Theme Of Superstition In Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar Julius Caesar is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare in 1599. The plot follows the assassination of Julius Caesar and the consequences that follow. The main conspirator, Cassius convinces Brutus, an honorable man with a good reputation, to join a group of conspirators who want to assassinate Caesar. Brutus, blinded by his fear that Julius would become Emperor of Rome, is tricked into agreeing with the conspiracy. After killing Caesar, the conspirators gain the approval and support of the Roman people, however, the people turn against them after a speech delivered by Marcus Antonius, Caesar’s best friend. A war breaks out and Marc Antony, Octavius Caesar and Marcus Lepidus unite against the conspirators and it eventually

They used these superstitions to understand things that had no explanation or things that were out of the ordinary. Superstition in the play is introduced by Caesar. In the beginning of the play during the race at the festival of Lupercal, Caesar tells Marc Antony to “touch Calpurnia” because their elders say that “the barren touched in [the] holy race” are freed from their “sterile curse” (1.2.8-10). It portrays how normal superstition is in Rome and that Caesar also believes it. However, as the play develops Caesar shows how he sometimes misinterprets superstitions and only believes them when they are beneficial to him. Many of the superstitions that were shown in the play also represented superstitions that existed in Elizabethan Era, a very superstitious age. The inclusion of these superstitions and supernatural occurrences in Julius Caesar said a lot about the audience and the play. Throughout the play, there were many signs of superstition, omens, ghosts, soothsayers and interpretations of the stars that affected the characters and their decisions. Also, the superstitions and supernatural elements in the play enhanced the story by providing a sense of suspense. It kept the audience interested, engaged and anticipating what was coming next. The audience could also relate to some superstitious ideas and therefore be more interested in the