Tag Archives: Julius Caesar

A Wretch Concentered All in Self

By Robin Bates | Published: December 7, 2020

Look to Sir Walter Scott, not to Shakespeare, to sum up Donald Trump’s exit.

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Check Out the Bard for Halloween

By Robin Bates | Published: October 30, 2019

Shakespeare does a great Halloween. Check out Hamlet, Julius Caesar, Macbeth, and Midsummer Night’s Dream.

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“Et Tu, Brute!”–Betraying the Kurds

By Robin Bates | Published: October 13, 2019

Which Shakespeare play best captures Trump’s betrayal of the Kurds? Julius Caesar, perhaps, for pathos, Othello for the cold-blooded way it was done.

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Mike Pence=Elmer Gantry + Uriah Heep

By Robin Bates | Published: May 15, 2018

Columnist George Will calls Mike Pence a cross between Elmer Gantry and Uriah Heep. I see the two and raise to a Dante sycophant and Shakespeare’s Cassius.

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WaPo’s Petri Plays Shakespearean Fool

By Robin Bates | Published: June 16, 2017

Washington Post humorist Alexandra Petri has been having a lot of fun with Trump supporters’ attack on “Julius Caesar.” Here are some of her funniest barbs.

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Only Wimps Complain about Shakespeare

By Robin Bates | Published: June 15, 2017

Preeminent Shakespearean Stephen Greenblatt calls out people for whining about the Shakespeare-in-the-Park production of “Julius Caesar.” After all, Queen Elizabeth I once had a Shakespeare play used against her in an attempted overthrow and just shrugged it off.

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Sly Marc Antony Resembles McConnell

By Robin Bates | Published: June 14, 2017

The Shakespeare-in-the-Park production of “Julius Caesar” has the Right up in arms about the image of Donald Trump being assassinated. The timeliest lesson of the play, however, is the way that Marc Antony slyly slides in to take power. Think of him as Mitch McConnell quietly preparing to repeal Obamacare and deprive millions of healthcare while the nation focuses on Senate hearings.

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“Julius Caesar” Is Only Too Relevant

By Robin Bates | Published: March 7, 2017

“Julius Caesar” has been showing up in the news recently, and for good reason. New York leads off with the play this summer in “Shakespeare in the Park” (the political parallels are overwhelming) and there is an “Ides of Trump” postcard writing campaign scheduled for March 15.

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Decline & Fall of the American Republic?

By Robin Bates | Published: December 21, 2016

Trump’s victory may signal the decline of the American republic, just as the rise of the Caesar signaled the end of the Roman republic. Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” is only too relevant to today’s politics.

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