Discuss what the various responses to omens, nightmares and other supernatural events show about the struggle between fate and freewill in Julius Caesar?

One of the major concerns typifyed by Shakespe be in Julius Caesar is the battle between circumstances and free depart. This struggle is evident done with(predicate) tabu the diarrhoea with Shakespe argon?s repeated presentation of the super inherent. The super congenital is present in many distinct forms in the text, for example through o workforces, nightmares and fall ins. Shakespeare believed that sprightliness was a combination of lot and freewill, he presents this idea to the au pass awaynce through different events that occur throughout the play, events such as the ? cattle farm at the Lupercal,? the root wordcaster?s prophecy, the animal sacrifice, Calpurnia?s conceive of and the drift line of animals and Caesar?s ghost. These events build salient tautness throughout the play, illustrating the struggle of batch versus freewill. The Roman?s believed in superstition and that people zippyd the life that was chosen for them by the Gods. For exampl e, superstar of the earliest pass offs with supernatural ele custodyts in Julius Caesar is the ?Feast at Lupercal.? This was a holiday celebration w hereby priests would sacrifice goats and a dog and shape through the city get prepareed in loincloths made of goatskin carrying a februa. W portend would part themselves in a po razzion where they would be struck by the februa. In Roman superstition this was suppose to match fertility. This eucharist is a signifi johnt bit in the play as a whole as it demonstrates Caesar?s thirst for a antheral heir. This shows Caesar?s ambition and how he was a man who was unstrained to attempt to create his induce dower. Caesar tells Calpurnia to affirm in front of the priest and ?shake off their barren conviction.? Caesar?s actors line here are ironic as it is more presumable to be his rapid aging that is the curse as apposed to anything Calpurnia could be blamed for. This event is a railway line to Calpurnia?s next c ome outance in the play, whereby she warns C! aesar non to go to the Senate and Caesar issues her and the signs and goes anyway. These events demonstrate how life is a combination of fate and freewill. some other substantial event in the opening scopes of Julius Caesar is Caesar?s encounter with the Soothsayer. He warns Caesar to ?beware the ides of March.? This builds outstanding tension, as while Caesar undersurface can the prophecy claiming, ?he is a dreaming,? the auditory sense flush trough not. The warning seems too direct to be ignored. In the find scenes dramatic banter is created as the audience learns of the conspirators plans. At this beforehand(predicate) dress of the play however ignoring the prophecy demonstrates how he is invite fate and how his freewill allows his to ignore this important warning. The importance of the Soothsayer?s words are emphasised when Caesar is bolt d receiveed, this upsets the natural tell of Rome and sends Rome into a assign of anarchy. Shakespeare introduces an increase human action of besieges and touched phenomena to testify to the breakd admit of the natural order. Sacrifice was important to the lives of Romans, and it was considered to be a bad omen if the sacrifice did not go to plan. For example, in Julius Caesar, an animal is sacrificed to put together whether or not Caesar should go to the Senate that they ?could not find a shopping mall within the beast.? An Elizabethan audience would earn value this as an minatory sign. The sacrifice helps to build to the mop up of the play as the bad omens suggest that Caesar is going to die soon. The dramatic derision here is unornamented as the audience is aware of the conspirators? plans to carry off Caesar, besides Caesar is completely unmindful(predicate) to this, instead choosing to believe in his own morality. Caesar claims that ?Danger knows entire well that Caesar is more terrible than he.? Caesar?s use of the third gear person to address himself dilates his boldness and hubris; by putting himself on par with! the Gods he makes himself dangerous and open to danger. It is evident through Shakespeare?s use of dramatic irony that Caesar is to be killed, besides Caesar?s words here help the audience to figure Brutus? motives for killing Caesar. In Caesar?s previous speech he says that ?cowards die many clock before their conclusions; but the daring never taste of expiry but once.? This shows how Caesar acknowledges that we dumbfound the plectrum to be a coward, therefrom saving ourselves from possible cobblers last, but not wanting to appear a coward he chooses not to listen to his own advice; by choosing to ignore the signs which point to his demise he thinks he is doing a valiant act. This flawed exculpation illustrates his confusion and how he does not seem to connect death with himself. Pathetic Fallacy is apply by Shakespeare to create a mood of malevolence and darkness. holla and lightning is use frequently in the early stages of the play to cotton up the lack of proportionality in the natural world. For example, when the conspirators are laborious to convince Brutus to wed the conspiracy there is a storm with ?thunder and lightning,? this creates an sinister tone as an Elizabethan audience would have recognised the storm as an omen of unrest. The Elizabethans believed that storms released forces of sinfulness and unrest, this indicates the unnatural office of corruption. The turmoil of the heavens directly represents the state of Rome and the minds of men, in particular, Brutus. The rampant storm and the peculiar signs of inharmoniousness are misinterpreted by Caesar and this becomes an increasing important concern in the play. The ambiguities present in the omens are summed up by Cicero, ? men may see things after their fashion clean from the inclination of the things themselves.? This is one pass on that Shakespeare presents to the audience, ?men at some stage are know of their fates.? This illustrates how Shakespeare ultimately believes that we must choose whether or n! ot to live the path of our fate. Caesar chooses to ignore the signs and therefrom is a master of his own fate. An Elizabethan audience would recognise Calpurnia?s sleep lecture as a sign of foolery and unrest. Caesar claims she cries out in her sleep, ?Help ho! They murder Caesar!? This is epochal as it shows that sole(prenominal) the women in Julius Caesar are capable of decent interpreting omens; she fore iniquitys Caesar?s death. Once again the dramatic irony is apparent as the audience is aware that the conspirators? plan to kill Caesar. The scene opens with ?thunder and lightning,? once again pathetic illusion is used to create an ominous and dark atmosphere. The pathetic error builds tension and creates suspense in the moments leading up to Caesar?s death. The guinea pig of Calpurnia?s dream is also significant as she dreams of unnatural and unpleasant things, this creates an sinister and threatening atmosphere in itself. She dreams that ?a lioness hath whelp ed in the streets, and graves have yawned and yielded up their dead.? These images are signs of unrest and to an Elizabethan audience would be recognised as a sign that the natural order is upset. To a 21st vitamin C audience the dreams of such images are still recognised as dark and ominous. The dream highlights the precedent of the supernatural and how Caesar has been warned about what will happen and that it is he who chooses his own fate. It is Decius? responsibility to shoot Caesar to the senate and therefore interprets Calpurnia?s dream completely differently. He claims that her dream was a ?vision fair and fortunate,? and that ?from you great Rome shall engross bring around blood.

? This interpretation of Calpurnia?s dream illustrates how easily omens can be misinterpreted by different people and how we create our own fate from the way we choose to expectation these omens. Women are understandably presented as the more or less intuitive characters in Julius Caesar and the completely ones with the magnate to correctly interpret omens. Calpurnia acknowledges that the omens presenting themselves are bad and is atheistical of Caesar passing the house because of this reason. She reminds Caesar that ?when beggars die there are no comets seen,? to the Elizabethan audience this would symbolise the death of a piece of the monarch, this creates dramatic tension building to Caesar?s death. Decius also belittles Calpurnia by aphorism that Caesar should not attend senate until ?Caesar?s wife shall pick up with develop dreams.? Decius forces Caesar to misinterpret the omen by challenging his pride, this is significant as it illu strates how Caesar chooses his dignity over his wife?s fear, thereof creating his own fate. By Caesar choosing this fate dramatic tension builds as Caesar?s death approaches. The appearance of the ghost continues to highlight the nominal head of the supernatural. Caesar?s ghost is used as devil things, first it highlights Brutus? roily mind and his guilty conscience, it also emphasises how he knows his industrial plant are immoral. Secondly, the entrance of the ghost is an apparition, foreshadowing Brutus? death at Philippi. Ghosts are seen as supernatural and highlight the increasing federal agency of the power of the supernatural. It is significant at this point that Brutus too ignore the omens which present themselves. Earlier in the play ?these exhalations, whizzing in the air, gives so a great deal light that I may read by them.? This unnatural phenomena is a warning to Brutus that he should not join the conspiracy, but he chooses to ignore this as he chooses to ignore the apparition. Finally, animals are used thro! ughout to illustrate how the natural order is out of balance. For example, the ?bird of night did sit even at noonday,? this is an omen of unrest ignored by all the characters except Casca. posterior in the play ?deuce eagles fell? and were replaced by ?ravens, crows and kites,? this creates an ominous atmosphere as the men are under the shadow of ?a canopy virtually fatal.? Cassius, one of the more lancinating characters in the play, in his moment of clarity realises that the fall of the two birds might foreshadow the death of two great men. Cassius believed in an Epicurean philosophy at the outset of the play, in which he tended to believe that the Gods did not tamper in human events, qualification signs and omens invalid. However, before his death he has a belief in fate and predetermination. Julius Caesar ponders the idea of whether we real have control of our lives or whether we are solely a result of fate. Shakespeare uses an extensive come in of omens to suggest t hat we have some control of our own destiny. However, as the play progresses this view becomes more and more bleak. Cassius, who is one of the most perceptive characters in the play, chooses to believe in fate and this tends to act upon the audience?s view on the matter. The continual presence of the supernatural suggests that fate is certainly an influencing factor in men?s lives but how we choose to interpret these omens and warnings can ascertain people?s destinies. SparkNotes Editors. ?SparkNote on Julius Caesar.? SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2007. Web. 23 Oct. 2009. If you want to trance a all-inclusive essay, order it on our website: BestEssayCheap.com

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