“Et tu, Brute! Then fall, Caesar.”

It’s the Ides of March, yo.

Here’s the moment in the play where Caesar gets the warning from the soothsayer. And ignores it.

SCENE II. A public place

Flourish. Enter CAESAR; ANTONY, CALPURNIA, PORTIA, DECIUS BRUTUS, CICERO, BRUTUS, CASSIUS, and CASCA; a great crowd following, among them a SOOTHSAYER

CAESAR
Calpurnia!

CASCA
Peace, ho! Caesar speaks.

CAESAR
Calpurnia!

CALPURNIA
Here, my lord.

CAESAR
Stand you directly in Antonius’ way,
When he doth run his course. Antonius!

ANTONY
Caesar, my lord?

CAESAR
Forget not, in your speed, Antonius,
To touch Calpurnia; for our elders say,
The barren, touched in this holy chase,
Shake off their sterile curse.

ANTONY
I shall remember:
When Caesar says ‘do this,’ it is perform’d.

CAESAR
Set on; and leave no ceremony out.

Flourish

SOOTHSAYER
Caesar!

CAESAR
Ha! who calls?

CASCA
Bid every noise be still: peace yet again!

CAESAR
Who is it in the press that calls on me?
I hear a tongue, shriller than all the music,
Cry ‘Caesar!’ Speak; Caesar is turn’d to hear.

SOOTHSAYER
Beware the ides of March.

CAESAR
What man is that?

BRUTUS
A soothsayer bids you beware the ides of March.

CAESAR
Set him before me; let me see his face.

CASSIUS
Fellow, come from the throng; look upon Caesar.

CAESAR
What say’st thou to me now? speak once again.

SOOTHSAYER
Beware the ides of March.

CAESAR
He is a dreamer; let us leave him: pass.

So of course Julius Caesar was a real guy and all (I heard he really liked to “work out“) … but naturally I’m all about the play. Love that play.

The conspiracy scene, I think, is my favorite in the play. Here’s a fun exercise – read it out loud and notice how often Shakespeare uses “s”. Or an “s” sound. There’s an “s” sound in almost every sentence. So when you hear the language – just the sound of it, never mind what it is that they’re actually saying: it has a sound of “ssssss” – it gives an impression of a crowd of men whispering “psst” or – hissing – the hissing ‘psst” whisper of conspiracy. Brilliant.

Here’s a quiz on Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. Fun!! Amazing how much one remembers. It all came back to me – however, the quiz also reminds me I really MUST get back to my Shakespeare project. I mean – my reading has gone on quite well, I’m moving through each play chronologically – I’ve always wanted to do that. I’ve read all the plays, of course – but never in so-called chronological order. My original plan was: I wanted to write about each play as I read it – a la 2 Gents. I’ll keep going on and get back to the series eventually)

And so, in honor of the Ides of March, here’s the “moment before” – the poor ignored SOOTHSAYER comes back into the picture:

Act II, scene iv. The sense of foreboding grows. Portia can feel the wrongness in the air. This is “the moment before”.

PORTIA
Come hither, fellow: which way hast thou been?

SOOTHSAYER
At mine own house, good lady.

PORTIA
What is’t o’clock?

SOOTHSAYER
About the ninth hour, lady.

PORTIA
Is Caesar yet gone to the Capitol?

SOOTHSAYER
Madam, not yet: I go to take my stand,
To see him pass on to the Capitol.

PORTIA
Thou hast some suit to Caesar, hast thou not?

SOOTHSAYER
That I have, lady: if it will please Caesar
To be so good to Caesar as to hear me,
I shall beseech him to befriend himself.

PORTIA
Why, know’st thou any harm’s intended towards him?

SOOTHSAYER
None that I know will be, much that I fear may chance.
Good morrow to you. Here the street is narrow:
The throng that follows Caesar at the heels,
Of senators, of praetors, common suitors,
Will crowd a feeble man almost to death:
I’ll get me to a place more void, and there
Speak to great Caesar as he comes along.

Exit

PORTIA
I must go in. Ay me, how weak a thing
The heart of woman is! O Brutus,
The heavens speed thee in thine enterprise!
Sure, the boy heard me: Brutus hath a suit
That Caesar will not grant. O, I grow faint.
Run, Lucius, and commend me to my lord;
Say I am merry: come to me again,
And bring me word what he doth say to thee.