Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare (No Fear Shakespeare Edition)
Author Biography:
William Shakespeare (baptised 26 April 1564) was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon" (or simply "The Bard"). His surviving works consist of 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems. His plays have been translated into every major living language, and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. Information retrieved from Goodreads.com.
Published by: SparkNotes
ISBN: 1586638475
Genre: Fiction
Reading Level: Grades 8-12
Reader’s Annotation:
With the successes and excellent public relations efforts by Julius Caesar, the people of Rome seemingly support his becoming king. Fearing Caesar’s rising popularity with the masses, Caius Cassius fans the flames of Caesar’s supposed effort to take control of Rome and depose the senate and conspires with several politicians to slay him. Though the conspiracy succeeds, the fallout is tremendous and has disastrous consequences for not only the politicians, but for the whole of Rome.
Plot Summary:
Julius Caesar has become incredibly popular with the Roman public, having waged successful military campaigns while positioning himself as a man of the people. As his popularity grows, his public image soon becomes larger than the man himself, much to the frustration of several Roman senators. Caius Cassius has had enough of Caesar’s popularity and, by taking advantage of several others senators’ greed and paranoia, formulates a plan to assassinate Caesar and spin their treachery as an act of patriotism. Central to this plan is Brutus, Caesar’s close confidant. Cassius believes Brutus has enough star power to make their murder look like it was an effort to kill a man who would make himself king and crush the public underfoot.
Brutus is initially resistant to the idea, though Cassius makes an impassioned speech of how the people view Caesar as a godlike figure when in several cases he was soft during campaigns or showed weakness when sick. He also sends several forged letters to Brutus proclaiming how perfect Caesar is, incensing him enough to take part in the conspiracy.
Caesar is warned by a soothsayer when his assassination is supposed to take place, but he ignores the pleas as foolishness. Caesar travels to the senate where the conspirators launch a surprise attack against Caesar, with Brutus landing the finishing blow.
Brutus follows through with the plan, addressing the public about the murder and claiming it was for the good of Rome. Cassius’s faith in Brutus proves well-founded when the public seems to accept his explanation – until Mark Antony takes the stage. He rebuffs Brutus’s claims, turning the public against the conspirators and inciting a riot, creating mayhem in the streets of Rome. With Mark Antony posed to take Rome for himself, Brutus raises an army and goes to war with him – resulting in widespread death for both sides and an uncertain future.
Critical Evaluation:
Julius Caesar is a classic tale of political intrigue, betrayal, and drama written as only William Shakespeare could have. The play itself is action packed near the first half, giving great insight into the inner workings of each character, their desires, and what drives them to act the way they do.
The only trouble, though, is the play can be difficult for some readers with the kind of language used. NoFear Shakespeare, however, makes the play easy to understand by publishing the original text on one page, while the accompanying page has a version written in modern English. While many books do offer these “translations,” they’re often riddled with tiny footnotes that the reader has to jump to the bottom, match the number with the note, read the explanation, and go back to wherever they stopped reading. Having an actual translation on the left page of the book while the original appears on the right side makes it much easier to skip around and understand what is going on.
Julius Caesar is a fantastic play and demonstrates the inner workings of politics and those who work within it, and can help teens understand the struggles modern day politicians go through every day – save for the assassination attempts, perhaps.
Curriculum Ties:
Challenge Issues:
None
Defensive Maneuvers:
n/a
Book Talk Ideas:
Think about some of your friends. You like them, but are some of them popular? Do you envy them? If everyone knew who they really were, do you think they would be as popular? Would you be willing to betray them for your own popular gain?
Why This Book?
Julius Caesar is a classic play and is entertaining with its twists, turns, violence, and sharp plot. The NoFear Shakespeare also makes the play easily comprehensible with its translations, ensuring anyone can understand what is going on and perhaps turning more teens on to reading other works by the playwright.
William Shakespeare (baptised 26 April 1564) was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon" (or simply "The Bard"). His surviving works consist of 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems. His plays have been translated into every major living language, and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. Information retrieved from Goodreads.com.
Published by: SparkNotes
ISBN: 1586638475
Genre: Fiction
Reading Level: Grades 8-12
Reader’s Annotation:
With the successes and excellent public relations efforts by Julius Caesar, the people of Rome seemingly support his becoming king. Fearing Caesar’s rising popularity with the masses, Caius Cassius fans the flames of Caesar’s supposed effort to take control of Rome and depose the senate and conspires with several politicians to slay him. Though the conspiracy succeeds, the fallout is tremendous and has disastrous consequences for not only the politicians, but for the whole of Rome.
Plot Summary:
Julius Caesar has become incredibly popular with the Roman public, having waged successful military campaigns while positioning himself as a man of the people. As his popularity grows, his public image soon becomes larger than the man himself, much to the frustration of several Roman senators. Caius Cassius has had enough of Caesar’s popularity and, by taking advantage of several others senators’ greed and paranoia, formulates a plan to assassinate Caesar and spin their treachery as an act of patriotism. Central to this plan is Brutus, Caesar’s close confidant. Cassius believes Brutus has enough star power to make their murder look like it was an effort to kill a man who would make himself king and crush the public underfoot.
Brutus is initially resistant to the idea, though Cassius makes an impassioned speech of how the people view Caesar as a godlike figure when in several cases he was soft during campaigns or showed weakness when sick. He also sends several forged letters to Brutus proclaiming how perfect Caesar is, incensing him enough to take part in the conspiracy.
Caesar is warned by a soothsayer when his assassination is supposed to take place, but he ignores the pleas as foolishness. Caesar travels to the senate where the conspirators launch a surprise attack against Caesar, with Brutus landing the finishing blow.
Brutus follows through with the plan, addressing the public about the murder and claiming it was for the good of Rome. Cassius’s faith in Brutus proves well-founded when the public seems to accept his explanation – until Mark Antony takes the stage. He rebuffs Brutus’s claims, turning the public against the conspirators and inciting a riot, creating mayhem in the streets of Rome. With Mark Antony posed to take Rome for himself, Brutus raises an army and goes to war with him – resulting in widespread death for both sides and an uncertain future.
Critical Evaluation:
Julius Caesar is a classic tale of political intrigue, betrayal, and drama written as only William Shakespeare could have. The play itself is action packed near the first half, giving great insight into the inner workings of each character, their desires, and what drives them to act the way they do.
The only trouble, though, is the play can be difficult for some readers with the kind of language used. NoFear Shakespeare, however, makes the play easy to understand by publishing the original text on one page, while the accompanying page has a version written in modern English. While many books do offer these “translations,” they’re often riddled with tiny footnotes that the reader has to jump to the bottom, match the number with the note, read the explanation, and go back to wherever they stopped reading. Having an actual translation on the left page of the book while the original appears on the right side makes it much easier to skip around and understand what is going on.
Julius Caesar is a fantastic play and demonstrates the inner workings of politics and those who work within it, and can help teens understand the struggles modern day politicians go through every day – save for the assassination attempts, perhaps.
Curriculum Ties:
- Politics
- Conspiracies
Challenge Issues:
None
Defensive Maneuvers:
n/a
Book Talk Ideas:
Think about some of your friends. You like them, but are some of them popular? Do you envy them? If everyone knew who they really were, do you think they would be as popular? Would you be willing to betray them for your own popular gain?
Why This Book?
Julius Caesar is a classic play and is entertaining with its twists, turns, violence, and sharp plot. The NoFear Shakespeare also makes the play easily comprehensible with its translations, ensuring anyone can understand what is going on and perhaps turning more teens on to reading other works by the playwright.