Beware the Omens, Beware:
Omens used in Julius caesar and Richard II
In many of his plays Shakespeare Often uses the mystical element of prophecies and predictions leading up to a important parts of the play. These “Omens” often set up the fall of a Character that we know well. I believe Shakespeare does this on purpose to draw the Audience’s attention and to keep them invested and to draw them back into the scene.Often the Character the Omen is directed toward, Ignores the giver of the prophecies because they fill above the person saying it. The Omens given to us, often early during the play find a way back to haunt the character later in the play. The Omen is given to a characters in Julius Caesar and Richard II to let the audience and the character know of trouble is brewing around that character. Shakespeare uses the suspense that the Omens gives the reader to draw the reader in so they are invested and care what is going to happen to the character. Shakespeare often gives the doomed character multiple times to head the warning of the bad omens, Shakespeare seems to do this to remind Us the reader of the tragedy that awaits are character. The Main Characters in Julius Caesar and Richard II have made enemies early on the play and the Omens typically are a warning for the Character of the web they are spinning.
In the play Julius Caesar, the author William Shakespeare uses superstition repeatedly to affect the plot as well as the characters. Superstition in the play is used to foreshadow Caesar’s death, impact Brutus’ actions in the battlefield and to emphasize the Roman connection to superstition and fate. Shakespeare uses the Omens and mystical elements to drive the Plot and ultimately setup the fall of caesar. During the entire play we see the Omens presented to Caesar and brutus, several times we are reminded of the ever looming doom hanging over these beloved characters heads. In Julius caesar perhaps one of the most overlooked omens is the weather going on during the play. “Julius Caesar is a pivotal text, containing as it does Shakespeare’s first staged storm.” “Storm and the Spectacular: Julius Caesar.” Shakespeare’s Storms, by GWILYM JONES, Manchester University Press, Manchester, 2015, pp. 31–49. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1mf70r0.7. Shakespeare really uses natures supernatural element throughout the play to give the audience a visual omen that dark times are ahead for the people of Rome. In each of the acts during the play we see a new anomaly develop in nature. This could be a horse running wild in the streets of Rome to a storm show up on a bright sunny day. Shakespeare uses these anomalies to remind us the audience of the grim circumstances to pass.
Shakespeare is brilliant in giving us the audience these omens used for foreshadowing the future of the play, but he also writes the characters to brush off these omens and ignore their meanings to build suspense in the audience. Shakespeare is a master of using these bad omens in the correct places. I believe that Shakespeare’s use of omens in Julius Caesar works great for this place because of the Romans belief in omens and their meaning. Shakespeare use of different forms of superstitions and omens from a soothsayer giving a prophosie to stormy, gloomy nights. Shakespeare really used history to his advantage and new how to make the play realistic while adding a mystical element to it, and he did this with many of his plays.
Shakespeare uses different forms of omens through his various different plays. He shows his knowledge of history and skill as a writer using various settings and omens depending on the fictionality of the play. You see Shakespeare purposely places these omens and events to thicken the plot or to add suspense for the audience. Often times the person receiving the omen misinterprets it such as what happens in Julius caesar or the character doesn’t understand it and therefore doesn’t correct his actions. We see this happen in Richard the second and in Julius Caesar as well as many other plays written by William Shakespeare. Reading threw the plays we often skip over weather as being a part of these omens but its a strong tool that Shakespeare enjoyed using. “Just about every omen in the play is subject to interpretation. (Kind of like all of Shakespeare’s plays are subject to interpretation.” Which is what makes the build of suspense and curiosity different from each interpretation of the play we see.
In Richard II we get a famous speech delivered by john of Gaunt to king Richard II. This is were we really get our first omen or prophecy of the future to come for the young king. Gaunt jest at Richard II by saying that Richard is the one sick and dying not gaunt. Richard ignores this warning from gaunt, brushing it off as just an old crazy man slowly dying. Shakespeare brilliantly uses this speech to suddenly drop some hints and prophetic words in the midst of Gaunt’s dying words. (add quotes from text here). We see the use of Nature in this story and the imagery of the sun that lets us picture and understand whats going on better throughout the progression of the play.
Shakespeare’s many uses of omens threw the mystic and spiritual realm is another way shakespeare catches his audience off guard. Shakespeare often uses spiritual references in his plays. It is very obvious that Shakespeare likes to question and think about life after death and what happens to the body or soul after you die. In Julius caesar we see Causar as a ghost come back to haunt the “friends” he once trusted. (quote from text). This spiritual omen shows us that Shakespeare wasn’t afraid to challenge the times and thoughts of the period in which he lived in. Shakespeare lived in the era of Queen Elizabeth I in which england was a prosperous and ever growing Country. He challenged the religious beliefs of the time, the beliefs of christianity are evident during many of shakespeare’s writings. In Richard II we see Shakespeare challenge the thought of the King being directly chosen by God. With him writing Bolingbroke as the better leader chosen by the people, instead of God. We also see Shakespeare play with the afterlife during Julius Caesar with Caesar’s ghost appearing to Brutus as a prophetic supernatural event during the play.
-Superstition is considered a myth to most people, but for the ancient Romans, this was a historical belief. For the Romans, believing in superstition was a very ordinary thing. To them superstition explained the supernatural and strengthened their relationships with the gods (The Roman Empire). In the play Julius Caesar, the author William Shakespeare uses superstition repeatedly to affect the plot as well as the characters. Superstition in the play is used to foreshadow Caesar’s death, impact Brutus’ actions in the battlefield and to emphasize the Roman connection to superstition and fate. One of the biggest superstitious beliefs in Rome at that time was the power to see the future; which Caesar’s future was to die.
We can see that Shakespeare really thought about how he could conceal certain omens in the lines of the play. Many characters often don`t acknowledge the omens presented to them. Cassius explains, “Marc Antony, so well beloved of Caesar, should outlive Caesar… as to annoy us all : which to prevent, let Antony and Caesar fall together.” (Shakespeare, 2.1,154-161) Cassius states that he wants Caesar dead, but never follows through with his plans. If Cassius were to only ignore Brutus’s opinion about Antony living he would not have to realize the truth during Antony’s speech about what the conspirators did to Caesar and how it was wrong. Since Cassius ignores his own omen about taking out Antony he later regrets it because it is what leads Cassius to his suicide. Cassius disregards Casca’s warning of the God’s disappointment during the storm and fails to assassinate Antony along with Caesar. Clearly this proves that Cassius overlooks omens which significantly affects his life as he was soon led to suicide.