All great orators have one thing in common: a seamless ability to use persuasive techniques in order to get a message across. In Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, after Caesar's assassination, the noble and conspirator Brutus gives a speech announcing to the crowd the reasons for his treason and the defense of his actions. He is immediately followed by Caesar's steadfast ally, Mark Antony, who subtly exposes the errors of Brutus's rationalization and inevitably convinces the crowd to revolt and attack the conspirators. Antony's speech was much more effective in persuading the masses due to his use of certain persuasion techniques that were far more valuable than those of his opponent. While both Brutus and Marc Antony made sufficient use of techniques such as loaded words and repetition, Antony's advanced use of verbal irony and rhetorical questions helps get his message across to the audience much more than Brutus could never have hoped to achieve. Both speakers make good use of loaded words and repetitions, although for different purposes. Both Brutus and Marc Antony commonly use loaded words like nobility and honor to support their claims. Brutus does this when he says: “believe me for my honor and respect my honor” (Act III. Scene 2. Line 4). Brutus attempts to appeal to the masses by appearing authentic and righteous. Antony takes the opportunity to mock Brutus by saying: “who, you all know, are honorable men” (Act III. Scene 2. Line 53). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Both speeches repeat these loaded words over and over again to strengthen their arguments. Both Brutus and Antony succeed, by repeating these words, in raising and lowering their meaning and validity respectively. While Brutus and Antony are on opposite sides of an argument, the fact that they both use the same techniques is a testament to the quality and effectiveness of these persuasion strategies. Although the two speeches share some similarities, there are a few key differences that ultimately determine the winner. While Brutus was serious and arrogant, Antony used a ton of sarcasm and irony. Brutus expresses his seriousness by saying that Caesar deserved to die, "nor his imposed offenses, for which he suffered death" (Act III. Scene 2. Lines 30-31). By speaking like this, Brutus distances himself from those he seeks to put on his side. Antoine also used a much gentler approach to recruiting his followers. This is seen when Antoine apologizes to the audience: “Bear with me; my heart is there in the coffin with Caesar, and I must stop until it returns to me” (Act III. Scene 2. Lines 32-34). By speaking in a much gentler tone than Brutus, Antony makes himself much more attractive to his people. These differences are inevitably the reason why the validity of one discourse is questioned over the other. Antony presented the best argument based on his use of verbal irony and rhetorical questions. Antoine made much better use of rhetorical questions in his argument. One such example is when he asks of the fickle nature of the crowd, “what reason then restrains you from weeping for him” (Act III. Scene 2. Line 30). Using rhetorical questions forces the audience to think and provokes them to think. join your opinion. Antoine also repeatedly uses verbal irony in his argument, which is the essential point of his success. He falsifies Brutus' credibility by attacking his..