After only reading the first few acts in Julius Caesar the presence of omens are scattered though out the scenes. Each character seems to interprets these omens differently. The omens that have appeared so far are the Calphurnia’s dream, the ides of March, and weird animal behavior. Every character interprets these omens as they see fit but all point to certain doom.
One of the more important omens so far is Calphurnia’s dream. Calphurnia dreamed about Romans standing around washing their hands in Caesar's blood. Caesar’s wife correctly predicts that this dream foreshadows danger for her husband. But Decius tries to convince Caesar that this dream means he will be Rome’s’ savior. Due to Caesars’ pride he decides to agree with Decius and in turn dies.
Another interesting omen that has been presented multiple times is concept of the Ides of March, which the Soothsayer insists to be heard. This date is of course the day Caesar dies and the date being repeated in the play is there to remind the audience of Caesars’ fate. But why does Caesar choose to ignore the warnings? If he didn’t ignore them would we have a different ending to this story? I think Caesar is blinded by the popularity of the Roman people that he chooses to turn his deaf ear to the warnings, which ultimately is his downfall.
An additional omen that from the beginning of the play seems strange is the sighting of the lion from Calpurnia and Casca. Calpurnia sees the lion giving birth in the streets and Casca sees the lion walking by him with no attempt to attack him. This bizarre appearance of the lion could symbolize Caesar. Like the lion who is king of the jungle, Caesar could become king of Rome. But the weird behavior of the lion could mean that Caesar may not become King.
While reading the begging of the play the biggest omen that stuck out to me was the sacrifice that was missing a heart. Like the other omens the meaning of the heartless sacrifice gets misinterpreted. Caesar believes that the lack of heart means that if he doesn’t go to the capitol that day it will show a lack in courage and therefore he will be removed from consideration of the crown. But I understood the omen to mean that the conspirators have no heart and will kill Caesar.
The seriousness with which Romans looked at omens is evident in the beginning of this play. However it is very frustrating watching these characters misinterpret the warnings from the gods and their close ones. If only Caesar caught on to one omen that alluded to his death we might have had a completely different outcome.
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