The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. Part 6: Word Choice and Motif
Assignment Active
Analyzing the Impact of Word Choice on Tone
What is the overall tone of this passage?
Which words help to establish the
tone?
How do the words create the
tone?
[CASSIUS.] Coming from Sardis, on our former
ensign
Two mighty eagles fell, and there they perched,
Gorging and feeding from our soldiers' hands;
Who to Philippi here consorted us.
This morning are they fled away and gone,
And in their steads do ravens, crows, and kites
Fly o'er our heads and downward look on us,
As we were sickly prey. Their shadows seem
A canopy most fatal, under which
Our army lies ready to give up the ghost
- The Tragedy of Julius Caesar,
William Shakespeare

The tone of the passage is dejected and it is helped by the stark haunting imagery of the passage.

Explanation:

The passage carries a meaning of dejected failure on the part of the speaker who is talking of the ruin that has been brought on him and his pitiful condition is described.

The imagery is what helps the tone.

Words like ravenous, perched, feast help establish the tone.

The image of the fall of two mighty eagles who are then perched and then eating from the hands of dead soldiers as ravens and crows wait for their feast.

This creates a horror and instills pathetic emotions that makes one understand the pain of the speaker.

the personification of the word prudence d) it effectively enhances the logos and ethos of the argument.

logos means appeal to the logic or reasoning of the people.

ethos means appeal to the credibility of the argument, that it is worth listening to and acting upon.