Julius Caesar Flattery will get you Everywhere
Uploaded by MJ23 on Jul 05, 2004
In William Shakespeare's tragic play Julius Caesar, an under appreciated factor of flattery and persuasion plays an important role in the choices of the leaders. Cassius uses flattery with Brutus. Decius uses flattery with Caesar, and Antony uses flattery with Brutus.
Cassius persuades and flatters Brutus. Cassius knows that Caesar would do harm to Rome if he became leader. Brutus would be a powerful force in the conspirator's movement to kill Caesar before Caesar becomes king and destroys Rome. Cassius really needs Brutus on his side, so in order to persuade Brutus, he uses lots of flattery. Whenever Cassius talks to Brutus he throws in "good Brutus", "gentle Brutus" or "dear Brutus" to make Brutus feel comfortable and confident. He also uses overlooked flattery when speaking to Brutus. Cassius realizes all his sweet talk has done well when he responds to Brutus with "I am glad/That my weak words have struck but thus much show of fire from Brutus" (I, ii, 175-177). By this, he means that his words have lit a flame, or triggered a though in "the great" Brutus's head.
Decius uses flattery and persuasion when speaking to Brutus. Decius is an active member of the Conspirators so he is very motivated into getting Caesar to go to the Senate House. The first thing that Decius says when he walks into Caesar's house is "Caesar, all hail! Good morrow, worthy Caesar" (II, ii, 58). Decius also goes on and calls Caesar "most mighty". Decius is already on Caesar's good side. After catching up on Calphurnia's dream, he uses his quick wit to distort Calphurnia's foreshadowing dream by saying it is "mis-interpreted". He explains that the dream "Signifies that from (Caesar) Rome shall suck/Reviving blood, and that great men shall press/for tinctures, stains, relics, and cognizance" (II, ii, 87-89). Caesar seems to be amazed by this version of the interpretation; in fact, he likes this version a lot better mainly because Decius uses so much flattery.
Antony deceives Brutus and the other conspirators with his keen wit and his sweet talk. After a brief minute of expressing sorrow, Antony goes right into saying "Friend am I with you all, and love you all" (III, I, 220). Antony is using flattery in order to get Brutus on his good side so he can speak in the order of Caesar's funeral. Antony asks Brutus if he can, Brutus agrees without hesitation....