Superstition is considered a myth for most people, but for the ancient Romans this was a historical belief. For the Romans, believing in superstition 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, author William Shakespeare repeatedly uses superstition to influence the plot as well as the characters. Superstition in the play is used to foreshadow Caesar's death, influence Brutus' actions on the battlefield, and to emphasize the Romans' connection to superstition and fate. One of the greatest superstitious beliefs in Rome at that time was the power to see the future; which Caesar's future would die. Julius Caesar was one of Rome's greatest leaders and not even he could escape the superstitions surrounding his death. Many signs of superstition have been shown, such as the appearance of the fortune teller, who is a person with the ability to see the future. When the soothsayer approached Caesar he said, “Beware the ides of March” (1.2.28); and by the ides of March the soothsayer means a day in the Roman calendar which marks March 15th. The effect of this quote was to foreshadow Caesar's death through the superstitious act of seeing the future. Caesar's death was also prefigured in Calfurnia's dream in which she saw the conspirators bathe their hands in Caesar's blood (2.2.80-84). The Romans at that time widely believed in ghosts, so Calphurnia seeing ghosts in dreams coming out of 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 that roamed the street and all that Calphurnia dreamed of was a superstition that... middle of paper... grieved because of the superstition and suffered painful deaths from both ignoring and accepting it. William Shakespeare was a great author and writer and we hope to continue to learn from his writings in the years to come; because this is the undeniable destiny of every student. Word Count: 1238 words Works Cited Alchin, Linda. "Elizabethan Theatre". ELISABETTA THEATER. Np, nd Web. March 11, 2014.Crowther, John, ed. “No fear Julius Caesar”. SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2005. Network. 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, nd Web. March 13, 2014.Shakespeare, William, Barbara A. Mowat, and Paul Werstine. The tragedy of Julius Caesar. New York: Washington Square, 1992. Print."The Roman Empire." The Roman Empire. Np, nd Web. March 13. 2014.