CRITICISM

Blits, Jan H. The End of the Ancient Republic: Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 1993, 95 p.

Book-length analysis of the demise of Roman Republicanism as it is depicted in Julius Caesar. Blits examines the play's treatment of masculinity and male friendship, the downfall of Republican Rome, Brutus's political failures, and the ambiguity surrounding Caesar's fate.

Daniell, David. Introduction to Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare, edited by David Daniell, pp. 1-148. Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, U.K.: Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd., 1998.

Surveys the political issues of Julius Caesar, arguing that the only concrete political opinion Shakespeare expressed in the play is that the consequence of usurpation is civil war. Additionally, Daniell asserts that the play dramatizes in extreme terms the moral issues of rebellion.

Frye, Northrop. “The Tragedy of Order: Julius Caesar.” In Twentieth Century Interpretations of Julius Caesar: A Collection of Critical Essays. 1965. Reprint, edited by Leonard F. Dean, pp. 95-102. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968.

Analyzes Julius Caesar as a social tragedy and surveys the relationship between Elizabethan society and the social order within the play.

Harrison, G. B. Introduction to Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare, edited by G. B. Harrison, pp. 15-21. Harmondsworth, Middlesex, U.K.: Penguin Books, 1956.

Offers a brief introduction to Julius Caesar, commenting on the play's composition, its early production and publication histories, and Shakespeare's adaptation of his sources.

Taylor, Gary. “Theatrical Proximities: The Stratford Festival 1998.” Shakespeare Quarterly 50, no. 3 (autumn 1999): 334-54.

Reviews the production of Julius Caesar presented at the 1998 Stratford Festival of Canada. The production, directed by Douglas Campbell, is assessed within the context of the Festival as a whole and found to be unsatisfactory. Taylor observes that, in his experience, the staging is one of the worst productions of Julius Caesar to be performed.

Thomas, Vivian. “Images and Self-Images in Julius Caesar.” In Shakespeare's Roman Worlds, pp. 40-92. London: Routledge, 1989.

Assesses the way Shakespeare drew upon his sources, particularly Plutarch, in developing the personal and political conflicts of Julius Caesar. Thomas stresses that the play's central political issue—whether or not Caesar's ambition is to destroy Roman democracy—is clearly demonstrated but never resolved.

Weier, Gary M. “Perspectivism and Form in Drama: A Burkean Analysis of Julius Caesar.” Communication Quarterly 44, no. 2 (spring 1996): 246-59.

Applies Kenneth Burke's theories regarding form and perspectivism to an analysis of Julius Caesar's usage of rhetoric.