Rating: 
Summary: Julius Caesar
Review: We've all heard how great Shakespeare is, how the `experts' say he is the undisputed King of English Literature. Many books have been written about his plays and sonnets, explaining the intricacies of his verse and the subtlety in the lines. His command of the English language is phenomenal and his works have been rightfully showered with praise. To me, however it is not Shakespeare's technical genius that draws people, rather it is his keen insight into human nature. This makes his plays still relevant in our modern age.Some would argue about with the need to read plays that have outdated words and a style of speaking that is so foreign to our day and age. Now, I am definitely not an English scholar, but I'm pretty sure that the majority of the people that attended Shakespeare's play did not speak in the way that Shakespeare's characters do, but they still loved it not so much for the style of speaking but for the way Shakespeare was able to speak what many people had trouble grasping in their own mind. This is what made Shakespeare a genius in my opinion. I read this play some years back and loved it then, but just recently I decided to read the play aloud with my girlfriend. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I think this is the way the play was meant to be `absorbed'; by listening to the characters speak. Find someone with whom you can read the play aloud, failing that try reading it aloud rather than in your mind, (although this is not as much fun). Julius Ceasar, as you have no doubt divined from the other reviews is about (you guessed it) Julius Ceasar and his triumph over Pompey, and about the band of conspirators who would remove him from power. There are a lot of memorable lines in the play, which you must have heard elsewhere such as "Cowards day many times before their deaths" or the excellent passage about seizing the opportunity "There is a tide in the affairs of men, which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune..." Read the play to find these and many more other gems. Julius Ceasar is a very short play; only a few pages and shouldn't take long to read. The joy from reading it outweighs whatever difficulties there may be in comprehension due to the language. I recommend this book to everyone wanting to find out why Shakespeare is the greatest playwright ever.
Rating: 
Summary: An excellent edition of Julius Caesar
Review: When it comes to Shakespeare, there really isn't a discussion about how good the play is...they are all fantastic and are all worth devoting time to read. When you buy, it comes down to the edition. The Folger library is the most obvious choice: they have very detailed introductions and on every left-hand side of the page, they explain certain phrases that have become phased out of the language. They also have a huge library on everything Shakespeare. This edition of Julius Caesar is certainly the best out there, and I reccomend you buy it. Oh, did I mention it's a great play?
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