Julius Caesar and William Shakespeare: Role of Superstition, Omen, and Divination in the Roman Society - Essay Example

Task: Julius Caesar and William Shakespeare The Role of Superstition, Omen and Divination in the Roman Society Julius Caesarwas a roman political leader who was highly ambitious and successful. He aimed to emerge as a roman unassailable dictator. However, he is warned to beware of the Ides of March that later came true when he was assassinated by Brutus. Shakespeare portrays Marcus Brutus as a highly cherished senator in the Roman Empire. He plays an instrumental role in designing Caesar’s assassination based on his belief that Rome must get rid of the tyrant. Mark Antony, who was Caesar’s friend, offered an interment oration that remained famous to date. It is fundamental to explore the role of fallacy, omen and divination as demonstrated, and their relationship with the Roman culture and religions, by Brutus, Mark Antony and Julia Caesar. The paper will explore the dynamics among the various characters to establish the role of Shakespeare. Brutus Brutus, being the tragic hero of the play, portrays immense complexity in the character and motivations. Apart from being a powerful figure, he comes out as a loving husband and a good master of his servants. He is also a loving pal and a noble military leader. This character has a rather rigid ideology that doubles up as both his strength and weakness. His quest to put his ambitions on top of everything makes him fit the description of being “the noblest of the Romans.” Besides, he is also committed to principle, and this works against him always as he consistently makes miscalculations. For instance, when Cassius suggested to him that the conspirators would kill Caesar and Antony, he blatantly ignored. He again showed the naivety of his idealism during Caesar’s funeral when he allowed Antony to make the famous oration over the remains of Caesar. Consequently, he forfeited the authority about the last word of the murder, and this ensured that Antony succeeded in inciting the plebeians to protest against his compatriots (Bowen, Shakespeare, and Garcia 47). Julius Caesar He lived and portrayed an overly ambitious character determined to acquire and wield absolute power over Rome. He strongly comes out as a figure that only lived on the minds of other men. He strongly believed that his hold on Rome was permanent and, therefore, committed his loyalty to principles besides regarding himself as a public institution. Unfortunately, this later proved to be his utmost undoing. When Calpurnia, his wife, shared with him her nightmares, he stubbornly dismisses them and fails to heed. He also ignores the supernatural omen circulating in the atmosphere. With the prospects of coronation, Caesar allowed his big ambitions to get on top of him. He lived a life of conflation whereby his public image and private self conjure. This led him to embrace a mistaken belief that he is immortal and that his mortal body protects his public self. However, his mortality later comes into play in Act V, Scene iii, when Brutus attributed the misfortunes befalling Cassius to Caesar’s power coming beyond the grave (Bowen, Shakespeare, and Garcia 18). Antony Antony plays a role in disapproving Brutus’ supposed strength. He is naturally improvisatory and impulsive and this perfectly helps him prove that Brutus is weak. He does this by first persuading the conspirators of his support to gain leniency from them. He then persuades the plebeians of the injustices committed by the conspirators against them and subsequently acquires support of the masses. This makes him a consummate politician who ably could use skilled rhetoric and gestures to his advantage. Besides, he wisely responds to delicate cues from both his friends and enemies to determine his correct mode of conduct in each distinct situation. This always ensured that he gained the biggest advantage among his political peers. When he got an opportunity to eulogize Caesar’s death, he strategically designs his speech and words to please the audience and attract their desires. Interestingly, he ensured that his personal and private life always remained together (Bowen, Shakespeare, and Garcia 52). The Roman Culture and Religions The Roman culture and religion are a characterization of the superstitious beliefs and interpretations of omens and portents. The whole play illustrates portents, omens and their manifestations as the crystalline themes that give directions to one’s fate. In many cases, these omens and portents lack clear interpretations. Before the death of Caesar, the appearance of an omen or a nightmare serves as a good reminder of his looming demise. When this happened, the audience gets to learn about the Roman cultural belief in superstition. This is because the portents or omens simply announce what actually occurs through fate. In this essence, the omens serve as warnings for what is destined to occur and for those who are victims to change their behavior in order to avert the situation. However, we also learn that the interpretation of omens is not easy for everyone. People fail repeatedly to interpret them, and this consequently compromises their ability to command their own destinies. Without a doubt, the omens in the entire play portray the dangers that befall individuals who fail to perceive and correctly analyze the details of the world one is living in. This is a clear demonstration of how seriously the Romans believe in omens and portents as important parts of their religion and culture (Bowen, Shakespeare, and Garcia 91). William Shakespeare offers another important aspect of superstition when he compares fate and free will. In the whole of the Julius Caesar play, the forces of fate are in continuous collision with one’s capacity of free will. Although Caesar’s power continued to rise, Cassius refused to believe it. He also dismisses the belief in fate as a manifestation of cowardice and passivity by the believer. In this essence, the author has liberated and exonerated Cassius as a person who is free of superstitious beliefs that pervade the Roman culture. In Act 1, Scene ii, he categorically tells Brutus, “Men at sometime were masters of their fates. The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, / But in ourselves, that we are underlings” (140–142). The author uses Brutus to demonstrate to the audience the depth into which the Roman people have sunk in their belief in superstition through fate. According to Cassius, the only goal in life is having a self-possessed and noble attitude towards it. However, the play carries on a philosophical belief in which the freedom of free will and fate delicately coexist (Bowen, Shakespeare, and Garcia 139–150). Caesar openly recognized the presence of some events that fall beyond the human control of humans. These events bring some form of fear that has the impact of paralyzing somebody even to death. He says, “It seems to me most strange that men should fear, seeing that death, a necessary end, / Will come when it will come” (35–37). Through this statement, Caesar seems to have surrendered any capacity he had for freedom and his supposedly possessed agency to fate. In his view, the best course is to die honorably, and this is achievable through facing death head on. Superstition also comes up when Brutus resorts to blaming Caesar’s ghosts as interpretation for his and Caesar’s fall. Incidentally, Brutus seems to consider his apparition as the source of his defeat together with the force of devotion from his subjects. In his view, Caesar’s refusal to any form of fear of fate left a legacy that transcends to the subsequent leaders such as him (Bowen, Shakespeare, and Garcia 33–41). The cultural and religious aspects of the Roman people revolve around their ability to interpret the omens correctly. In one instance found in Act 1, Scene iii, Cicero points out, “Men may construe things after their fashion, / Clean from the purpose of the things themselves” (35). In the night prior to Caesar’s Senate appearance, the audience is treated to many portents, no one of which is accurately read. In one such instance, Cassius warns people against the imminent coronation of Caesar. He interprets it as a fodder for destruction of Rome. However, in some cases ill motives guided the misinterpretations. Through forged letters, Cassius influences Brutus to join the scheme because he understood his trusting nature. William Shakespeare uses Julius Caesar to illustrate how people’s inability to correctly interpret portents lead to their downfall. Conversely, when they correctly read people, they survive (Bowen, Shakespeare, and Garcia 32–47). Conclusion Superstition, omen and divination are major themes of this play that serves an important function in providing direction to the leaders and the Roman people. Superstitious beliefs or omens direct political machinations of Brutus, Mark Antony, Cassius and Julius Caesar. Apparently, Julius Caesar fails to read the portents, as he believes in fate instead of his own free will to make decisions correctly. Brutus takes advantage of this and murders him to take over his throne. However, he rules under constant fear that Caesar’s ghosts are controlling his politics. Cassius takes advantage of Brutus’ trust in him and misinterprets his omen besides introducing him into the conspiracy. These whole events show how superstition, omens and their interpretation are entrenched in the Roman people. Works Cited Bowen, Carl, William Shakespeare and Eduardo Garcia. Julius Caesar. Mankato, Minn: Capstone, 2011. Print. Read More