Question

read the passage. then answer the question that follows.
brutus. o antony, beg not your death of us!
though now we must appear bloody and cruel,
as by our hands and this our present act
you see we do, yet see you but our hands,
and this the bleeding business they have done.
our hearts you see not; they are pitiful;
and pity to the general wrong of rome—
as fire drives out fire, so pity pity—
hath done this deed on caesar. for your part,
to you our swords have leaden points, mark
antony.
—the tragedy of julius caesar,
william shakespeare
what are the central ideas about the conspirators in this speech by brutus? check all that apply.
□ they are sad about their bloody deed.
□ they are joyful about their bloody deed.
□ they threaten to harm antony.
□ they had to kill caesar to save rome.
□ antony does not understand the reasons for the assassination.

Explanation:

Brutus states their hearts are "pitiful" (showing sadness) and frames the deed as driven by "pity to the general wrong of Rome" (justifying killing Caesar to save Rome). There is no joy mentioned, no threat to Antony (swords have "leaden points" meaning no harm), and no indication Antony doesn’t understand.

Answer:

A. They are sad about their bloody deed., D. They had to kill Caesar to save Rome.