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How are the Witches of Macbeth and the Soothsayers of
Julius Caesar both telling the futures of the eponymous
protagonists in similar/different ways? (30 marks)




In the two Shakespeare plays, Macbeth and Julius Caesar the fortune tellers are

portrayed as mysterious and supernatural characters with a sense of foreshadowing and
foreboding about their person
...
Whereas, the Soothsayers of Julius
Caesar seek to warn Caesar of his own downfall, but he almost fails to recognise until the day
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They respect him as they

seemingly “hail Macbeth, who will be King hereafter
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The fact that they “hail” him almost causes Macbeth’s ego to
become more valiant in decision, this repeats itself later in the play when he returns to them
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The Soothsayer brings bad
news to Caesar, who near ignores it as he is told to “beware the Ides of March
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Caesar ignores the warning, but then
mentions it one the day; showing that he did actually “beware” and only sought to ignore it
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Whereas, with Julius Caesar the Elizabethan Audience would have simply
believed Caesar to be ignorant and already know his death to be on the date of the “Ides of
March” – the primary effect being ignored foreshadowing by the protagonist
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The similarity between the two fortunes is that, as hard as the eponymous protagonist

tries, they cannot ignore the fortune itself
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“All hail” is repeated three times and this establishes that they
require the ego of the protagonist to be boosted into blind belief instead of debunking the
claims of magic
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” The transparent repetition that is used
by Shakespeare as a primary force into remembering the fortune is not only for the
protagonist to remember what they have said, nor is it only for the use of supernatural links
to the number 3; but, it is also used to the effect of the audience
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As analysed, this could be the reason for repetition
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The audience witness an egotistical character become of
Macbeth and thus, his return to the witches, unable to ignore fortune
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Thus portraying that the differences may be the
fortunes themselves, but the similarities across the board are primarily led by the
protagonist’s inability to ignore the supernatural force of fate

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