Customer Reviews

Julius Caesar (New Folger Library Shakespeare)

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Before I begin, I would like to point out three things. One, I am only a middle-school student (this was an honours class project); two, this is my first review; three, I am reviewing the unabridged, original dialogue version. Thank you.

William Shakespeare is hailed as the greatest writer ever, yet (based on people I've met) very few people have read even a single one of his works. I expected it to be required reading in high school or, at the very least, college. Alas, it is not. This is a disappointment, as I truly enjoyed reading this play, my first encounter with Shakespeare.

Julius Caesar is a tale of honor and betrayal. Pompey, a beloved Roman leader, is defeated in civil war with Caesar. A small brotherhood, let by Marcus Brutus, is still devoted to him after his death, and wants nothing less than the assassination of their new leader. I had expected Caesar's death ("Et tu, Bruté? Then fall Caesar.") to be near the end of the book. However, it turned out to be within the third of five acts. The rest of the book is devoted to the attempts by Brutus's followers and Marc Antony (a dear friend of Caesar, and Brutus's enemy) to get the populace to believe in and follow that person's views, and turn them against the other people's ideals. Marc Antony, an orator with the ability to, in essence, brainwash an entire city with a short speech ("Friends, Romans, Countrymen, / Lend me your ears!"), convinces Rome to turn on Brutus's brotherhood. How their conflict is settled is, by far, the most captivating and entrancing parts of the play.

With the plot discussed, I will move on to what makes this a challenging read: dialogue. Being a work from the Elizabethan Era, I (naively) expected words such as "forsooth" and manye more wordse endinge ine "e". As it turned out, this was not the case. There were archaic words that would elicit cocked heads of confusion from the average person. My saviour from the confusion turned out to be the footnotes in one of the versions I read. The phrase "They fall their crests, and like deceitful jades / Sink in the trial" becomes "They let their necks droop and, like weary nags, fail the test" (Brutus, A4 S2, L26/27). One is forced to scrutinise every single word, in order to receive a complete understanding of the goings-on.

The unabridged version of Julius Caesar is definitely not a piece one reads in one's free time; rather, it should be considered a serious task. Once you put the book down, you transform from reader to philosopher. You will instinctively begin to ponder the issues in whatever part of the book that you have just completed. I, personally, read one act at a time, then closed my eyes (or reread the act) to mull over what had just transpired. I was left with a better understanding of that portion, and a greater respect for the genius of Shakespeare.

Though this and the following sentences have nothing to do with the above review, I am obliged to put them in. My crusade in life is to get as many people as possible to read Congo, by Michael Crichton, and this is as good as any other place to post my propaganda. Please take the time to at least try the book.

We all know the story of Julius Caesar. The tragic event that led to chaos. Though it is a popular television and movie theme, we know it in large part due to Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare's famed play. It includes moving scenes such as Caesar's infamous "Et tu Brute", and Marc Antony's moving "Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears." This book, put together by Folger Shakespeare Library, helps to bring this story to life.
This book, about 239 pages total, features "explanatory notes conveniently placed on pages facing the text of the play." While these notes may not answer every question you might come up with, I believe they are very helpful to the average reader (such as myself). These pages also provide plenty of room for anyone who prefers to annotate, or write down thoughts, in their books.
Also featured on these pages is a scene summary for every scene. The scene summaries really helped me truly understand the Shakespearian language. I am very grateful I ordered this copy of Julius Caesar, since it has the tools necessary for the average reader to fully grasp what is happening. I picked it up right here on Amazon.com.
I can hardly find negative aspects to this edition. The best I can come up with is that the words and phrases noted are not already underlined or marked somehow by the publisher. (I know, not a big deal.) The story is great, a must-read for all history buffs or even the casual reader. All-in-all, if you are looking to read Julius Caesar, or just some Shakespeare to impress your friends or teachers with, check out the Folger Shakespeare Library's edition of Julius Caesar. I highly recommend it.
So, what are you waiting on? Get to it!

Julius Caesar is a classic book that everyone should read. This play of Shakespeare tells an accurate story of the Roman Revolution of 40 BC. This is a excellent play and great to watch on movie or as a play, but it works well in book form and also makes the script easier to analyze. Under scrutiny, you can see the subtle hints that Shakespeare makes about monarchy being better than a republic. Shakespeare, growing up in the monarchy of Great Britain. This play is about Brutus and the other conspirators trying to assassinate Caesar because he has amassed too much power and they are afraid he might try and become a king. Julius Caesar, although given many warnings, went on the the house of the senate on the ides of March. There he was killed by the conspirators, of whom Brutus, Caesar's friends, was one.

The play portrays one of the most influential revolutions. It show the history and what Shakespeare thinks of the time. This play is mostly accurate to the real history of this time and effectively shows what time was like at this time. On of the major themes in this play was the cycle of violence. In the beginning, "God" allowed Caesar to become near ruler. Then Brutus and the conspirators question God's decision by killing Caesar. There is divine retribution signified by the war, and then peace is restored.

As an experienced high school English teacher, I always advise my students and their parents to purchase a Folger's edition of Shakespeare's plays. The notes, summaries, and other commentary serve the novice Shakespearean reader well and make the classical allusions and denotations of unfamiliar and common words and phrases from the Elizabethan age much easier for 21st Century readers to understand.

At the outset, I will corrupt my review by saying that any Shakespeare play should be watched live if possible otherwise by proxy by getting hold of a copy of the BBC productions widely available on dvd.

Having said this, I particularly enjoyed reading this tragedy after watching the production.

It is filled with humour from the beginning of Act 1 and furnished with brilliant speeches:

Caes. I could be well moved, if I were as you:
If I could pray to move, prayers would move me: 60

But I am constant as the northern star,
Of whose true-fix'd and resting quality
There is no fellow in the firmament.
The skies are painted with unnumber'd sparks,
They are all fire and every one doth shine,
But there's but one in all doth hold his place:
So in the world; 'tis furnish'd well with men,
And men are flesh and blood, and apprehensive;
Yet in the number I do know but one
That unassailable holds on his rank, 70

Unshaked of motion: and that I am he,
Let me a little show it, even in this+;
That I was constant Cimber should be banish'd,
And constant do remain to keep him so.

Musings on the nature of evil acts:

Bru. --Let 'em enter. Exit Lucius.

They are the faction. O conspiracy,
Shamest thou to show thy dangerous brow by night,
When evils are most free? O, then by day

Where wilt thou find a cavern dark enough
To mask thy monstrous visage? Seek none, conspiracy;
Hide it in smiles and affability:
For if thou path, thy native semblance on,
Not Erebus itself were dim enough
To hide thee from prevention. Enter the conspirators, CASSIUS, CASCA, DECIUS, CINNA, METELLUS CIMBER, and TREBONIUS.


Classic one liners:

1) Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears

2) If then that friend demand
why Brutus rose against Caesar, this is my answer:--
Not that I loved Caesar less, but that
I loved Rome more

Shakespeare's insights into the nature of human thought and desires is penetrating yet pardoxically reflective.

The story fades into the backgroud eclipsed by philosophy, human behaviour and psychology offered to us in beautiful prose garnished with humour, wit, symbolism and metaphors.

Gaius Julius Cęsar is the Caesar we think of when we hear the word "Caesar" -- he conquered Gaul, bedded Cleopatra, and died a pretty dramatic death. And while he only appears in a few scenes of "Julius Caesar," he's the nucleus that William Shakespeare's taut conspiracy play revolves around -- his murder, his legacy, and the bitter jealousy he inspired.

Julius Caesar is returning to Rome in triumph, only to be stopped by a strange old soothsayer who warns him, "Beware the ides of March." Caesar brushes off the warning, but he has no idea that a conspiracy is brewing under his nose. In a nutshell, a group of senators led by the creepy Cassius are plotting against Caesar because of his wild popularity, suspecting that he wants to become KING.

And Cassius' latest target: Brutus, one of Caesar's best buddies. Brutus is slowly swayed over to the conspiracy's side, beginning to believe that Caesar as a great man corrupted by power. Everything comes to a a devastating assassination on... guess when... the ides of March, which will elevate some men to greatness and destroy others.

Though the story is supposedly about Julius Caesar, Caesar himself only has a few scenes -- but his charismatic, dominating presence hangs over the play like a heavy tapestry. What he does, what he plans, what he thinks and who he is are constantly on people's minds, and even after his death he is a powerful presence in the memories of the living.

And Shakespeare cooks up a dialogue-heavy play that is a bit on the slow side, but whose speeches are so powerful and intense that you don't quite notice. There's a lot of those speeches here -- not only Antony's famous speech to the Roman people ("The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones"), but Brutus' impassioned argument with Portia ("You have some sick offence within your mind") and Cassius' oily slanted editorials about Caesar.

Shakespeare's depiction of Brutus is also a beautifully nuanced one -- Antony calls him the "noblest Roman of them all" at the very end, despite the fact that Brutus calmly murdered his friend and leader. He's basically a gullible guy who follows his passions rather than his brain, and bounces into the conspiracy rather than trying to find out the truth about Caesar. You feel sorry for him, and at the same time you want the much smarter Antony to kick him like a soccer ball.

"Julius Caesar" is rather slow-moving, but Shakespeare's powerful writing and nuanced depiction of Brutus more than make up for that. Friends, Romans, countrymen...

Back in the 2000's, I had a temporary fascination with Shakespeare. I read a total of eight plays, including "Titus Andronicus" & "Much Ado About Nothing." Then, all of a sudden, I stopped. Shakespeare no longer interested me, as I was moving on to contemporary and fantasy fiction. Now that we're at the start of a new decade, I'm beginning to return to the plays that I have read. "Julius Caesar" was one of the more compelling Shakespeare plays that I have ever discovered. I had just finished reading it last night (it's the third time that I've read it), and I was still amazed by the richness of the text. The plot is something that almost everybody knows: Julius Caesar is assassinated by the Senate. The play, however, doesn't make this the highlight of the story (even though the famous "Et tu, Brute?" quote is here), but it's what happens before and after the actual death of Caesar that's relevant. Marcus Brutus, Caius Cassius, and many others have conspired against Caesar, who has a chance at becoming the leader of Rome. And when these men take him down, the mayhem begins.

What I love about this play is not because of its historical accuracy, which I doubt that it is actually accurate, but because of the character studies of the men that have conspired against Caesar. Brutus, especially, is in a constant personal battle between justice, friendship, and loyalty. Of the play itself, Shakespeare is without a doubt a master of words. Allegory and metaphor play important parts in the text, and thanks to the explanatory notes, I can understand Shakespeare a bit more. In conclusion, I can fully acknowledge that "Julius Caesar" is one of my personal favorite Shakespeare plays. It deserves its recognition has one of his finest ever written.

This play by William Shakespeare, is a fascinating study of human drama composed of a group of Romans who wish to assassinate the would be king, Julius Caeser.

Each character is significantly drawn, and each has flaws, and is quite interesting. Brutus is the hero of the play, even though it's named Caesar, Caeser is not the main character, more like the unifying force. Anyway, Brutus is a hertofore honorable soldier brought into the assassination plot by the more sinister Cassius. Caeser has a god complex, and his right hand man is Mark Antony, who is a party boy turned avenging angel. These are the main characters, rounded out by Octavius Caeser who joins the cast near the end.

Clever dialogue, and thought provoking story make a fascinating read. This has made a Shakespeare fan out of me.

Julius Caesar is murdered very shortly into this play so while he bears the title the play is about the conspirators and the supporters of caesar and the struggle for power that comes after his asassination. The power of language to persude the masses and the fickle nature of crowds are only a few of the themes that Shakespeare explores.

Shakespeare explores the nature of tyranny, politics and absolute power in ways that must have been remarkably risky and controversial in his day.

Someone below noted that we have come to believe that the events as Shakespeare crafted them in his play are how this really happened. "Et Tu Brutus", etc. This is one of the better known and more widely read of Shakespeare's works and is the way many middle school kids are introduced to Shakespeare (maybe rivaled by Romeo and Juliet).

That said it is a fine drama and after multiple readings will still yield something new to think about or some new phrase that will stick in the readers mind.

When Brutus and Antony each deliver their respective addresses to the crowd following Caesar's death Shakespeare demonstrates a universal truth that people can be persuaded by words and the body politic is susceptable to a good propogandist. As true today as it was then.

Honest seller. Good product. My daughter is very happy with this purchase for her language arts class. The confition was just as described.
Thank you.