How Does Shakespeare Use Religious Allegories In Julius Caesar

If you, like most Year 10 students, are struggling with finding meaning in Shakespeare’s tragedy of Julius Caesar, it may well be that Shakespeare’s habit of crafting contextual allegories - stories that reflect on the political and social circumstances of his time - as well as his targeting of the contextual concerns, fears, and experiences of his audiences is being lost on you as a modern audience. Through an understanding of religious context and political allegories, readers are able to appreciate otherwise obscure layers of meaning in the text and identify lines that they would usually ignore. Prepare yourselves Year 10 , as you are about to become enveloped within the zeitgeist of the Elizabethan Era!

Through an understanding of the

Home, you idle creatures, get you home! Is this a holiday?” (pause)
Did you guys catch that joke? While Shakespeare's joke is cringe-worthy at best, it actually comments on the fact of confusion that surrounded the holiday periods in the late 16th century through the use of interrogative rhetorical questioning. The confusion, caused by Anglican Protestant authorities stripping many traditional Catholic Religious holidays from the existing calendar, created jokes that are scattered throughout the play which helps emphasise the importance of religious context.
Additionally, in many of Shakespeare's plays it was evident that he liked to habitually play with the idea of whether one's fate was predetermined or not due to it being a popular and believable superstition at the time. When understanding the sensibilities of fate, the experience you will have throughout the play is markedly improved. A great example of this would be when Cassius exclaimed “Men at some time are masters of their fates. The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings.” Shakespeare utilises the contrast, juxtaposition and irony in “master of their fates” to emphasise Cassius’ beliefs and to highlight the determination that resides within him. Celestial imagery is also used within the quote, alluding to a higher power within the stars linking back to the ideology of religion and belief in a god. Both techniques allow for more depth behind the play

By using the chaos and civil strife that ensued after the assassination of Julius Caesar, Shakespeare created a mimesis about what would happen after the death of the nulliparous Queen Elizabeth I. This play was a cautionary tale that warned of the dangers that would come after her death and through gaining an understanding of this, helps achieve a much better appreciation for the