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Superstition and the supernatural in Julius Caesar
Superstition and the supernatural in Julius Caesar
Superstition and the supernatural in Julius Caesar
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Superstition In Shakespeares The Tragedy of Julius Caesar
Superstition has been around almost since people first inhabited the earth. For this reason, it has played a main role in many classical pieces of literature. One of Shakespeare’s tragedies, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, is full of superstition and the supernatural. It contained so much superstition in order to foreshadow key events in the plot, to further develop characters, and to thrill and relate to the Elizabethan audience for whom the play was written.
Foreshadowing was perhaps the main reason superstition was used in Julius Caesar. The supernatural provided hints to the reader about many important events to come. The most important event that was foreshadowed, without a doubt, was the death of Caesar himself by the hands of Brutus and the conspirators on the ides of March.
When the soothsayer cries out “Beware the ides of march”(312; act1,sc2) he is truly laying the groundwork for the rest of the events leading up to Caesar’s assassination. Although Julius dismisses the soothsay with a simple “he is a dreamer, let us leave him. Pass.” (313; act1, sc2) the reader realizes that this date will prove important in the near future. To the audience, the prophecies are dramatic irony-when Caesar is warned about the ides of March, we already know what is going to happen to him. (Farrow) That one simple dialogue sets the stage for the rest of the plot to advance swiftly.
One of the reasons why this warning may have gone unheeded is because most sooth-sayers were not well respected, though many turned out to be right. “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”(Julius) One of the most graphic
examples of Caesar’s death being foreshadowed was most definitely Calpurnia’s dream the night before Caesar is scheduled to go to the Senate. Caesar says “...she dreamt tonight she saw my statue, which, like a fountain with an hundred spouts, did run pure blood, and many lusty Romans came smiling and did bath their hands in it...”(341; act2, sc2). This very gruesome image is meant to hint at Caesar’s death.
However, when Decius arrives at Caesar’s home, he tries to convince Caesar that he has misinterpre...
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...sar is catarchic astrology, which determines whether a particular action or decision is suitable to a particular moment. Catarchic astrology is consulted quite often, especially when Caesar is choosing whether to go to the Senate House or not.
It truly must have shocked the people of that era when Caesar went to the Capitol against all warnings, because “Elizabethans generally believed that prophecies were to be taken seriously, and certainly that no prudent statesman could run the risk of ignoring them” (Ribner 58). The people of the Elizabethan era were very proper, and to see someone, even if only a character in a play, break one of the laws of nature in which they so firmly believed, was quite astounding.
Truly, Shakespeare wonderfully used superstition and the supernatural to create a masterful literary work. As Ribner said “ We find Shakespeare approaching the matter of history with a surer hand, and out of it creating tragedy of a singular power” (Ribner 58). He accomplished his ultimate goal of using superstition to foreshadow important plot events, to delve deeper into character’s personalities, and to create excitement among the audiences of the Elizabethan era.
Another instance of fate relating to the death of Caesar was the night before he died. His wife had an awful dream, predicting that her husband was going to die in the House of the Senate the next day. Although Calpurnia told her husband of this, he chose to ignore, resulting in his assassination. This is a strong example of fate because frequently throughout time people see the future in dreams.
Shortly before his death Caesar was given several warnings throughout ActsⅡand Ⅲ , however he still went to meet with the Senate due to the fact he thought he was needed. He had an alliance with his adopted sons and valued soldiers Octavius and Antony. The play is about the events that follow his death making him an important secondary character that also portrays a protagonist. Caesar faced many conflicts throughout his lifetime, some internal and some external. He fought a war against Pompey ,which lead to conspirators plotting his death, and he was troubled by the fact that his wife could not provide him with a child. He showcased this by publicly asking Antony to touch her as he passed her, hoping that this would bring healing to her barren womb. He also went through several character changes. When he returned from war, he returned believing that the people would be ecstatic to have him as an emperor. Nonetheless when the people of Rome did not respond the way he expected he knew he had to play on their emotions. He did this by refusing the crown three times and by offering to kill himself to prove his honesty and trustworthiness. This gave him the desired effect, so he returned to knowing that the crowd wanted him as a king. The driving force of the play was the unfortunate murder of Caesar or what happened afterwards. Throughout this play many of the characters go through many unique changes, although Julius Caesar experienced some very significant character changes. The theatrical work exhibits Julius Caesar’s actions, alliances, character developments, and internal and external conflicts which in turn showcase his various changes. The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare is a brilliant piece of work that thoroughly covers the story of Julius Caesar, a protagonistic secondary character. Julius Caesar was the unofficial emperor of Rome. He was a war General and he fought
It would seem that the Soothsayer is loyal to Caesar because he tries to warn him of the dangers that will occur on that day.
CAESAR: He is a dreamer. Let us leave him. Pass.” (1.2.28-29) Othsayer appears to be the fortuneteller who tries to warn Caesar of an unknown danger in this situation but Caesar quickly dismisses the idea. Caesar demonstrates his control of his own life, that the predictions are merely dreams that can never turn into reality. Under such conditions, it cannot be the fate but rather the free will of Caesar himself to blame for his death for taking risks and facing life in his own way. Another instance of fate is Casca's observations of a dreadful night. He describes the setting as if there are burning slaves, crawling lion, and ghostly women on the street of the Capitol. (1.3.25-32) These omens are usually associated with fate, as that supernatural sights hints the happening of a tragedy soon, but they don't necessarily define the tragedy itself. They can refer to a series of other events and not the assassination of Caesar. Lastly, the night before the assassination, Calphurnia convinces her husband to stay home due to a nightmare, but Caesar responds with as if it is no big matter in "CAESAR: Nor heaven nor earth have been at peace tonight. Thrice hath Calphurnia in her sleep cried out "Help, ho, they murder Caesar!" (2.2.1-3) In her dream, Calpurnia claims to see the death of her husband whose blood flows all over Rome. Her fear toward
Caesar’s lack of somewhat savage Machiavellian traits foreshadows his downfall a multitude of times. From the beginning, the soothsayer warns him to watch out for the Ides of March. There are also bad signs; men in fire walks up and down the streets, and a lioness gives birth on the streets. Likewise, before he heads to the Senate House to receive the crown, Calphurnia tells him that she has had a nightmare, and pleads him to stay home. However, he ignores all the premonitions and moves toward where the Senators are, with no one to protect him when he is in danger. This action of Caesar contradicts the teachings of Machiavelli, “Before all else, be armed” (The Prince). As a result of his carelessness, the conspirators see that he has no chance of circumventing, and assassinates him. Similarly, he is unsuccessful in recognizing the outrage of Cassius and a few others; he isn’t doubtful enough of their secretive deeds and eventually loses the reigns to eliminate the defiance. "The same thing occurs in affairs o...
She talked about how god only gives signs to people who are important and make difference in the world. Which relates to the thunder and lighting. Another foreshadowing can be seen when the servant told Caesar about the animal not having a heart. This creates another point for Caesar to stay home. Both Calphurnia and the servant believes Caesar should not leave the house. The servant who brought the message about the heartless animal, was the one who told Caesar that the animal was probably another message to Caesar. The servant also approved the message from the priests, who believed this supernatural and weird event is a sign. The sign that death will come to Caesar soon and that Caesar must stay
Calpurnia’s dream predicted Caesar’s death well, after being stabbed by all of his friends and bleeding to death, the men that killed him bathed in his blood happily thinking Rome will be safe. The omen of Caesar’s ghost visiting Brutus represented Brutus’s death. Caesar said “I will see you in Philippi,” meaning he will see Brutus at the place of the battle and watch him die, which he did. The Tragedy of Julius Caesar had the ongoing theme of Fate versus Free Will, but it seemed that fate was mostly shown.
In the play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, I saw two main characters as tragic heroes. First, I saw Julius Caesar as a tragic hero because his will to gain power was so strong that he ended up losing his life for it. The fact that he could have been such a strong leader was destroyed when he was killed by conspirators. I saw Marcus Brutus as a second tragic hero in this play. Brutus was such a noble character that did not deserve to die. The main reason why he did die, however, was because he had led a conspiracy against Caesar and eventually killed him. These two characters were the tragic heroes of the play in my opinion.
Calpurnia attempts to scare Caesar into staying at the house instead of going to the Capitol. She begins with ethos to establish her credibility and justify her concerns. Calpurnia “never stood on ceremonies”, but now they “fright her,” juxtaposing that the omens never scared her, but are frightening enough that she now is attentive to them. Because women were not as powerful in Rome, Calpurnia further credits her argument by including the “watch.” Using selection of detail, Calpurnia Even the guards, who are men, have seen the strange events, and they are scared. Since even men are scared, it should implicate to Caesar that he should be scared as well. Calpurnia sees a lioness, an image, normally associated with strength and courage, “whelp[ing] in the streets.” The lioness is essentially crying, scared of something. Caesar is also strong, but should be scared as well. When ethos fails to impact Caesar, Calpurnia switches to using pathos to try and scare Caesar. “Fierce fiery warriors [fighting] upon the clouds,” is an image that connotes war. In war, there is death and Caesar should be afraid of death. Calpurnia uses the image of “drizzled blood upon the Capitol,” connoting death, scaring Caesar of what is to come if he chooses to go to th...
Shakespeare, William. “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar.” Elements of Literature: Kylene Beers. Austin: Holt, 2009. 842-963. Print.
happening against the supernatural, since this was the most simplistic of an. answer to give. Elizabethans have several beliefs in superstitions. Some of these superstitions include that they believe in witches, ghosts, destiny, and the foretelling of the future. This essay will investigate superstitions and how they are used in the play Macbeth. & nbsp; Witches were believed by many people in Shakespeare's day.
	Shakespeare illustrated Caesar as a tragic hero by showing that he was a historical figure with a tragic flaw which lead to his death. Julius Caesar took over most of the Roman Empire and his events are very important to history. First, Julius Caesar is very historical because if he wasn’t then, we would not be talking about him today. As Cassius ironically said, "...How many ages hence /Shall this our lofty scene be acted over in states unborn..." (III,i,112-113). Secondly, Every tragic hero has a tragic flaw that leads them to their death and one of Julius Caesar’s flaw was arrogance. As Caesar himself said, "But I am constant as Northern Star.../There is no fellow in the firmament" (III,i,60-62). Finally, Caesar made a big mistake which lead him to his downfall when he didn’t take the soothsayer’s warning. Again this was the fact that Caesar was arrogant. The soothsayer said warning Caesar, "Beware of ides of March" (I,ii,23) then Caesar replied that the soothsayer was a fake, and to dismiss him.
Caesar's death was a most tragic event indeed, for he would have made a great Roman monarch. However, there were many unheeded warnings. caveats which might have averted his death. In the first act itself we see that Caesar comes across a soothsayer. who fore tells that the future holds terrible things for Caesar.
The motif of ambition runs continuously throughout Julius Caesar, written by William Shakespeare, which originates in Ancient Rome and highlights the power struggles, politics and deceit of those vying for power. Ambition leads many of the characters such as Caesar, Cassius, and Brutus to a fate different from what they expected. The play revolves around Caesar, his ascent to power and his eventual loss of everything. Although ambition may lead these public officials to power, it is the same ambition that will be their downfall, ultimately resulting in the death of Julius Caesar, Cassius, and Brutus.
In the Shakespearean era, there was an eruption of superstition and alleged witchcraft. The people of that time had strong hatred for the ‘devil worshiping’ witches and had various trials and tests to determine their fate. Shakespeare used this as inspiration for his play ‘Macbeth’