Julius Caesar (The New Folger Library Shakespeare),   ISBN:9780743482745

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Many years ago, I had a small role in a production of "Julius Caesar," playing Strato, upon whose sword Brutus fell at the close. Acting in a play provides a sense of what is at stake in a way that simply reading cannot accomplish (at least in my humble opinion).

This is the story of Julius Caesar's rise, the conspiracy organized against him (led by nobles such as Brutus and Cassius), his murder, and the aftermath. Featured in this play is the famous funeral oration over Caesar's body by Marc Antony. Then, the movement to the denoument, the battle at Philippi.

One of Shakespeare's classic plays.

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This is approved in CCSD high schools. It is a classic - get cliff notes too and your child can't loose.

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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.

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good stuff, haven't had time to read it yet but it came nice and neat just as expected.

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Folger's shakespeare is THE only way to go when readng Shakespeare.
Word definitions on the left page along with act. summations, and the script on the right.
Way to go Folgers. You made our Kids Shakespeare camp GREAT!