In this scene, Shakespeare balances the perspectives of two major characters, Brutus and Antony, and through them, the general population’s divided opinions on the assassination. In Brutus’ eulogy of Julius Caesar, his tone and manner of speech highlights his respect of Caesar, yet he laments for Caesar’s ‘ambition’, which was Brutus’ justification for conspiring against Caesar. Brutus also naively allows Antony to give a eulogy of Caesar, on the clause that he would not accuse the conspirators of any wrongdoings, in assumption that it would further the conspirators’ standing and claims. Antony does give a speech that is deferential and full of praise, yet his use of repetition, mockery, use of pathos, and sarcasm degrades the standing of Brutus and his fellow conspirators, expelling the crowd’s previous positive sentiment of the conspirators into, whipping them into an emotional frenzy against the conspirators.
Mark Antony repeatedly asks rhetorical questions to the audience that contradict with Brutus’ claims of Caesar’s ever-dominating ‘ambition’ and ‘greed’, and deliberately ends each question by re-affirming that “Brutus is an honourable man”. His repeated use of rhetorical questions before stressing Brutus’ honour, who’s speech contradicted with Antony’s claims, forges a derisive and sarcastic tone to his praise of Brutus, undercutting and undermining Brutus’ standing with the plebeians, resulting in him fleeing from the city even before Antony finished his oration. This scene establishes Antony as a scheming and well-versed orator, who is bent on avenging Caesar as a front for advancing his own position in Roman society.