This volume offers a practical, accessible and thought-provoking guide to this Roman tragedy, surveying its major themes and critical reception. It also provides a detailed and up-to-date history of the play’s performance, beginning with its earliest known staging in 1599, including an analysis of the 2013 film Caesar Must Die starring Italian inmates, and an assessment of why the play is now coming back into vogue on stage. Moving through to four new critical essays, it opens up cutting-edge perspectives on the work, and finishes with a guide to pedagogical approaches by the experienced teacher and leading academic Jeremy Lopez. Detailing web-based and production-related resources, and including an annotated bibliography of critical works, the guide will equip teachers and facilitate students’ understanding of this challenging play.
Andrew James Hartley is Emeritus Professor in the Department of Theatre at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte, USA. He is the co-editor of
Shakespeare and Geek Culture (The Arden Shakespeare, 2020), editor of
Julius Caesar: A Critical Reader (The Arden Shakespeare, 2016), author of
Shakespeare and Political Theatre in Practice (2013) and
The Shakespearean Dramaturg (2005). He was the editor of the
Shakespeare Bulletin for a decade, resident dramaturg for Georgia Shakespeare and is an honorary fellow of the University of Central Lancashire, UK.
Lisa Hopkins is Professor of English at University of Sheffield Hallam. She has published numerous works on Shakespeare including her most recent work,
Beginning Shakespeare (2005) and has written on film adaptations including
Screening the Gothic. She is the Senior Editor of the online journal, Early Modern Literary Studies.
Andrew Hiscock is Professor of English at Bangor University, UK.