Customer Reviews

Julius Caesar (The New Folger Library Shakespeare)

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I really enjoyed reading this edition of the play. Each scene is proceded by a summary of the secene and followed by commentary on the scene, and there are notes alongside the text explaining unusual words/phrases. As an actor, I have been reading Shakespeare for quite awhile, and I still found this book very helpful. If you are new to reading Shakespeare, I particularly recommend this because you will find it very helpful.

This was the first play performed at the Globe Theatre. For that reason alone, this play deserves special attention. But the characters, the language, and this interesting situation represent Shakespeare's finest efforts. Cassius is ruthless with a malicious attitude. But he honestly fears what Caesar will do if he is crowned. Brutus is a good and honest man. He contemplates joining Cassius to kill Caesar despite the fact that Caesar loves him as a friend. (In history as well, Caesar was notably kind to Brutus.) But yet he too fears that if Caesar is crowned, Rome will bleed. Mark Antony is convincing as Caesar's loyal aid who SEEMS insignificant at first. But after Caesar is killed, he emerges as the most powerful and intelligent character in the play. What makes this play so phenomenal is that we can easily understand and sympathize with any of these major characters. (Even though they are on opposite sides.) What's left? Only chilling omens like the Soothsayer, the storm, the ghost of Caesar, etc. Only memorable passages like Mark Antony's famous 'honorable' speech. If you like this play, I suggest the B & W version where James Mason does Brutus, John Gielgud does Cassius, and Marlon Brando does Mark Antony.

When it comes to Shakespeare, there really isn't a discussion about how good the play is...they are all fantastic and are all worth devoting time to read. When you buy, it comes down to the edition. The Folger library is the most obvious choice: they have very detailed introductions and on every left-hand side of the page, they explain certain phrases that have become phased out of the language. They also have a huge library on everything Shakespeare. This edition of Julius Caesar is certainly the best out there, and I reccomend you buy it. Oh, did I mention it's a great play?

Not much is more sensational than the assassination of a major public figure; reading Act 3, Scene 1 of Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar," in which the title character is stabbed and hacked to death by half a dozen conspirators, I feel like I'm depriving myself of a thrilling theatrical spectacle that must be seen to be appreciated. It is not necessary to know much about Caesar to sense the power of the drama; the play provides just enough background and information about Caesar's personality to suggest the reason for his murder and its consequences.

In historical actuality, Caesar's murder was in some ways the pivot around which Rome transformed from a republic into an empire, and the play, which Shakespeare bases faithfully on Plutarch's histories, is ultimately about the political struggle that drives this transformation. The main conspirator against Caesar, and the one to deal him the final blow, is Brutus, who foresees nothing but tyranny if Caesar is made a king. There is something atavistic about his attitude, for he is descended from the family that was instrumental in turning the kingdom of Rome into a republic five centuries earlier.

The scenes leading up to Caesar's murder build with forceful tension. We see Brutus discussing with his co-conspirator Cassius the dangers of Caesar's ascension and Cassius's sympathetic response, the conspirators meeting at night to plan their attack on Caesar in the Capitol, Caesar's disregard of a soothsayer's prophecies of doom, and then the bloody climax, even after which the drama loses not a bit of momentum: Brutus appeals to the people (the Plebeians) that the assassination of Caesar, whom they loved and did not at all consider a potential tyrant, was only for their own good; while Mark Antony, one of Caesar's triumvirate and an eloquent orator, cajoles the people with demagogic irony into suspecting the murder happened for no reason other than malice.

Shakespeare fashions Caesar and Brutus more or less as two sides of the same denarius. Caesar is physically frail and deaf in one ear, but that doesn't preclude his triumphant success as a general and a military strategist. He is also pompous and fatuously vain -- there is nothing he fears more than to appear cowardly to his peers. Brutus is cut out of the same stock of hubris, but his motivations are purely altruistic. He loves Rome -- as a republic -- and will do anything to save it from a dictator, even kill a man he considers a friend and attempt to ally himself with foreign nations to wage a civil war against the armies of the now-empowered Roman triumvirate. Shakespeare brings all of this to light in a humanistic portrait of one of the most fascinating figures from history and his idealistic destroyer.

Julius Caesar was a play of epic proportions. Even though much of it was drawn out and needed more action, other parts were emotionally inspirational and uplifting. The portrayal of the character's visages was very acurate, and almost made me wonder if these were the true emotions of the people who's story was told.
I was a bit confused with the self sacrifice made by Portia to convince Brutus to confess to her his inner feelings, and was disgusted with every single one of the conspirators
I suggest that you should read this book. yes. YOU SHOULD. Even if you are familiar with the muder and slaughter of Caeasr, this book gives you an inside look at the inspirations of the conspirators.

"Cowards die many times before their deaths. The valiant never taste of death but once." - Caesar

Just one of the many brilliant quotes from this powerful and enduring tragedy, which happens to be amongst my very favorite Shakespeare. How could anyone not enjoy Marc Antony swaying the weak-minded and feeble-minded plebians with his vibrant and rousing speech? Julius Caesar is unquestionably quintessential Shakespeare, a monumental work that perhaps is surpassed only by Hamlet and rivaled by Othello, Macbeth, Romeo & Juliet, & King Lear.

Julius Caesar teaches us about the dangers and pitfalls of ambition, jealousy, power, as well as the sacrifice for the greater good - even if it is another's life. Amongst the bood-thirsty traiotors, only Brutus genuinely believes in the assassination of Caesar for the greater good of the Republic. Julius Caesar galvanizes the brain and awakens the spirit from within with scenes such as when Marc Antony proclaims, "Cry Havoc and let slip the dogs of war."
Countless amounts of quotes and passages throughout the play rank among my favorite Shakespeare. Needless to say, this book should be on the bookshelf of any and all with any semblance of intellect and enough cultivation to appreciate such superb literature.

The modern perspective following the text enlightens and should be read by anyone seeking more knowledge about this amazing tragedy and time in history. An irrepressible 5 stars.

I like Shakespeare, but find his language hard to decipher at times. Standard texts have footnotes to help you to understand how he uses certain words, but after looking up a few dozen of these, I find myself starting to lose the thread of the story line. The "Shakespeare Made Easy" approach has been a godsend for me. Now, whenever I run into a difficult passage, I can glance over to the other side of the book and read the same passage in plain English. A light bulb blinks on, and I say, "Aha! That's what this means!" Unfamiliar words are instantly translated for me as I see them in the context of a passage which I now understand fully. I've read Julius Caesar three or four times previously, but never so fluidly and with such enjoyment and understanding as I just did with the help of the "Shakespeare Made Easy" book.

i definitely recommend this book. i am a sophomore in high school, and i usually despise reading shakespearean works, but this book spells out everything for you and has review questions in the back to help you study. A++

Shakespeare wrote Julius Caesar in about 1599. The play was the first of three Roman plays. Shakespeare based the source material for the play on a translation of a work by the Greek philosopher and biographer Plutarch, called "The lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans". Shakespeare, like Plutarch, praises and criticises the actions of the main characters in the assassination of Julius Caesar. However, the historical events in the play are fairly accurate, although the playwright sometimes changed the sequence and timing of events and added his limitless imagination to produce a timeless play that has been enacted and enjoyed by millions of people worldwide over the centuries.

The play is set in a period of political instability in Rome. The people of Rome celebrate Caesar victory over Pompey, their former leader. However, there are officials that are concerned about Caesar's growing power. The Romans were then aware that absolute power is open to abuse (there are people today who still do not know this simple fact). Among those concerned about the growing power of Caesar are Cassius and Brutus, who are both followers of Caesar.

Cassius persuades Brutus that something needs to be done to thwart Caesar's growing ambitions. Brutus has a problem with his conscience but ultimately decides that it is in the best interests of Rome that Caesar is eliminated.

Caesar receives warnings about the impending danger. During a festival that Caesar attends, he is warned "Beware the Ides of March". Caesar, however, dismisses the Soothsayer's warnings. When the Ides of March arrive and while Caesar is due to go to be crowned, warnings in the form of storms, bad omens and his wife's horrible dreams initially persuade Caesar to stay at home. However, Caesar decides to go after being advised that if he did not show up, Senators might change their minds about crowning him emperor. On entering the capitol, the conspirators stab Caesar to death.

Mark Anthony, a very close ally of Caesar, initially pretends to go along with the conspirators but he is determined to avenge his death. When Brutus addresses the confused crowd to drum up support for the assassination, Mark Anthony cleverly and expertly manages to turn the crowd against the conspirators and incites them to riot. With popular support in Rome, the triumvirs Anthony, Octavious and Lepidus plan to fight Brutus and Cassius. Brutus's conscience still troubles him and he sees Caesars ghost. Fighting takes place and Cassius and Brutus are defeated and both commit suicide to save their honour. The triumvirs then seize power after avenging Caesar.

When I first read JULIUS CAESAR as a sophomore in high school, I found it to be a decent play, but other than some really cool lines, didn't think it was that great. After having re-read the play and now having taught it to my own classes of sophomore English students, I have a much greater appreciation for the play. Granted, JULIUS CAESAR is not one of Shakespeare's greatest plays nor is it even one of his best histories. And despite much of it being written in the classic Shakespearean iambic pentameter, it really isn't all that poetic. There are moments when the language is extremely vivid and moving, e.g. Mark Antony's speech to the citizens of Rome or some of Brutus' personal soliloquies. However, compared to HAMLET or KING LEAR or HENRY V, the play seems juvenile by comparison. However, it is that very unpolished, amatuerism that makes the play so relevant and easy to connect with younger audiences.

Though Julius Caesar is the title character, the play isn't really about Caesar. Instead, the play is about Caesar's closest friend, Marcus Brutus. Through Brutus, the play examines exactly what it means to be noble, what is honor, and the nature of friendship. In the course of the play, Brutus is led to believe and becomes convinced that in doing a most dishonorable act, he is doing the most honorable thing he possibly can to save Rome and all the ideals he has staked his life upon. Yet, his decision brings him to kill his best friend and ultimately brings about the end of the republic which he had tried to save.

Contrary to what I had been led to believe before I began teaching this play, students really enjoy JULIUS CAESAR. It is full of murder and betrayal. They enjoy the violence and the theme of betrayal is something they are all able to relate to. I have also found that student seem to sympathize much more with Caesar than with Brutus. They can't understand why Brutus would kill his best friend. The concept of caring more about a group of people (family, country, etc.) than one single person seems beyond them. I've tried to use Stephen King's THE DEAD ZONE to help them understand this better (in that story the question is "If you were able to stop Hitler before he became Hitler, even if he was your closest friend, would you?").

Overall, though JULIUS CAESAR is not one of Shakespeare's greatest plays, it is a great play to introduce people both to the brilliance of Shakespeare and to one of history's most pivotal moments; the time when Rome became an Empire.