Play Julius Caesar example essay topic

Supernatural Forces in Julius Caesar One of the minor but still important themes of Julius Caesar is the issue of the supernatural, and different omens. There are several instances in the play where incidents or statements predict an all-too-accurate future, yet the characters almost entirely ignore these warnings despite noting their significance. Shakespeare uses this technique as a manner of foreshadowing. What are these warnings and what is their importance if the characters in the play do not heed them? The answer lies in the faults of the characters themselves. One of the most prevalent examples of omens and the supernatural in the play, Julius Caesar, is the Soothsayer.

Shakespeare writes the play allowing the Soothsayer to first appear in Act I, Scene 2. When the Soothsayer appears it is to give Julius Caesar the famous warning to beware of the Ides of March. The timing of this warning reveals an important aspect of Caesar's character depicted by William Shakespeare. Caesar proceeds to order Calpurnia to stand close enough to Antony during the chariot race so that he can touch her, which will hopefully cure her of sterility. This order indicates that Caesar is superstitious, at least in regards to his beloved wife. However, when the Soothsayer warns Caesar to beware of the Ides of March, Caesar dismisses him as a "dreamer".

This is typical of Caesar throughout the play, as he often asks about the future, but if he receives an unfavorable reply, he ignores it because he refuses to accept or even contemplate future failure. This fault helps contribute to his death, despite the Soothsayer's early warning. This is another example of Shakespeare's supernatural forces in the play. The Soothsayer appears two more times in the play in order to remind the audience that Caesar is indeed destined to die. While the Soothsayer merely warns Caesar of an impending problem on the feast of Lupercal, the Soothsayer's motives are made more explicit in Act II, Scene 4, in his conversation with Portia. Here the Soothsayer reveals that he will go to the Capitol in an effort to beg Caesar to "befriend himself" (I. 30).

This demonstrates deliberate action on the part of the Soothsayer, who has already warned Caesar about this day. Furthermore, the Soothsayer also mentions that he will have a great deal of difficulty trying to gain Caesar's attention because of the narrowness of the streets, and the immense crowds that constantly surround Caesar, "which will crowd a feeble man almost to death" (I. 36). In order to avoid this, the Soothsayer will have to go to a place that is less crowded. This is a great deal of effort from the Soothsayer, and it is clear that he wants Caesar to avoid any forthcoming harm that the Soothsayer may fear. However, despite all of this effort from the Soothsayer to gain access to Caesar, he only exchanges one sentence of a reply to Caesar in Act, Scene 1. Caesar who recognizes the Soothsayer from Lupercal, brags to him that "The Ides of March are come", to which the Soothsayer's response is merely "Ay, Caesar, but not gone" (II.

1-2) Although this final warning is ominous, it is also ambiguous, which gives Caesar the ability to ignore it, especially given Decius's assurances that he will receive a crown from the Senate. The ambiguity of the Soothsayer's warnings, then provides Caesar with an excuse to ignore them so that he can be blinded by his own power. Shakespeare's use of the supernatural and omens in the play Julius Caesar, is one of his many techniques of the English language. However in the play Julius Caesar, the supernatural is a minor thing in comparison the Hamlet, A Midsummer's Night Dream as well as The Merchant of Venice.