Question

Which statements bestinterpret the allusion used in the passage? Choose five options.

The ides means “bad news.”
The ides of March is March 15.
This is a cultural and historical allusion.
The soothsayer is the only character to mention the ides of March.
Caesar’s death happened on the ides of March.
Shakespeare was unfamiliar with the cultural and historical meanings of the ides of March when writing his play.
The play was based on historical events surrounding the murder of Julius Caesar.

Answer 1

Chosen (best interpretations):
- The ides of March is March 15.
- This is a cultural and historical allusion.
- Caesar’s death happened on the ides of March.
- The soothsayer is the only character to mention the ides of March.
- The play was based on historical events surrounding the murder of Julius Caesar.

Why: “Ides of March” refers specifically to March 15 and alludes to the historical/cultural event of Caesar’s assassination (on that date), which Shakespeare dramatized. In the play the soothsayer is the character who famously utters the warning about the Ides.

Excluded: “The ides means ‘bad news’” (ides is a Roman calendar term, not literally “bad news”) and “Shakespeare was unfamiliar…” (he knowingly used the historical allusion).