A review by wuthrinheights
Julius Caesar (Barnes & Noble Shakespeare) by William Shakespeare

dark funny informative mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This copy is such a fantastic one! It's incredibly helpful and simple to read. Even the play itself wasn't too hard to digest, because it was filled with so many translations and additional information side by side. The introduction had a lot of great explanations and it was a joy to get through. And I loved how it tied in other plays by Shakespeare too, to get yourself familiarised with his works.

Julius Caesar was one of my top favourite plays, and just from the first page I was already laughing. Morbid, is it, when it's a tragedy? But I liked the banter between the characters and iconic lines in this, as well as the many omens mentioned in the earlier part of the play. 

Some parts were great to read; I forgot about the homoeroticism between Cassius and Brutus and was surprised at how intimate that one scene was. I also forgot about Portia, who loved her husband so much that she would slice her thigh to show her loyalty

and in the end, swallowed fire for her husband. Her tragic end reminded me heavily of Ophelia and how their blind loyalty was not even acknowledged much by the people they killed themselves for. It saddens me

. 

However, I enjoyed this play better the first time around. As much as I liked it this time, I also felt like it lacked in some parts. Again, I had a bit of a trouble discerning the characters (no wonder the Plebeians were ready to stab just anyone who could resemble the conspirators), and the ending felt flat to me. But all is well. Beware the ides of March (which is happening this weekend)!