""Cry 'Havoc,' and let slip the dogs of war..."" - Antony
A Shakespeare Society Production. The complete play in five acts.
Features a unique cover illustration by Maurice Sendak (Where the Wild Things Are), specially commissioned for the Shakespeare on Compact Disc series -- now on digital audiobook.
Download and start listening now!
"I've missed reading Shakespeare!!! I forgot how much I love Shakespearean language :) It was so interesting, and I regret not reading it sooner seeing as it was lying my school library the entire time. Though I am reading this for my English class, or I probably wouldn't have remembered to get it."
— ~Monica's*In*Love*With*Solitude~ (5 out of 5 stars)
" My class and I only read until the end of Act 3 sooo yeah "
— Alisa, 2/15/2014" "There are no tricks in plain and simple faith." "
— Annie, 2/15/2014" Not one of my favorites but still well done. Love it. "
— Rhianna, 2/15/2014" I love reading this play. In latin too! "
— Mia, 2/9/2014" Definitely one of Shakespeare's greatest drama texts. "
— Soragon, 2/7/2014" The difference between Antony's pointed description of Brutus as "an honorable man: in his famed speech and his sincere eulogy of him as "the noblest Roman of them all" is at the center of this play. Can a really bad decision be mitigated by good intentions? "
— Tammy, 2/4/2014" That's right, I went there. "
— Robert, 1/31/2014" It was an alright book. It was hard to understand at some points. It was also weird because of the way they did things back in the day. I like the overall story and it was interesting to try to interpret some of the dialogue. "
— Collin, 1/25/2014" omg i feel so sad for brutus :(((((( "
— Cecerose, 1/24/2014" The book would be great if all the others in my boring english class understood what shakespeare is saying. Not to mention the fact that sophomore english teachers suck at teaching this. "
— Nick, 1/18/2014" I must admit to loving the characters with major roles and to wishing he had eliminated some of his messengers and shortened the battle. "
— Charlotte, 1/17/2014" Suprisingly good, although I think I only liked it 'cause Octavius kicked arse in it (Y) "
— Zainab, 1/16/2014" I hated this one. I usually am not a fan of Shakespeare anyways ( with the exception of the comedic twelfth night), and this made me want to stab my eyes out like Oedipus. I thought that this play, despite the war and backstabbing(literally), was brutally uninteresting. It couldn't hold my attention for any longer than one page. I hated all of the characters, I hated the story, and I don't get why people like it so much. Caesar was an arrogant, proud leader, Brutus ( a lot like Macbeth) was a wimp, and as any Shakespearean play, the women all killed themselves. I hated every second of this play, just as I hated every second of Macbeth. Shakespeare, you are not impressing me. "
— Aliya, 1/11/2014" I didn't like this play much, but that opinion may change when I teach it to my sophomores for the first time this quarter. I've had such an experience before -- Call of the Wild comes to mind. There are benefits to reading a teacher's edition that supplies all the historical background. If you're reading solo, arm yourself with a well-annotated translation. "
— Melinda, 1/9/2014" I had to read this book for English class and it was interesting but as most school novels go, they are not the best novels to read. "
— Monica, 1/4/2014" my favourite among the shakespears play . "
— Ajay, 1/4/2014" Probably my favorite Shakespeare. Next to Othello. "
— Diana, 12/18/2013" Performed it in a High School play, as Mark Antony--learned editing scenes and staging the final cut. "
— Equites, 11/16/2013" One of my favorite Shakespeares, believe it or not. I had a lot of fun analyzing it. "
— Cathy, 11/10/2013" Although I have seen the movie and also knew the bare outlines of the story, it was awesome reading it as the Bard wrote it. So relevant even today. "
— Vinay, 10/29/2013" To be honest, the only reason I give this book three stars instead of one or two is because of Antony's speech at Caesar's funeral. It's my favorite part of the book. Clever, Antony, clever.... "
— Renee, 10/16/2013" I didnt like the actual story very much, but I read the No Fear Shakespeare version with modern text, and that was extremelyyyy helpful. I actually knew what people were saying XD so stars for that. "
— Scarlet, 10/1/2013" This is one of those plays that every person should read at some point in their life. Literature of Shakespeare AND history? It's a double whammy. Et tu, Brute? "
— Abby, 9/18/2013" Horrible. I never procrastinated as much in my life as I did when I read this book. I do NOT recommend it to ANYONE. (although you will probably have to read it for school anyways) "
— Melissa, 9/10/2013" Thx God, the copy i had contains a glossary, or else i'de never had understood a sentence!.. "
— Dalia, 9/7/2013" I had to read this for school. To say the least it was hard to understand. But I understand that's how they wrote/spoke back then. :) I just needed SparkNotes.com to help out lol. "
— Hannah, 9/2/2013" I didnt like the actual story very much, but I read the No Fear Shakespeare version with modern text, and that was extremelyyyy helpful. I actually knew what people were saying XD so stars for that. "
— Scarlet, 8/31/2013" Pretty good. I enjoyed reading It, though all the lit. analysis ruined it=[ "
— Rina, 8/5/2013" Though not his best work, Julius Caesar is still filled with the usual Shakespeare fare: betrayal, brilliant dialogue, and a grand, climactic ending. "
— Jason, 6/25/2013" It was alright. Everyone died. "
— Sam, 2/18/2013" drama abounds with cast, abuse of power, Cassius read and observed creating suspicions, abuse of power, liberty to rome, Mark Anthony let slip the dogs of war, Brutus by the wisdom judge, die for ambition--too ambitious and Brutus an honorable man, fake will to the people "
— Don, 1/31/2013" I'm just really not a big Shakespear fan, I guess. If I didn't have to read it for school, I definitly would not have gone beyond the first couple of chapters. "
— Ashley, 1/7/2013" This is not the edition I read, but it should be along the same lines, right? "
— Killer, 9/29/2012" Good literature, but not very exciting. Terrible book if you ask me, and you didn't! So... never mind. "
— Aaron, 4/20/2012" This is probably the best Shakespeare I've read. And now I know where 'Friends, Romans, countrymen..." comes from. "
— Maddy, 4/19/2012" I read this for the second time this year. I created a three week lesson plan based on it and realized that this play can be a lot of fun despite it being a tragedy. "
— Jeremy, 4/9/2012" One of the best Shakespeare had to offer. Or at least pretty far up there. "
— Dane, 1/21/2012" One of shakespeares greatest works. It shows the falling of a psycological genius extremely well. "
— Victor, 12/12/2011" My favorite Shakespeare. Better when read by Mr. Daniels "
— Whitney, 11/28/2011" We had no choice but to read it allowed in class, it wasn't as dull as I thought it would be. "
— Sebastian, 11/12/2011" A tale of haunting betrayal "
— Christina, 8/25/2011" ...meh...I'm so not a Shakespeare person... "
— Meghan, 5/17/2011" I had to re-read this for a project I'm doing at work, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the play (I remember it being one of my least favorite works of Shakespeare in high school). It may in part be due to a greater interest in politics as I've gotten older! "
— Lacy, 5/16/2011" Useful student/popular edition of a great play. "
— Mike, 5/16/2011" The immortal bard captured it perfectly with "et tu Brute?" "
— F., 5/15/2011" Had to struggle through this in high-school. "
— Margaret, 5/15/2011" One of the most powerful of his plays. Yes, the characters are set in black and white in true Shakespearean style and there is no room for hman error, but therein lies the beauty and power of this drama. "
— Deepti, 5/13/2011" I read this one to discuss with one of my children. It cured insomnia for a couple of nights. I needed an annotated version -- I think that would have helped me. My opinion may improve as I continue having conversations with my son. "
— Traci, 5/8/2011" Fabulous play, approachable from the very first scene; timely, relevant, thought-provoking. "
— Scott, 5/5/2011" Am I the only one who didn't like Brutus? "
— K, 5/5/2011" Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare <br/> <br/>the genre of this is a play that includes history,drama,and tragedy. <br/> "
— Nichole, 5/4/2011" One of Shakespeare's better tragedies, a wonderful tale of betrayal and realpolitik. "
— Steven, 5/3/2011" All in all I liked this book. The only part of it that I didn't like was the way that Skakespeare talked. At times, I was lost. This made it more difficult for me to like it so this is why I gave it three stars. "
— Brayden, 5/2/2011" Whether or not you believe that one man named William Shakespeare wrote these plays, it cannot be denied that they are greatly enjoyable on their own and have influenced countless other works of art throughout the ages. "
— Lori, 2/17/2011William Shakespeare (1564–1616), English poet and dramatist of the Elizabethan and early Jacobean period, is the most widely known author in all of English literature and often considered the greatest. He was an active member of a theater company for at least twenty years, during which time he wrote many great plays. Plays were not prized as literature at the time and Shakespeare was not widely read until the middle of the eighteenth century, when a great upsurge of interest in his works began that continues today.
Sir Ralph Richardson (1902-1983) was one of the greatest actors of the twentieth century English theater, ascending to the height of his profession in the mid-1930s when he became a star in London's West End. He became the first actor of his generation to be knighted in 1947. Along with Laurence Olivier and John Gielgud, he is considered one the greatest English actors of the generation.
Paul Scofield is noteworthy for his striking presence and distinctive voice. He won a Tony Award for his role in A Man for All Seasons, and an Academy Award for the same role in the film adaptation.