Pages: Act II-Scene I-Rome
My recent reading of William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar has left me truly and utterly confused. Unlike several other plays I have read, this one proves to be a bit more difficult. This being due to the rather confusing lingo of 1599. With phrases such as "servile fearfulness" and "this age's yoke." It is a bit more of task to understand to understand Shakespeare diction if one does not have knowledge of the 16th century terminology or a dictionary at hand.
Continuing on with the play itself, it is truly the exact manner in which I, personally, would imagine the time in which Caesar lived. From the separation by what seems to be a caste system. There is a certain manner in which conversation is directed toward the commoners by the tribunes that demonstrates the true demeanor of certain characters. I have currently just been introduced to Cassius and Casca and it seems, already, that their intentions may not be of the best.
My primary inspiration for reading Julius Caesar was the fact that my 40 book challenge was lacking a significant amount classical literature. Now, after beginning my reading, my objective is to make some sense of some of its most popular quotes as I may come across them. Barely through the first act, I have already found a rather interesting quote that I believe must be shared with the world, it being, "Men at some time are masters of their fate:/ The fault, Dear Brutus, is not in our stars/ But in ourselves that we are underlings," This is the idea in which not all that occurs to you is because a predestined fate, but because you have yet to attempt to make any changes in your life. This, you can see, is the point in which one sees the beginning of Brutus's betrayal begins to grow.
This was a great blog, I really enjoyed seeing what you felt about the play so far. I liked the quote you picked; thank you for interpreting it. Good luck getting through the rest of the play! :)
ReplyDeleteThis book seems really difficult because of the old English terminology. Shakespeare is difficult to read! I think it's great that you're challenging yourself to read more classic literature for your 40-book-challenge. Has the annotating helped you at all when reading the play? Great blog and I hope you enjoy reading it. :-))
ReplyDeleteMaria - Way to push yourself! Macbeth is one of my personal favorites.
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