Beware of the Ides of March

Megan Rummel, Staff

There are countless superstitions in which people around the world believe. Some are knock on wood, black cats or birds, Friday the thirteenth, et cetera. There is one superstition that is known for this month: the Ides of March, or March 15. This superstition comes from the events surrounding historical leader Julius Caesar. Throughout March, Mr. Troy Hillwig (Faculty) and his 6/7 period students read the play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar to celebrate the Ides of March.

The play, Julius Caesar, was written by William Shakespeare. According to History.com, this term comes from the “ominous warning from the smoothsayer telling Caesar to not go to the capital.” Nowadays, March 15 is known as a solemn day filled with a negative connotation. Patrick Hicks (10) and Kylee Long (10) do not believe in the Ides of March.

“I think for story-telling purposes that the Ides of March are unlucky for Julius Caesar because it works as a plot device,” Hicks said. “But in general I don’t have any superstitious feelings about the Ides of March.”

“If I lived back then [during Julius Caesar’s time period] maybe I would have believed in the Ides of March, but not really now.” Long said.

Compared to the students, Hillwig has a different opinion on the Ides of March.

As English class begins, Mackenzie Saunders (10), Madison Bailey (10) and Kylee Long (10) get ready to read the play.

William Shakespeare’s writing is more traditional than the writing students are used to today. According to Shakespeare Online, Shakespeare wrote comedies, histories, and tragedies. Julius Caesar is a tragic story about how Julius Caesar “fell” from power. To Hicks, Julius Caesar is pretty easy to follow along.

“Julius Caesar is a very interesting story and overall I enjoy it. So far, I like in Act II the speech that Brutus gave about why Caesar must be overthrown and I think it is very powerful,” Hicks said.

There are students who catch on to stories and plays very easily, but for Long, it took some time to comprehend.

“I think that it is kind of confusing, but so far, it has been okay because Mr. Hillwig explains it very well and I think that most of the people in class are getting it,” said Long. “My favorite part in the play is when Cassius was explaining to Brutus why he should battle Julius Caesar for his power.”

To Hillwig, Julius Caesar is very detailed with it’s difficult language. He said that Shakespeare challenges everybody, including his Honors students. “I like for the Honors classes to be able to really analyze and detail the play and it is something that hopefully makes them think about the language and Shakespeare and have a better understanding of the play.”