Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare

Let it be known that by no means shall I speak of the how’s and why’s of this book, especially of Shakespeare’s intention. I shall only write what I’d like to.

For a bit of history, a personal one, I think I bought this book last year or early this year. Well, more of the former. It was bought simply because it was on sale and I wanted to catch up with the Literary Classics that were not “imposed” to us in secondary school. Surely, they were mentioned but I still feel somewhat ignorant. And I have no intention to remain that way. Even when still going to secondary school, I told myself that I will read the works of Jane Austen. Doing the same for William Shakespeare’s came after college.

Julius Caesar was a political, emotional, and psychological book. These three were the battlegrounds of “war” and conflict in the book. Surely, we’ll have people opposing one another but the bottomline is, for what cause?

Brutus was a brilliant man, but not at par with Antony, which I consider a favourite character in the story. How he reasoned appealed to me. I found him sensible unlike Brutus. I also like Calphurnia, wife of Caesar. She was illogically reasonable, proving that a woman’s instinct is usually, if not always, correct.

I finished reading Julius Caesar last Thursday night, 30 August 2012. The same night, but earlier, when I started reading The Scorpio Illusion by Robert Ludlum. It was a great relief, for I included this Shakespeare classic in my “must-read” list for 2012. I had to keep it.

It was kind of a regretful decision, but when read the part when Tyrell Hawthorne was sharing the story behind his brother, why his name was Mark, I was amused. Of course, I’ve just finished reading Julius Caesar then.

Cowards die many times before their deaths;
The valiant never taste of death but once.

– Julius Caesar

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Originally posted on: 4 September 2012

Reposted on: 9 May 2013