How Does Mark Antony Use Irony In Julius Caesar

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People use irony in their everyday life even if they overlook it. Irony is the use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning. In The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, irony is used so Mark Antony can achieve his goal safely. Irony is used indirectly by persuading the audience, using dramatic irony, and with Caesars good will. First of all, Shakespeare uses verbal irony so Mark Antony can persuade his audience. The use of verbal irony lets us know that Mark Antony is trying to insult Brutus while seeming to praise him. Each time Antony says “Brutus is an honourable man” we begin to wonder if he really is an honourable man. He is being a little sarcastic each time he addresses Brutus. Before Antony spoke he was given a list of rules from Brutus that he had to follow. If the rules were broken Antony could have been in danger. By praising Caesar in disguise using verbal irony, Antony tries to get his audience to turn against Brutus and the conspirators. The way Shakespeare wrote the speech was to express the tone and diction. The way Mark Antony …show more content…

Caesar’s good will is mentioned in lines 23-25. “You all did see that on the Lupercal I thrice presented him a kingly crown, Which he did thrice refuse: was this ambitious? Antony is saying that Caesar turned down a crown three times because he wants to show that Caesar was a good person and didn’t want power. Antony's goal of these lines are to get the audience to think higher of Caesar and less of Brutus. Caesar’s good will is mentioned again in lines 16-18. “He hath brought many captives home to Rome, Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill: Did this in Caesar seem ambitious?” This is saying that Caesar payed dept to bring prisoners home. If Mark Antony wins the audience over to believe him by mentioning the good things Caesar did then they will realize who is telling the

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