Shakespeare’s tragedy of one of the most famous assassinations in the world at an epoch-changing time in history. This richly documented Norton Critical Edition of Julius Caesar is based on the 1623 First Folio text. It is accompanied by a note on the text, an introduction that sets the biographical and historical stage necessary to appreciate this richly allusive play, explanatory annotations, a map, and five illustrations. “Sources and Contexts” presents possible sources as well as analogues to Julius Caesar, an account of Shakespeare’s understanding of and approach to Roman history, and Ernest Schanzer’s study of the narrative challenges posed by the play. “Criticism” includes early commentary—by, among others, Samuel Johnson, William Hazlitt, and Harley Granville-Barker—on Julius Caesar as well as modern interpretations.
