Julius Caesar (Cambridge School Shakespeare)

Description

An improved, larger-format edition of the Cambridge School Shakespeare plays, extensively rewritten, expanded and produced in an attractive new design. An active approach to classroom Shakespeare enables students to inhabit Shakespeare's imaginative world in accessible and creative ways. Students are encouraged to share Shakespeare's love of language, interest in character and sense of theatre. Substantially revised and extended in full colour, classroom activities are thematically organised in distinctive 'Stagecraft', 'Write about it', 'Language in the play', 'Characters' and 'Themes' features. Extended glossaries are aligned with the play text for easy reference. Expanded endnotes include extensive essay-writing guidance for 'Julius Caesar' and Shakespeare. Includes rich, exciting colour photos of performances of 'Julius Caesar' from around the world. Review: Cambridge School Series version of Julius Caesar... - ...is quite good for middle and early high school classes. The text is well noted. The teachers' notes give many suggestions for school/class activities. The interpretive section shows why this is a tragedy (Caesar dies in the third act, but Brutus and co-conspirators in the fifth), how the conspirators were trying to "save" "democracy" vs. the monarchical Caesar family (with Marc Antony)...great for discussion and elaboration. This text will go well with a recent (2017?) BBC video production of the play, which is performed entirely by a cast of English Black actors, showing that the concerns raised by Shakespeare are broader than those of the small island of Great Britain. I think Shakespeare lovers will also appreciate this version of the text. The drawback to using it in school is that it is nearly twice as expensive, as, say, the Folger Library edition, so school systems may wonder about its cost. While I think it is quite worth it, perhaps school districts purchasing (for example) 150 copies might want to negotiate down from the retail price for the district. On an individual basis, however, I thought this was worth it because it had so much background and interpretation. (Illustration is a 1937 Italian postage stamp commemorating the 2,000 anniversary of Caesar's death.) Review: Teacher Tool - As a high school English and theatre teacher, this series will always be my favorite text for teaching Shakespeare!