julius-caesar Symboles

Omens

The presence of omens and prophecies in Julius Caesar lends an air of the supernatural to the cold political machinery of Rome. From the Soothsayer's warning, to the storm, to the birds that presage Cassius's defeat, major events in the play seem inevitable, as if decreed by the Gods. Then again, things may not be as fixed as they seem—does knowing that the next day is the ides of March help make up Brutus's mind? And Cassius bases his suicide on a mistake—the bad omen was not accurate until he made it so by killing himself.

Women and Wives

While one could try to analyze Calpurnia and Portia as full characters in their own right, they function primarily not as sympathetic personalities or sources of insight or poetry but rather as symbols for the private, domestic realm. Both women plead with their husbands to be more aware of their private needs and feelings (Portia in Act II, scene i; Calpurnia in Act III, scene ii). Caesar and Brutus rebuff the pleas of their respective wives, however; they not only prioritize public matters but also actively disregard their private emotions and intuitions. As such, Calpurnia and Portia are powerless figures, willing though unable to help and comfort Caesar and Brutus.

Body, Blood, & Pain

In Julius Caesar, the human body echoes the body politic: the conspirators call Caesar's autocracy a sickness that must be cured; the sleepless Brutus speaks of a rebellion in his body mirroring the rebellion he plans; and Calpurnia's dream about Caesar's bleeding statue is reinterpreted to mean that Rome draws its life from Caesar, as if his health were synonymous with the city's. Physical strength and weakness is important too. Portia courts pain as a means of proving her worth, and Caesar's great power is contrasted by infirmity—he's epileptic and partially deaf.

Poets and Teachers

These purveyors of words aren't central to any of the play's action, but they do stand out because of how widely they're disregarded, even when they have important things to say. While Shakespeare's work was considered important enough to get him royal patronage from King James I, poetry during Caesar's time was decidedly different. The most important pieces of literature from that time, whether poetic or not, focus on history and tradition. Livy's History of Rome, Caesar's own Gallic Wars, Tacitus' Histories, and Virgil's Aeneid had history at their core. The idea of writing for writing's sake wasn't popular.
Within that context, the presentation of the men of letters in Julius Caesar makes a little more sense. The first and only person who can explicitly warn Caesar in detail of the plot to kill him is a teacher of rhetoric, Artemidorius. Caught up in his affairs of state, Caesar ignores this learned man's teaching, which costs him his life.
Next we see Cinna the poet torn to shreds for having the wrong name. Even after the mob realizes he's not that Cinna, they kill him anyway as punishment for his "bad verses." (That the mob is ignorant enough to be this blood-lusty casts some doubt on whether they're qualified to be literary critics.)
The final poet we encounter shows up outside Brutus and Cassius's tent after their quarrel. He asks them to love each other as brothers and suggests that they shouldn't be alone together. (Probably a good idea, considering that they almost killed each other.) The poet points out that he has lived longer than they have and might have something to teach them. They just laugh at him, threaten him, and finally dismiss him.
In all three instances, men of words seem pretty randomly inserted into the play. There's no real reason to have a scene solely devoted to killing Cinna, or for the strange little exchange with the poet at the end. None of those instances move the plot along.
But think about it: Shakespeare is a writer. He can't just insert important poets into history, but he can do his best to argue within the play that poets and learning should be central to politics. The poets we meet are on innocent and important missions, all of which are deterred or slighted with not-so-awesome results. So perhaps Shakespeare is suggesting that men of state should also be men of learning; to ignore poets and what they have to teach is to court doom. It's a jab against both ancient Rome and Elizabethan England, but mostly it's an example of Shakespeare using a little of his own influence to promote his craft.

Rome

Because of its advanced culture and military might, Rome represented the world in microcosm. The lives of its most prominent citizens represented all human actions, and had far-reaching consequences for all of Western Civilization. In Julius Caesar, the principal characters seem conscious of this, scrutinizing their own actions as if the balance of history upon them were palpable. At times, they seem deliberately to make their speech or actions overly dramatic—even hammy—as if they were aware of their presence on a stage that the whole world would turn to for all time.

Northern Star: Julius Caesar Superstar?

During Caesar's famous "I'm the brightest star in the sky" speech, he claims to be the most "constant" (steady) guy in the universe because he can't be swayed by the personal appeals of other men. While this is one of the most arrogant diatribes ever, it's also full of some snazzy literary devices and reveals a lot about Caesar's character. Let's take a look at Caesar's speech so we can think about how his elaborate galaxy metaphor creates meaning in the play:

I am Constant as the Northern Star
I could be well moved, if I were as you;
If I could pray to move, prayers would move me;
But I am constant as the northern star,
Of whose true-fix'd and resting quality
There is no fellow in the firmament.
The skies are painted with unnumber'd sparks;
They are all fire and every one doth shine;
But there's but one in all doth hold his place.
So in the world, 'tis furnish'd well with men,
And men are flesh and blood, and apprehensive;
Yet in the number I do know but one
That unassailable holds on his rank,
Unshaked of motion; and that I am he,
Let me a little show it, even in this;
That I was constant Cimber should be banish'd,
And constant do remain to keep him so. (3.1.7)
The first thing to notice is that when Caesar aligns himself with the "Northern Star," he attempts to elevate himself above all other men. Even though there are other stars (men) in the sky (Rome), "there's but one in all doth hold his place." In other words, Caesar claims that he's the only guy solid enough to rule Rome (as evidenced by his refusal to relent after having banished Cimber).
The irony here is that Caesar delivers this big, fancy speech mere seconds before he's assassinated. Just as our superstar is declaring how "unshak[able]" and immovable he is, the conspirators surround him and stab him to death, unseating him from power.
As a side note, it's not uncommon for Shakespeare's powerful political leaders to align themselves with celestial bodies. Prince Hal, for example, compares himself to the sun in Henry IV Part 1. And Hal's dad, Henry IV, compares himself to a comet.

Antony's Goatskin Whip

During the feast of the Lupercal, Caesar orders Antony to spank Calphurnia (Caesar's "barren" wife) with his goatskin whip so she might become pregnant. Weird? Yes. But before your imagination runs too far, let us explain what's going on here.
Historically, during Lupercal festivities, it was traditional for young men to run naked through the streets, whipping everyone in sight. The idea was that touching women with the special whip would help them give birth to healthy babies. (We're not kidding. If you don't believe us, you can read Plutarch's biography of Julius Caesar, which describes in detail the kind of aforementioned whippings that went down at Lupercal festivals.)
So when Caesar tells Antony not to forget to "touch Calphurnia" when he's running through the streets, it's because the "elders say, / The barren, touched in the holy chase, shake off their sterile curse" (1.2.4). In other words, Caesar is hoping that Calphurnia will bear him children. This seems pretty random, don't you think? Why does Shakespeare go out of his way to include this bizarre moment in the play? Here are a few ideas:
1. Although Caesar blames Calphurnia's for being "barren," it's possible that Caesar could be the one who's impotent or sterile. (After all, it's not like they had fancy fertility doctors at the time.) We can't know for sure, but Shakespeare may be trying to plant the idea in the audience's mind that Caesar isn't as perfect as he thinks he is. There are lots of other references to Caesar's "shortcomings" in the play. In Act 1, Scene 2, Casca tells us how Caesar fainted when he was offered the crown (1.2.8), and Cassius happily reports that when Caesar was younger he became ill and acted like a "sick girl" (1.2.8).
2. When Caesar asks Antony to whip "barren" Calphurnia, we know that he's anxious about not having kids. For a guy who might become a king, it's important to have an heir to inherit the throne, right? Remember, Caesar pretends he doesn't want to be crowned king in Act 1, Scene 2, but he's lured to the Capitol in Act 2, scene 2 by Decius's promise that the Senate wants to crown him king. So the play raises the possibility that Caesar really does have dynastic ambitions. It's not only possible that Caesar wants to be a monarch; it also seems like he wants a little baby Caesar to inherit the throne.
3. Finally, this could be a not-so-subtle reference to the childless Queen Elizabeth I, who was way too old to have kids and hadn't yet named an heir to England's throne when Shakespeare wrote the play.