LEC052007. Anagha Nair. Significance of the Ides of March

 Significance of Ides of March in     Shakespeare's Julius Caesar

1. Julius Caesar, written by Shakespeare is replete with pagan beliefs and superstitions. 

2. "Beware the Ides of March" is a warning given to Julius Caesar by a seer. 

3. Though portrayed in the starting of the play as a superstitious person, Caesar dismisses the seer as a dreamer. 

4. As all tragic heroes, Caesar too has a hamartia- hubris which ultimately leads to his downfall. 

5. The Ides of March according the play is important as it gives the readers an insight to the impending tragedy. 

Critical Significance of Ides of March in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar

1

1. The Ides of March which corresponds to 15th March in the Roman calender is notorious in history as the day of assassination of Julius Caesar. 

2.Caesar encounters a seer when he arrives to address the people of Rome. 

3. The seer is an important character in the play for he is the bearer of the news of the impending tragedy. 

4. Caesar's hubris is at it's height when he dismisses the seer, calling him a dreamer. 

5. With the Shakespearean effect the Ides of March has come to be related as a day of bad luck, a day of fault in the stars. 

2

1. The Ides of March corresponding to 15th March in the Roman Calender is marked as the day of Julius Caesar's assassination. 

2. The seer who warns Caesar about the forthcoming tragedy is a victim of Caesar's hubris. 

3. The conspiracy to assassinate Caesar was first plotted by Cassius Longinus and Marcus Brutus for they wanted to do something to prevent Caesar becoming the king. 

4. Shakespeare has employed pagan myths and beliefs in this play to portray an overly superstitious Roman society. 

5. Shakespeare's mastery of the language has in a way forever darkened an otherwise normal day on the Roman calender.