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Shakespeare

Julius Caesar
Play introduction by Don Wooten - audio podcast - text (PDF)
Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Caeser_(play)
Read the play online - http://shakespeare.mit.edu/julius_caesar/index.html

Last performed by the Genesius Guild in 1998

The play is always relevant, especially in this country, which draws heavily on Roman precedents. It also carries a cautionary message for democratic societies: an honest, patriotic man is drawn into a violent act - an assassination - in order to save the republic and, in consequence, brings on its finish. After Caesar’s murder, the form of the Roman state looked the same - but senators and representatives of the people were no longer in charge. The emperor commanded and they obeyed.

Caesar’s downfall was already a popular topic for English theatre when Shakespeare took it up, sweeping away all other versions. The plot is compelling, characters are familiar and strongly drawn, and its stately language, memorable (“Friends, Romans, countrymen” is as familiar as “To be or not to be.”).