Read the excerpt from act 2, scene 1, of julius caesar.

[brutus.] let us be sacrificers, but not butchers, caius.
we all stand up against the spirit of caesar,
and in the spirit of men there is no blood.
o, that we then could come by caesar’s spirit,
and not dismember caesar!

why is this passage an example of verbal irony?

brutus wants to stand up to the spirit of caesar.
brutus wants caius to be the one to kill caesar.
brutus does not want to be a butcher but has to dismember caesar.
brutus is later dismembered by caius.

The correct answer is Brutus does not want to be a butcher but has to dismember Caesar.

Explanation:

The example of verbal irony found in this case is that although Brutus says "Let us be sacrificers, but not butchers" he proposes to dismember Caesar.

They cannot dismember a spirit, and no matter what they do with Caesar's physical body, their spirit will arise to torment them.

Verbal irony is when the speaker says one thing, but refers to a different one. When Brutus says “Let us be sacrificers, but not butchers”Technically he is being a butcher trying to desmember Caesar.

Brutus does not want to be a butcher but has to dismember Caesar.

Exp:

merry christmas to you, too. may god be with you all in doing your work and just living a great life in general! < 3