In this striking tragedy of political conflict, Shakespeare turns to the ancient Roman world and to the famous assassination of Julius Caesar by his republican opponents. The play is one of tumultuous rivalry, of prophetic warnings"Beware the ides of March"and of moving public oratory, "Friends, Romans, countrymen!" Ironies abound and most of all for Brutus, whose fate it is to learn that his idealistic motives for joining the conspiracy against a would-be dictator are not enough to sustain the movement once Caesar is dead. Each Edition Includes: Comprehensive explanatory notes Vivid introductions and the most up-to-date scholarship Clear, modernized spelling and punctuation, enabling contemporary readers to understand the Elizabethan English Completely updated, detailed bibliographies and performance histories An interpretive essay on film adaptations of the play, along with an extensive filmography

William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564. In London, Shakespeare became the principal playwright and shareholder of the successful acting troupe the Lord Chamberlin's men (later, under James I, called the King's men) which built and occupied the Globe theater. In 1616, he died in Stratford after having written 37 plays, sonnets, and other poetry which would become crucial to the cannon of English literature.