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“Beware the Ides of March,” so said the Soothsayer in Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar. But what does the phrase really mean, and what are contemporary scholars saying about one of Shakespeare’s famous plays? Our reference department found the answers.

The Ides of March stands for March 15. When a soothsayer tells Caesar to beware the Ides of March, it is a warning for Caesar to watch his back and his actions come that day in the play. So what does happen to Caesar come March 15? Well, we won’t spoil the story for you, but check out Act III scene 1 if you want to know Caesar’s fate: The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare.

Contemporary scholars help enlighten our understanding of Shakespeare’s plays. You can find these literary and academic ebooks through EBSCOhost, free with your library card. Here is a list of some ebooks and literary essays we found to help your search.

• William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar by Harold Bloom
• Faultlines: Cultural Materialism and the Politics of Dissident Reading by Alan Sinfield
• Caesar’s Revenge and the Roman Thoughts in Antony and Cleopatra by Clifford J. Ronan

You can also stop by the Reference Desk to find print books such as The Harvard Concordance to Shakespeare, a guide to every word and phrase in Shakespeare’s plays.