Student Question

What six rhetorical skills does Antony claim to lack in his speech?

Quick answer:

In his speech, Antony claims to lack six rhetorical skills: written speech, fluency, reputation, gestures, style of speaking, and the power to stir men's blood. By downplaying his abilities, he cleverly incites the crowd to riot without overtly directing them to do so, contrasting his plain, blunt style with Brutus's oratorical skill. This ironic approach effectively manipulates the crowd, leading to the desired outcome.

Expert Answers

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In Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, Antony downplays his own rhetorical skills in order to direct the mob to riot, without really directing the mob to riot.  Before he was allowed to give the speech, he promised not to blame the conspirators for killing Caesar.  So he incites the mob to violence without directly telling them to riot.  In effect, he says that if he had the rhetorical skills of Brutus, he would move the mob to riot, but since he doesn't possess Brutus-like skills, he cannot.  Of course, his indirect, ironic directions succeed admirably and the crowd riots.

The passage you need follows.  I'll put the skills mentioned in bold lettering:

I am no orator, as Brutus is:
But (as you know me all) a plain blunt man
That love my friend, and that they know full well
That gave me public leave to speak of him,
For I have neither writ [written speech], nor words [fluency], nor worth [reputation],
Action [gestures], or utterance [style of speaking], nor the power of speech
To stir men's blood:  I only speak right on [directly].
I tell you that which you yourselves do know.

Those are the rhetorical skills that Antony pretends not to possess.  The final six in bold are probably specifically what you're looking for.

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