Research Proposal

Rhetoric has gained much prestige during the past century. Rhetoric is a powerful tool to sway the world into emotions . For the purpose of this research, I will focus on Quintilian’s theory on the Art of Emotional Appeal. According to Quintilian , there are two lines of inquiry, firstly the role of emotion in human cognition and behavior and the effects of the display of emotion (Katula:5).

Thus, I will take the Excerpts from Julius Caesar authored by William Shakespeare, for the most part, speeches of “Mark Antony” and “Brutus” to explore Quintilian’s first line of inquiry. A critical analysis of Mark Antony and Brutus speeches will be done to display the role of emotion in manipulating human minds and the resulting action.

Quintilian’s second line of inquiry is emotional display, a growing body of literature which establishes the effect of emotion on human interaction and decision making (Katula:5). The response of the audience and the decisions which are later made as the play progresses , will be used as an analysis to explore on Quintilian’s second line of inquiry.

In addition, I will also use Quintilian’s conviction that Oratory is not only a skill but a way of life(Vassalo:268) and relate it to modern day, twentieth and twenty-first century orator(s).

To sum up, this research will be an effective contrastive analysis, as Quintilian’s wisdom comes from his own experience and his study of the masters of Roman Oratory , men such as Cicero and Domitius Afer, his teacher (Katula:8). Julius Caesar is a play set in Rome, and Mark Antony and Brutus are Roman Citizens who give their speeches respectively after the assassination of Caesar, the protagonist of the play.

Sources

1. Katula , Richard. Rhetoric Review.Vol.22, No.1, 2003,5-15.

2. Vassalo , Philip. “Dating the Educational Philosophy of Quintilian” A review of General semantics; July2008.Vol .65 Issue3, 267-273.

3. William, Shakespeare. Julius Caesar, 2005.