Table of Contents
Series Introduction ix
Introduction Harold Bloom xi
Biography of William Shakespeare 1
Summary of Julius Caesar 5
Key Passages in Julius Caesar 21
List of Characters in Julius Caesar 31
Criticism Through the Ages 35
Julius Caesar in the Seventeenth Century 37
1601-From The Mirror of Martyrs John Weever 38
1641-"De Shakespeare nostrat[i]," from Timber, or Discoveries Made Upon Men and Matter Ben Jonson 39
1672-"Prologue to Julius Caesar" John Dryden 39
1693-From A Short View of Tragedy Thomas Rymer 40
Julius Caesar in the Eighteenth Century 49
1739-Chapter IV, from An Apology for the Life of Mr. Colley Cibber Colley Cibber 50
1748-Section X, from Critical Observations on Shakespeare John Upton 53
1761-"Essay on Tragedy," from Critical Essays on Dramatic Poetry Voltaire 54
1768-"Julius Caesar," from General Observations on Shakspeare's Plays Samuel Johnson 55
1769-"Upon the Death of Julius Caesar," from An Essay on the Writings and Genius of Shakespear Elizabeth Montagu 56
Julius Caesar in the Nineteenth Century 61
1809-From Lectures on Dramatic Art and Literature August Wilhelm Schlegel 63
1813-1816-"Shakespeare Compared with the Ancients and the Moderns," from Shakespeare Ad Infinitum Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 64
1817-"Julius Caesar," from Characters of Shakespear's Plays William Hazlitt 67
1818-"Julius Caesar," from Lectures and Notes on Shakspere and Other English Poets Samuel Taylor Coleridge 72
1846-From Shakespeare's Dramatic Art, and His Relation to Calderon and Goethe Hermann Ulrici 74
1849-1850-"Character of Caesar," from Shakespeare Commentaries Georg Gottfried Gervinus 77
1872-From Shakespeare: His Life, Art, and Characters H.N. Hudson 79
1875-From Shakspere: A Critical Study of His Mind and Art Edward Dowden 81
1879-"Julius Caesar (continued). Casca. Cicero. Portia," from Shakespeare and Classical Antiquity: Greek and Latin Antiquity as Presented in Shakespeare's Plays Paul Stapfer 83
1882-"In Honour of Shakespeare," from The Complete Works of Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Nietzsche 94
1893-"How the Play of Julius Caesar Works to a Climax at the Centre: A Study in Passion and Movement," from Shakespeare as a Dramatic Artist: A Popular Illustration of the Principles of Scientific Criticism Richard G. Moulton 95
1894-"Julius Caesar: Critical Remarks," from The Works of William Shakespeare Oscar Fay Adams Frank A. Marshall 107
1898-"Tappertit on Caesar," from Our Theatres in the Nineties George Bernard Shaw 113
Julius Caesar in the Twentieth Century 117
1931-"The Eroticism of Julius Caesar," from The Imperial Theme: Further Interpretations of Shakespeare's Tragedies Including the Roman Plays G. Wilson Knight 119
1935-"Antony in Behalf of the Play," from The Southern Review Kenneth Burke 146
1946-"Julius Caesar: The Play's Structure," from Prefaces to Shakespeare Harley Granville-Barker 155
1947-"Julius Caesar," from Lectures on Shakespeare W.H. Auden 176
1951-"Julius Caesar," from The Meaning of Shakespeare Harold C. Goddard 188
1955-"Introduction: Language and Imagery," from Julius Caesar T.S. Dorsch 212
1986-"Julius Caesar," from Shakespeare's Tragedies: An Introduction Dieter Mehl 220
1994-"Introduction," from Julius Caesar Harold Bloom 241
1996-"Introduction," from Bloom's Notes: William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar Harold Bloom 244
Julius Caesar in the Twenty-first Century 247
2000-"Julius Caesar," from Shakespeare's Language Frank Kermode 248
2002-"Sympathy for Brutus," from Shakespeare: Seven Tragedies Revisited: The Dramatist's Manipulation of Response E.A.J. Honigmann 257
2005-"The End of the Republic: Titus Andronicus and Julius Caesar," from Shakespeare and Republicanism Andrew Hadfield 280
Bibliography 301
Acknowledgments 305
Index 307