Julius Caesar: The New Oxford Shakespeare

’Cry ＂havoc!＂ and let slip the dogs of war’

Set against the backdrop of a nation breaking out into civil war, Julius Caesar raises questions of governance, power, tyranny, and enslavement. This New Oxford Shakespeare edition situates these questions within the historical framework of the play’s early history in theatre and print, as well as within its long performance history up to and including in the 21st century. The introduction examines the ways in which Roman history is deployed to justify and question political structures, both by Shakespeare and other writers, as well as the transition from historical sources to stage.

The New Oxford Shakespeare offers authoritative editions of Shakespeare’s works with introductory materials designed to encourage new interpretations of the plays and poems. Using the text from the landmark The New Oxford Shakespeare Complete Works: Modern Critical Edition, these volumes offer readers the latest thinking on the authentic texts (collated from all surviving original versions of Shakespeare’s work) alongside innovative introductions from leading scholars. The texts are accompanied by a comprehensive set of critical apparatus to give readers the best resources to help understand and enjoy Shakespeare’s work.

ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World’s Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford’s commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

William Shakespeare

Brandi K. Adams is Assistant Professor of English at Arizona State University, USA. Her research interests include the history of reading and the book, early modern drama, premodern critical race studies, as well as early 20th century and contemporary editorial practices. Her essays have appeared in Shakespeare Quarterly, the journal Shakespeare, the Oxford Handbook of the History of the Book in Early Modern England, and other collections.

Sarah Neville is an Associate Professor of English at the Ohio State University with a courtesy appointment in Theatre, Film, and Media Arts. She specializes in early modern English literature, bibliography, theories of textuality, and performance, chiefly examining the ways that authority is negotiated in print, digital, and live media. She is an assistant editor of The New Oxford Shakespeare (2016-17), for which she edited five plays in both old and modern-spelling editions, as well as an associate coordinating editor of the Digital Renaissance Editions.