grave. He then questions the validity of Brutus’ statements saying that if Caesar was indeed ambitious would he have cried along with the poor? He had also refused the crown three times. Had he been ambitious, wouldn’t he have been the emperor? He then shows the wounds inflicted on Caesar’s body by the conspirators to the crowd. He also shows them the will which enrages the crowd even more. With his deft rhetorical skills, Antony manages to turn Rome against Brutus and the conspirators.