Julius Caesar

I remember loving “Julius Caesar” I high school. And there are still brilliant speeches and dramatic moments to enjoy, and certainly glimpses into the character's psyches. But, I do think that this play, supposedly one of Shakespeare's earlier works, suffers from lack of even a few stanzas of exposition about Julius Caesar's lack of character or Brutus' motivation. Perhaps, an older Shakespeare would have addressed that weakness.

My book club read the play along with Plutarch's “Lives” segment about Julius Caesar, which provides a more comprehensive view of historical events of the time. Shakespeare is said to have used Thomas North's translation Plutarch's “Lives” (available online I found that one dry as dust but there are entire passages that are nearly lifted from that translation. It's worthwhile to read the two works in conjunction for that reason alone. Eventually, I plan to read all of the associated “Lives,” although tax season is not the time to do it.