Author(s): B. K. Mohan Kumar

Abstract: William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar offers a profound examination of rhetoric, persuasion, and political manipulation, revealing how language becomes a weapon capable of shaping public opinion and determining the fate of the Roman Republic. This paper investigates oratory as both an art of persuasion and a device of deception, focusing on logical fallacies, emotional appeals, and manipulative reasoning embedded in the play’s most pivotal scenes. By analyzing the contrasting rhetorical styles of Brutus and Mark Antony through Aristotelian and modern discourse theory, this article demonstrates Shakespeare’s nuanced grasp of classical rhetoric and its enduring ethical dilemmas. Julius Caesar ultimately exposes the fragility of democracy when spectacle overtakes reason, foregrounding the transformative—and destructive—potential of political language.

Keywords: Rhetoric, Persuasion, Logical Fallacies, Oratory, Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, Political Manipulation

DOI: 10.22161/ijels.1.1.12