Julius Caesar (Cambridge School Shakespeare)

Shakespeare, William

ISBN 10: 0521409039 / ISBN 13: 9780521409032

Published by Cambridge University Press, 1992

Dispatched, from the UK, within 48 hours of ordering. This book is in good condition but will show signs of previous ownership. Please expect some creasing to the spine and/or minor damage to the cover. Damaged cover. The cover of is slightly damaged for instance a torn or bent corner. Aged book. Tanned pages and age spots, however, this will not interfere with reading. Seller Inventory # CHL10692208

Synopsis:

Cambridge School Shakespeare offers an active approach to classroom Shakespeare, enabling students to inhabit Shakespeare's imaginative world in accessible and creative ways. As well as the complete scripts each title includes a running synopsis of the action, an explanation of unfamiliar words, and a wide range of classroom-tested activities to help turn the script into drama. This dramatic experience is at the heart of the series and students are encouraged to share Shakespeare's love of language, interest in character and sense of theatre.

Review: One of Shakespeare's most political plays, Julius Caesar continued Shakespeare's interest in Roman history, first developed in Titus Andronicus. Drawing on Plutarch, the great historian of Rome, Shakespeare dramatises one of the most crucial moments in Roman history--the assassination of Julius Caesar. Loved by the Roman crowd but increasingly feared by the Senators, Caesar increasingly shows signs of his desire to abolish the Republic and crown himself emperor. A conspiracy is hatched, led by Cassius and Brutus, who murder Caesar on the steps of the Capitol. Mourning over his dead friend's body, Mark Antony gives one of the famous rhetorical speeches in literature, asking "Friends, Romans, Countrymen" to lament Caesar's death, privately vowing to "let slip the dogs of war" against those who have shed Caesar's blood. Antony joins forces with Caesar's son Octavius to defeat Cassius and Brutus in battle, and establish an uneasy alliance whose collapse is dramatised in Shakespeare's later play Antony and Cleopatra. Written at the end of Queen Elizabeth's reign, Julius Caesar has been seen by many as a radically pro-Republican play which sailed close to the political wind of the time. --Jerry Brotton

Bibliographic Details

Title: Julius Caesar (Cambridge School Shakespeare)
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Publication Date: 1992
Binding: Paperback
Condition: Used; Good