Who said, "Beware the Ides of March"?

If you are a fan of Y103.9 and you have heard lawyer Jeffrey Scholl's ad that's running now, then you might be inclined to think that Shakespeare said, "Beware the Ides of March."

How many teachers will ask that question this week, maybe even on March 15, and believe that Shakespeare said it. And how many students will answer "Shakespeare", when asked "Who said 'Beware the Ides of March'?"

Heck, how many kids today (and how many teachers) will even have a clue what "the Ides of March" means?

Who knows whether Shakespeare did say it? Probably, at one time or another, he might have, but he would have been quoting someone else.

The line occurs in Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar and refers to the date of Caesar's assassination in 44 B.C. A little more homework on my part indicates that it was the soothsayer in the play who uttered the warning.

So, did Shakespeare "say" it? Well, he wrote it as a line in a play, to be spoken by an actor.