What is the best summary of this monologue?

What is the best summary of this monologue?

A. Antony has Caesar’s will but does not read it to the crowd, because further evidence of Caesar’s generosity would upset the people even more.

B. Antony incites anger in the people by displaying and reading Caesar’s will to show how rich Caesar has become as the leader of Rome.

C. Antony suggests that the people go to Caesar’s body to collect relics that they can pass down to their younger family members.

D. Antony displays Caesar’s will and says that if the people read it, they would worship Caesar so much that they would want something from him to worship as a relic.

Answer: D. Antony displays Caesar’s will and says that if the people read it, they would worship Caesar so much that they would want something from him to worship as a relic.

This summary suits best for Antony a character in the play “Julius Caesar” by Shakespeare who manipulates the audience as he reads Caesar’s will to turn them against the assassins of Julius Caesar. Antony then, holding the will but not reading it gives tension and curiosity to the revolutionary leaders and the people. He states that even the writings are so compassionate that if the people got to read the contents of the will then they would be compelled to bow before Caesar and yearn for some keepsakes to honour him with. Thus, this strategy is used with quite different aims and purposes in Antony’s speech. Firstly, he speaks good words about Caesar and portrays him as a well-meaning leader who had the welfare of the Roman people at heart which directly opposes what Brutus would say about Caesar’s ambitions. Secondly, it raises the tone of the crowd – sadness for their murdered leader and anger towards those who murdered him. The brothels can be linked to Pompey, as Antony’s speech is consistently constructing celebrations of Caesar’s personality and deeds through allusions to objects and places characteristic of him, even suggesting a religious veneration of Caesar after his death where people pray to him. Thus, by employing the will in this manner, Antony very cleverly sways the people’s emotions, while remaining loyal to the conditions of the agreement with the conspirators, while also ensuring their unpopularity at the same time.