Superstition is considered a myth to most people, but to the ancient Romans it was a historical belief. For the Romans, believing in superstitions was a very ordinary thing. For them, superstition explained the supernatural and strengthened their relationships with the gods (Roman Empire). In the play Julius Caesar, the author William Shakespeare uses superstition several times to affect the plot as well as the characters. Superstition in the play is used to foreshadow Caesar's death, impact Brutus' actions on the battlefield, and to emphasize the Romans' connection to superstition and fate. One of the greatest superstitious beliefs of Rome at this time was the power to see the future; which Caesar's future was to die. Julius Caesar was one of the greatest rulers of Rome and even he could not escape the superstitions of his death. Many signs of superstition have been shown, such as the appearance of the soothsayer, who is a person with the ability to see the future. When the soothsayer approached Caesar, he said to him: “Beware of the Ides of March” (1.2.28); and by Ides of March, the soothsayer designates a day in the Roman calendar which marks March 15. The effect of this quote was to foreshadow Caesar's death through the superstitious act of seeing into the future. Caesar's death was also foretold in Calphurnia's dream where she saw the conspirators bathing their hands in Caesar's blood (2.2.80-84). At that time, the Romans widely believed in ghosts, so Calphurnia seeing ghosts in her dream rising from their graves was also a superstition. Not only was it superstition, but it was also a bad omen and a sign that something bad was about to happen. The lioness wandering the street and all Calphurnia dreamed of was a superstition who...... middle of paper ...in sorrow because of the superstition and suffered a painful death for the to have ignored and accepted. William Shakespeare was a great author and writer and we hope that we can continue to learn from his writings in the years to come; because it is the undeniable destiny of every student. Word count: 1238 words Works Cited Alchin, Linda. “Elizabethan Theatre”. ELIZABETHAN THEATER. Np, and Web. March 11, 2014. Crowther, John, ed. “No fear Julius Caesar.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2005. Internet. March 5, 2014. "LitCharts | Julius Caesar: Act 1, Scene 2 Summary, Analysis and Themes." LitCharts | Julius Caesar: Act 1, Scene 2 Summary, Analysis and Themes. Np, and Web. March 13, 2014. Shakespeare, William, Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. The tragedy of Julius Caesar. New York: Washington Square, 1992. “The Roman Empire” print. The Roman Empire. Np, and Web. March 13. 2014.