Julius Caesar: Original text and facing-pages translation into contemporary English [Paperback]

William Shakespeare (Author), Jonnie Patricia Mobley (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2010

This edition offers a new way to read and study The Tragedy of Julius Caesar - without distracting footnotes. A freshly edited version of the original text, incorporating the latest scholarship, appears opposite a modern English translation that parallels the original, line-for-line.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Are you frustrated by obscure words and unidiomatic phrases in Shakespeare's plays? The new "Access to Shakespeare" series removes the mystery, not the magic, from JULIUS CAESAR, and makes reading or studying a breeze. This translation of JULIUS CAESAR into contemporary English -- alongside the original text -- has modernized the difficult passages and expressions which used to make Shakespeare's language such heavy weather.

This unique translation is NOT a literal-minded prose version. It retains the feel and the rhythm of the original, letting you experience the play in the same enjoyable way an Elizabethan audience did. The text is immediately clear to today's readers, making those tedious footnotes unnecessary. You'll find easy-to-follow line numbering, and a glossary of place names and mythological references.

Are you a high school or junior-college student working on an assignment? Do you wish to preview the play before a performance, or are you perhaps learning English as a Second Language? This translation is ideal for you. You will never again hesitate to read THE TRAGEDY OF JULIUS CAESAR because you're mystified by such lines as, "Doth not Brutus bootless kneel?" The facing page of this edition of JULIUS CAESAR makes clear what Shakespeare meant, "Didn't Brutus kneel in vain?

The translation reads like a modern book and it's fascinating.

About the Author

Jonnie Patricia Mobley, Ph.D., editor and translator of the "Access to Shakespeare" series, has taught theatre and drama at Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo, California, and has directed the community theater there.

Because of her extensive theatrical experience, Dr. Mobley is familiar with the hesitation of modern readers to "tackle" Shakespeare. She recognized a great need to make it easier for students and adults alike to understand obscure words and phrases in JULIUS CAESAR. This, in turn, gave rise to the creation of the translation into contemporary English.

Jonnie Patricia Mobley is also the author of "MANUAL for Julius Caesar: Original text and facing-pages translation into contemporary English" (ISBN 1885564058), "Play Production Today" (ISBN 0844257753), and "The Dictionary of Theatre and Drama Terms" ( ISBN 0844253332).

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 220 pages
• Publisher: Lorenz Educational Press (July 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 188556404X
• ISBN-13: 978-1885564047
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #765,631 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in April 1564, and his birth is traditionally celebrated on April 23. The facts of his life, known from surviving documents, are sparse. He was one of eight children born to John Shakespeare, a merchant of some standing in his community. William probably went to the King's New School in Stratford, but he had no university education. In November 1582, at the age of eighteen, he married Anne Hathaway, eight years his senior, who was pregnant with their first child, Susanna. She was born on May 26, 1583. Twins, a boy, Hamnet ( who would die at age eleven), and a girl, Judith, were born in 1585. By 1592 Shakespeare had gone to London working as an actor and already known as a playwright. A rival dramatist, Robert Greene, referred to him as "an upstart crow, beautified with our feathers." Shakespeare became a principal shareholder and playwright of the successful acting troupe, the Lord Chamberlain's Men (later under James I, called the King's Men). In 1599 the Lord Chamberlain's Men built and occupied the Globe Theater in Southwark near the Thames River. Here many of Shakespeare's plays were performed by the most famous actors of his time, including Richard Burbage, Will Kempe, and Robert Armin. In addition to his 37 plays, Shakespeare had a hand in others, including Sir Thomas More and The Two Noble Kinsmen, and he wrote poems, including Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece. His 154 sonnets were published, probably without his authorization, in 1609. In 1611 or 1612 he gave up his lodgings in London and devoted more and more time to retirement in Stratford, though he continued writing such plays as The Tempest and Henry VII until about 1613. He died on April 23 1616, and was buried in Holy Trinity Church, Stratford. No collected edition of his plays was published during his life-time, but in 1623 two members of his acting company, John Heminges and Henry Condell, put together the great collection now called the First Folio.