William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar

Kenneth Parker (University of East London); Revised By: Virginia Mason Vaughan (Clark University)

Ed. by Virginia Mason Vaughan, Clark University
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.03: English Writing and Culture: Renaissance (Elizabethan and Jacobean periods) , 1485-1625.
Vol. editors: William M. Hamlin (Washington State University), J A Roe (University of York), Virginia Mason Vaughan (Clark University), Ema Vyroubalova (Trinity College Dublin)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1599

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Historical
Play

Resources

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The more or less agreed order of composition of the plays shows

Julius Caesar

coming after

Henry V

. Since the latter might be seen as the culmination of a process that had begun with

The First Part of the Contention of the Two Famous Houses of York and Lancaster

(

2 Henry VI

), continuing via

Richard III

Richard II

King John

and the two parts of

Henry IV

Julius Caesar

might be seen as Shakespeare's move from English to Roman history - an interest manifested earlier in

Titus Andronicus

, first printed in 1594, and the poem

The Rape of Lucrece

, entered into the Stationers' Register on 9th May of the same year.

English popular interest in Roman history was immense. Not only were there key translations before 1600 (Herodian 1550; Eutropius 1564; Appian 1578), but Philip Henslowe's Diary lists

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2930 words

Citation: Parker, Kenneth, Virginia Mason Vaughan. "Julius Caesar". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 28 October 2000; last revised 20 January 2020. [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=4303, accessed 25 April 2024.]

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