Beware the Ides of March!

Another month is over. Next week will be the Ides of March.

If you are not too familiar with the word ides, here’s its origin: It comes from the Latin word “idus,” a word that was used widely in the old Roman calendar to indicate the day that was the middle of the month, or simply March 15. 

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The whole phrase “Ides of March” has evolved into the phrase, “Beware the Ides of March.” It is a warning of bad things to come on that particular day. This was made popular by a play entitled “Julius Caesar” written by William Shakespeare.

Because of this phrase, March always reminds me of Shakespeare. He was one of my favorite English writers in my English class in High School and Literature class in college. We used to have many assignments on his more popular works from among the 38 plays, 154 sonnets, narratives poems, epitaphs, and other works he had written.

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His plays are still constantly being performed, analyzed, and re-interpreted in different cultural and political contexts the world over. They have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.

In this new, modern millennium, Shakespeare is also regarded by Literature enthusiasts as the greatest writer in the English language and the world’s most outstanding dramatist. In fact, many think he was a genius.

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Young people today probably won’t agree, because Shakespeare’s works used old English, which is so different from the way kids talk or write today. Just take a look at the messages people write on e-mails and the Internet and you’ll know what I mean.

Well, Literature changes with the times.  But even so, when you begin to study Shakespeare in school, try to appreciate the depth and richness of the words and phrases that could only be the product of an artist’s creativity and inspiration.

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In the play “Julius Caesar,” Julius Caesar was assassinated at the foot of a statue of Pompey the Great, a military and political leader of the ancient Roman Republic, where the Senate was meeting.

Before Caesar went to attend the Senate meeting, he was warned by a soothsayer not to go, but he didn’t listen.

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Let me cut and paste the dialogue in the play where the phrase is mentioned (Julius Caesar Act 1, scene 2). Take note of the language used.

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.

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Julius Caesar was stabbed 23 times to death by a group of conspirators led by Marcus Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus on the ides of March.  

Since the old Roman calendar was based on the movements of the moon, it was said  that on the ides of March, the sea becomes turbulent and angry, because of the scary high tides brought by the full moon. 

All these thoughts make the ides of March eerie and mysterious.

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 Be not afraid. Your day can only be as pleasant as you make it. Cheers! Please visit my website: http://leavesofgrace.blogspot.com or email me at: gdchong@ gmail.com.