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Masses at the Mercy of Orators: Shakespeare's Mark Antony's and Friar Laurence's Models for Teaching and Practising Oratory

 Omowumi Olabode Steven Ekundayo
Department of English and Literature, University of Benin, Benin City

Abstract

Words, they say, have charms and the power of life and death. This essay examines the rhetoric of Mark Antony at Caesar's funeral in Julius Caesar and Friar Laurence's speech in several scenes in Romeo and Juliet with a view to identifying and analysing the linguistic, literary devices and sociocontextual factors that the orators deployed to make them inimitable rhetorical models. The primary data are the rhetorical features extracted from Mark Antony's speech in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar Act 3 Scene 2 and Friar Lawrence's speech in Romeo and Juliet in Act III, Scenes III and IV; and Act V, Scene II while the secondary data were sourced from printed works and the Internet. The textual method of analysis was used to present and describe the primary data in line with Aristotle's theory of rhetoric and a new socio-contextual model of rhetoric innovated in this paper. The paper established that the remarkable success of the oratories is hinged on the orators' personal knowledge and acknowledgement of characters personalities, their knowledge of history, skilful use of language, an artful stirring and steering of the audience mindset, and a careful buildup of truth, facts and proofs. The paper finds a link between leadership and oratory, recommends that public speakers and leaders in all spheres of life pay attention to the ingredients of the great rhetoric models of Shakespeare's Mark Antony and Friar Laurence.