G10U5_ST_Shakespeare II_114-117.fm Page 117 Thursday, March 13, 2008 7:42 PM
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The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Act II, by William Shakespeare
Enrichment: Omens and Portents
Omens and portents play a large role in setting the atmosphere in The Tragedy of Julius
Caesar. Fierce weather, astronomical phenomena, unusual events, and fearsome dreams all
suggest to the characters that strange times are upon them.
An omen or portent is anything that foretells or suggests what may happen in the future. An
omen can be perfectly rational: A good score on a pretest quiz is a reasonable omen for a good
score on the test itself. Heavy gray clouds and a drop in the temperature portend rain.
In the past, though, interpreting various signs and events was a serious attempt to learn the
future. People believed that all things were the will of the gods and that inexplicable phenomena
were signs of that will. Interpreting these signs, these omens and portents, is called divination.
Most cultures have practiced some forms of divination at various times. In ancient Rome, the
practice was elevated to a governmental level. Augurs were official members of the government, and
their job was not to foretell the future but to determine whether the gods approved of a course of
action taken by the government.
There were two primary means of augury. One was to examine the motions of weather and
birds, which were believed to be controlled by the spirits of the gods. Another was to examine
the entrails of sacrificed animals. As one might expect, the augury grew more complicated and
more elaborate, with as many as sixty augurs officially consulting various signs for approval of
governmental and private acts. The practice led to abuses and interference in the operation of
the Roman government.
DIRECTIONS: Respond to each of the following items.
1. To what word is the term divination related? Why is this association appropriate for the
activities of the Roman augurs?
2. The practice of divination among primitive cultures has some things in common with a
scientific understanding of the world. Explain what these similarities are.
3. Why would weather be a natural choice as an omen?
4. Why might the motions of birds be especially appealing to augurs?
5. Why would it be almost inevitable that using augury for official approval of acts of the government would lead to corruption and other problems?
Unit 5 Resources: Drama
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