Question

read the passage. then answer the question that follows.
antony. you all did love him once, not without cause;
what cause withholds you then to mourn for him?
o judgment, thou art fled to brutish beasts,
and men have lost their reason! bear with me.
my heart is in the coffin there with caesar,
and i must pause till it come back to me.
—the tragedy of julius caesar,
william shakespeare
which is the best summary of the central idea of this
part of antony’s speech?
○ he says the roman people once had good reasons
to love caesar.
○ he needs to take a break from the speech because
he is too upset.
○ he questions why the romans no longer love
caesar and have turned against him.
○ the roman people have become brutes and are
unreasonable.

Explanation:

1. Analyze Option 1: The first option only mentions the past love, but the speech also questions the current lack of mourning, so it's incomplete.
2. Analyze Option 2: The line "I must pause" is a rhetorical device, not a real need to take a break due to being upset, so this option is incorrect.
3. Analyze Option 3: Antony says the people once loved Caesar ("You all did love him once, not without cause") and then asks "What cause withholds you then to mourn for him?" which is questioning why they no longer love and mourn him (implying they turned against him), so this matches the central idea.
4. Analyze Option 4: The comment about judgment fleeing to brutish beasts and men losing reason is a secondary point, not the central idea of the speech's message about the people's attitude towards Caesar, so this is incorrect.

Answer:

C. He questions why the Romans no longer love Caesar and have turned against him.