JULIUS CAESAR

JULIUS CAESAR by Shakespeare

Cowards die many times before their deaths;

The valiant never taste of death but once.

Of all the wonders that I yet have heard,

It seems to me most strange that men should fear,

Seeing that death, a necessary end,

Will come when it will come.

                                                              - Julius Caesar

Thus Caesar says and thus he meets his death a short time later at the hands of the senators on the Ides of March despite being warned by a soothsayer and his wife. But this play isn't really about Julius Caesar although it bears his name. No, this play is about the honorable Brutus and his struggle to do what he thinks is right for Rome even though Caesar is his friend. Hence the surprised infamous line from Caesar, " Et tu, Brute?"

This play is full of great discussion topics to launch into with your pre-teen/teen. Topics such as true friendship, the price and benefits of power, death (fear of), what is a coward, what is true courage are just a few of the many possibilities.

Does the idea of Shakespeare make you nervous? Don't let it! I am by no means a master of Shakespeare, but with each play we plunge into, I gain a little more understanding. There are tons of resources to help you decipher the text. Google literary analysis or study guides for whatever play you are doing. Use Folgers book versions of the play. They have definitions of words on the left side pages and the original text on the right. I am committed to ploughing through Old English texts with my kids. You know why? Our founding documents are written in Old English. Learning to read and comprehend it instead of depending on another to interpret it for you is so valuable in the days ahead! Whew! Off my soap box! Have a great weekend!!