M has been reading Julius Caesar in class, and she has a test on Acts I, II & III tomorrow. She's been ranting for days about how Caesar should have listened to his wife, Calpurnia, when she warned him that she had a dream that he'd be killed on the Ides of March ( Read more... )

I know I already pointed out some similarities between Julius Caesar and Hamlet, but there are some bits that I think Shakespeare borrowed from himself, either on purpose or without really thinking about it.

There are some big-picture similarities. For instance, both plays deal with regicide. But more than that, they deal with valiant warriors ( ( Read more... )

Julius Caesar was preserved for Brush Up Your Shakespeare Month by a landslide, and having re-read it (I first read it in high school), I can say it was for good reason.

Julius Caesar is one of the great tragedies completed by the Bard. It's still widely taught in high schools throughout the United States and elsewhere. It is not necessarily ( Read more... )

I'm pretty much positive I'm not the first or only person to notice the similarities between these plays, but I definitely couldn't pass up a chance to talk about something that jumped out at me as I read Julius Caesar. In fact, if you read my summaries of Act II, scenes 1 and 2, Act IV, scene 1, and Act V, scene 5, I've already flagged some of ( Read more... )

Summaries of previous acts are available here:

Act I - BEWARE THE IDES OF MARCH!
Act II - Conspiracy!
Act III - Et tu Bruté?
Act IV - Waiting for the other sandal to fall

Act V

Scene 1

*The plains of Philippi*

Octavius: Dude - you said we'd have to chase them, but the enemy has come to us!

Antony: They hope to convince us that they're brave, ( Read more... )

Summaries of previous acts are available here:

Act I - BEWARE THE IDES OF MARCH!
Act II - Conspiracy!
Act III - Et tu Bruté?

Act IV

Scene 1

*A meeting between Lepidus, Octavius, and Mark Antony*

Antony: Okay if we kill your brother, Lepidus?

Lepidus: As long as we also kill your nephew, Antony.

Antony: Deal

*Lepidus is sent on an errand*

( Read more... )

Summaries of Act I and Act II are already done, so it's on to the middle of the play.

Act III

Scene 1

Caesar: It's the Ides of March and I'm still alive - nonny nonny boo boo!

Soothsayer: The day's still young.

Artemidorus: "Hail, Caesar! Read this schedule." (The line cracks me up - but Artemidorus wants Caesar to write his "watch out for ( Read more... )

Last night I (finally) managed to put up my summary of Act I of Julius Caesar. Today, we're on to Act II. As with yesterday's post, I'll italicize the names of new characters as they are first introduced.

Act II
In which (in the words of George Villiers, 2d Duke of Buckingham) the plot thickens very much upon us.

Scene I*In Brutus's orchard ( Read more... )

Act I

It's all about the scene-setting and foreshadowing. Seriously. Named characters being introduced for the first time are italicized.

Scene 1

Marullus and Flavius: Yo. 'sup, commoners?

Commoner 1: I am a carpenter!

Commoner 2: I am a mender of soles. I am concerned with awl. Allow me to amuse/abuse you with a lot more shoe/religion puns ( Read more... )