Tag Archives: Julius Caesar

“We look back at Shakespeare and regret our absence from him because it seems an absence from reality.”

Posted on April 10, 2014 by Dennis Abrams

Conclusion to The Play’s The Thing Part Two By Dennis Abrams ———————————- Honestly, I can’t believe it’s over. For two and half years, We’ve been reading and talking and thinking about Shakespeare. And to help bring this to a close, … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged A Midsummer Night's Dream, All's Well That Ends Well, Antony and Cleopatra, As You Like It, Comedy, Coriolanus, Cymbeline, drama, Falstaff, Hamlet, Henry IV, Henry IV Part I, Henry IV Part II, Henry V, Henry VI Parts One Two and Three, Henry VIII, Julius Caesar, king henry iv, King John, King Lear, language, Love's Labour's Lost, Macbeth, Measure for Measure, Much Ado About Nothing, Othello, Pericles, Prince Hal, problem play, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Richard II, Richard III, Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare, sonnet, The Comedy of Error, The Merchant of Venice, The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Taming of the Shrew, The Tempest, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Two Noble Kinsmen, The Winter's Tale, Timon of Athens, titus andronicus, tragedy, Troilus and Cressidas, Twelfh Night, Victor Hugo, William Shakespeare, writing | 24 Comments

“O you heavenly charmers,/What things you make of us! For what we lack/We laugh, for what we have we are sorry; still/Are children in some kind.”

Posted on April 6, 2014 by Dennis Abrams

The Two Noble Kinsmen Act Five By Dennis Abrams —————— Act Five: Palamon and Arcite, each accompanied by three knights, separately pray for success, while Emilia prays that whoever loves her best will emerge victorious. Back at the jail, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged A Knight's Tale, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act Five, Arcite, Chaucer, Christopher Marlowe, Diana, disgust, Emilia, entertainment, Flavina, Hamlet, heavenly creatures, Hippolyta, irony, James I, John Fletcher, Julius Caesar, language, literature, Mars, Palamon, Shakespeare, Tamuburlaine the Great, The Two Noble Kinsmen, Thersites, Theseus, three knights, Troilus and Cressida, Venus, William Shakespeare, writing | 1 Comment

“I am dying, Egypt, dying; only/I here impórtune death a while, until/Of many thousand kisses the poor last/I lay upon thy lips.”

Posted on September 26, 2013 by Dennis Abrams

Antony and Cleopatra Act Four, Part One By Dennis Abrams —————————————————- Act Four: His challenge of single combat turned down (not surprisingly) by Octavius, Antony prepared for a decisive second battle. Although the omen are not promising – his soldiers … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Act Four, Antony and Cleopatra, Cleopatra, Comedy, drama, Egypt, Enobarbus, entertainment, Falstaff, Hamlet, history, Julius Caesar, language, literature, Mark Antony, Octavius, Octavius Caesar, politics, Pompey, Rome, Shakespeare, Tiber, William Shakespeare, writing | Leave a comment

“Come, Let’s have one other gaudy night!”

Posted on September 24, 2013 by Dennis Abrams

Antony and Cleopatra Act Three, Part Two By Dennis Abrams ———————————— From A.C. Bradley: “The political situation and its development are simple. The story is taken up almost where it was left, years before, in Julius Caesar. There Brutus and … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged A.C. Bradley, Act Three, Antony and Cleopatra, Cleopatra, Comedy, drama, Egypt, Elizabethan theater, Enobarbus, entertainment, Falstaff, history, Julius Caesar, language, literature, Mark Antony, Nile, Octavius, Octavius Caesar, politics, renaissance humanism, Rome, Shakespeare, tragedy, William Shakespeare, writing | Leave a comment

“Take, but good note, and you shall see in him/The Triple pillar of the world transform’d/Into a strumpet’s fool: behold and see.”

Posted on September 8, 2013 by Dennis Abrams

Antony and Cleopatra Act One, Part Two By Dennis Abrams ————————– A couple of observations: 1. G. Wilson Knight called Antony and Cleopatra “probably the subtlest and great play in Shakespeare,” adding “This is the high metaphysic of love which … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged act one, Antony and Cleopatra, antony cleopatra, Apolloian, Brutus, Cassius, Cleopatra, Comedy, Dionysian, drama, Egypt, Elizabethan theater, Elizabethan tragedy, Enobarbus, entertainment, Falstaff, G. Wilson Knight, Hamlet, history, Julius Caesar, language, literature, lyric intensity, Mark Antony, Octavius, politics, Rome, sensuous delight, Shakespeare, Spencer, The Fairie Queene, W.H. Auden, William Shakespeare, writing | Leave a comment

“If one were asked to select the play of Shakespeare’s that best represents all aspects of his genius and preserves the most harmonious balance among them, Antony and Cleopatra would be the inevitable choice.”

Posted on September 3, 2013 by Dennis Abrams

Antony and Cleopatra An Introduction By Dennis Abrams ————————————- Dramatically adventurous, richly characterized, linguistically dazzling, Antony and Cleopatra is one of the great triumphs of Shakespeare’s late career. It is, it is said, closer than anything else he wrote to … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Antony and Cleopatra, barnabe barnes, Cleopatra, drama, Egypt, Elizabethan theater, Elizabethan tragedy, history play, Julius Caesar, language, literature, lives of the noble grecians and romans, Marc Antony, noble grecians, Octavius Caesar, plutarch lives, politics, Roman play, Rome, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Shakespeare, sir thomas north, tragedy, William Shakespeare, writing | 10 Comments

“…Must like a whore unpack my heart with words…”

Posted on January 17, 2013 by Dennis Abrams

Hamlet Act Two, Part Five By Dennis Abrams —————————————— I was up for awhile last night, continuing my reading of James Shapiro’s A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare. It’s a highly enjoyable book, that combines in a way … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 1599, Act Three, books, drama, Earl of Essex, Globe Theater, Hamlet, hamlet act, james shapiro, Julius Caesar, language, life of william shakespeare, literature, Montaigne, politics, Queen Elizabeth I, renaissance humanism, revenge drama, revenge play, Richard Burbage, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Shakespeare, Shakespearean theater, soliloquy, tragedy, William Shakespeare, writing | Leave a comment

“Caesar, now be still,/I killed not thee with half so good a will.”

Posted on November 20, 2012 by Dennis Abrams

Julius Caesar Act Five By Dennis Abrams —————————– Act Five: As news reaches Antony and Octavius that the enemy is approaching, the two men quarrel. As the battle commences, Brutus attacks Octavius’s troops but Cassius, believing that his own forces … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Act Five, Bolingbroke, Brutus, Calpurnia, Cassius, Falstaff, human-rights, Ides of March, Julius Caesar, language, literature, politics, Portia, renaissance humanism, Roman history, Roman play, Rome, Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare, tyrannicide, William Shakespeare, writing | Leave a comment

“The strings, my lord, are false.”

Posted on November 18, 2012 by Dennis Abrams

Julius Caesar Act Four By Dennis Abrams —————————— Act Four: Antony, Octavius Caesar and Lepidus have assumed the leadership of Rome. Meanwhile, Antony and Cassius combine their forces at Sardis, but the two men quarrel when Brutus accuses Cassius of … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Act Four, Bolingbroke, Brutus, Cassius, current-events, drama, Hotspur, Julius Caesar, language, literature, Mark Antony, politics, Portia, renaissance humanism, Roman history, Roman play, Shakespeare, William Shakespeare | Leave a comment

“But Brutus says he was ambitious,/And Brutus is an honourable man.”

Posted on November 15, 2012 by Dennis Abrams

Julius Caesar Act Three By Dennis Abrams —————————- Act Three: At the Capitol, Caesar rejects Artemidorus’s letter but instead listens to a petition requesting that the banishment of Metellus’s brother be repealed. When he refuses, the conspirators stab him to … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Act Three, Brutus, Calpurnia, Cassius, drama, history, history play, human-rights, Julius Caesar, king henry v, language, literature, Mark Antony, politics, Portia, religion, renaissance humanism, Roman history, Roman play, Rome, Shakespeare, William Shakespeare | 1 Comment