This volume offers a practical, accessible and thought-provoking guide
to this Roman tragedy, surveying its major themes and critical reception. It also
provides a detailed and up-to-date history of the play’s performance,
beginning with its earliest known staging in 1599, including an analysis of the 2013 film
Caesar Must Die starring Italian inmates, and an assessment of why the play is now coming back into vogue on stage. Moving through to four new critical essays, it opens
up cutting-edge perspectives on the work, and finishes with a guide to pedagogical approaches by the experienced teacher and leading academic Jeremy Lopez.
Detailing web-based and
production-related resources, and including an annotated bibliography of
critical works, the guide will equip teachers and facilitate students’
understanding of this challenging play.
SSeries Introduction (Series Editors Andrew Hiscock & Lisa Hopkins) Julius Caesar Timeline (Andrew James Hartley, UNC Charlotte, USA) Introduction (Andrew James Hartley, UNC Charlotte, USA) The Critical Backstory (Daniel Cadman, Sheffield Hallam University, UK) Performance History (Andrew James Hartley, UNC Charlotte, USA) The State of the Art (Domenico Lovascio, University of Genoa, Italy) New Directions Julius Caesar, Ovidian Transformation and the Martyred Body on the Early Modern Stage (Lisa S. Starks-Estes,University of South Florida St. Petersburg, UK) Nietzsche’s Caesar: Striking Our Debt to Moral Tragedy (Todd Landon Barnes, Ramapo College, USA) The Ambivalence of Julius Caesar (John Curran, Marquette University, USA) The Death of the Roman Republic: Julius Caesar and Cicero (Warren Chernaik, King’s College, London, UK)
Andrew James Hartley is Robinson Professor of Shakespeare studies at UNC Charlotte, USA and is the author of The Shakespearean Dramaturg, Julius Caesar, Shakespeare and Political Theatre and the editor of Shakespeare on the University Stage as well as numerous journal articles and book chapters. From 2003 to 2013, he was the general editor of Shakespeare Bulletin.
Reviews for Julius Caesar: A Critical Reader
I’m very impressed by this series. I think its success lies in part in the general editors’ wise selection of volume editors who are both intellectually open-minded and capable of assembling strong, diverse teams of contributors. * Studies in English Literature *
