The Assassination Plot
Of course, the central irony of Julius Caesar is dramatic irony, as both the audience and the senators are aware of the plot to assassinate Caesar. Caesar, however, remains ignorant to the plan and even ignores the many warnings – including the soothsayer's caution, the strange omens at night, and Calpurnia's dream – that would have saved him. Shakespeare, far from intending historical accuracy, likely added these warnings to the play to increase the sense of irony and tension as the plot builds to the assassination of Caesar in Act Three.
The North Star
Just before he is assassinated, Caesar compares himself to the north star, arguing that he is as constant as the only star that remains fixed in its position in the sky. He compares other men to weaker beings, as they change their position frequently. This remark is an example of verbal irony, as Caesar boasts about his constancy just moments before he is murdered. Furthermore, his evaluation is doubly ironic because it is in many ways correct: Caesar does not waiver in his ambition, but the other sentences (namely Brutus) do waiver in their political allegiances.
Antony's Eulogy
Antony's eulogy for Caesar is one of the most famous speeches in all of Shakespeare's repertoire, in part because it is a masterclass in verbal irony. Though Antony appears to be expressing deference toward the other senators by repeatedly referring to them as "honorable men," he is actually implying to the crowd that they are not the least bit honorable and are instead cruel perpetrators of Caesar's murder. The repetition of the phrase "honorable men" throughout Antony's speech raises questions for the listeners over what is means to act truly honorably.
Aftermath
Julius Caesar also contains a primary example of situational irony. The conspirators who kill Caesar do so because they think it will bring peace to a Rome plagued by civil unrest. However, the direct result of Caesar's assassination is not peace but war, between Octaviu/sAntony and Cassius/Brutus. Thus, the expectations on which the major event of the play turns ultimately prove misguided, and as such many other people die throughout the course of the play.
