Julius Caesar Essay, Research Paper

Julius Caesar

In the play of Julius Caesar, we see a brief picture of Roman

life during the time of the First Triumvirate. In this snap shot, we

see many unfortunate things. Shakespeare gives us the idea that many

people try to circumvent what the future holds, such as unfortunate

things, by being superstitious. Superstition seems to play a role in

the basic daily life of most Roman citizens. For instance, the setting

of the first scene is based upon superstition, the Feast of Lupercal.

This feast is in honor of the god Pan, the queen of fertility. During

this time, infertile females are supposed to be able to procreate, and

fertile ones are supposed to be able to bear more. It is also a

supposed time of sexual glorification and happiness. Other scenes

depict how throughout Rome, roaming the streets are mysterious

sooth-sayers, who are supposedly given the power to predict the

future. Dictating what is to come through terse tidbits, these people

may also be looked upon as superstitious. In the opening scene, one

sooth-sayer, old in his years, warns Caesar to “Beware the Ides of

March,” an admonition of Caesar’s impending death. Although

sooth-sayers are looked upon by many as insane out of touch lower

classmen, a good deal of them, obviously including the sayer Caesar

encountered, are indeed right on the mark. Since they lack any formal

office or shop, and they predict forthcomings without fee, one can see

quite easily why citizens would distrust their predictions.

Superstition, in general elements such as the Feast of Lupercal, as

well as on a personal level such as with the sooth-sayers, is an

important factor in determining the events and the outcome of Julius

Caesar, a significant force throughout the entire course of the play.

Before the play fully unravels, we see a few of signs of

Caesar’s tragic end. Aside from the sooth-sayer’s warning, we also see

another sign during Caesar’s visit with the Augerers, the latter day

“psychics”. They find “No heart in the beast”, which they interpret as

advice to Caesar that he should remain at home. Ceasar brushes it off

and thinks of it as a rebuke from the gods, meaning that he is a

coward if he does not go out, and so he dismisses the wise advice as

hearsay. However, the next morning, his wife Calphurnia wakes up

frightened due to a horrible nightmare. She tells Caesar of a battle

breaking out in the heart of Rome, “Which drizzled blood upon the

Capitol,” with Caesar painfully dying, such that “…The heavens

themselves blaze forth the death of princes.” Although Caesar realizes

Calphurnia is truly concerned about his well-being, he seeks another

interpretation, coming to the conclusion that the person who imagines

the dream may not be the wisest one to interpret it’s meaning. Later

Caesar tells his faithful companion Decius about it, and he interprets

it quite the contrary, “That it was a vision fair and fortunate,” and

indeed, today is an ideal day to go out, since this is the day “To

give a crown to mighty Caesar.” Perhaps Decius is implying here that

today is a day where much appreciation and appraisal will be given to

Caesar, surely not the endangerment of his well-being as Calphurnia

interprets it. Caesar predictably agrees with him, as most citizens

enjoy believing the more positive of two interpretations.

After Caesar’s assasination at the hand of Brutus, Cassius, and

the rest of the conspirators, Brutus and Cassius are chased into the

country side, where we see a few superstitious signs of their

forthcoming painful death in battle. In a dream, Brutus sees

Caesar’s “ghost”, interpreted as an omen of his defeat. He also looks

upon the ensign, and instead of the usual stock of eagles, ravens and

kites replace them, construed as another sign of their loss at

Phillipi. Not surprisingly, Caesar’s death is avenged in the end, with

the two of the conspirators’ double suicide. As superstition is

inter-twined within the basis of the entire play, we can reasonably

conclude that it is because of this irrational belief of why certain

events occur and how to avoid them, that Caesar is retired and

eventually avenged. In the words of Caesar’s devoted follower and

companion Mark Antony, “His life was gentle, and the elements so mixed

in him that Nature might stand up and say to the world, ‘This was a

man!’”

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