SOURCE: Yoder, R. A. “History and the Histories in Julius Caesar.” Shakespeare Quarterly 24, no. 3 (summer 1973): 309-27.

In the following essay, Yoder characterizes Julius Caesar as a condensed version of Shakespeare's historical tetralogy (Richard II, Henry IV, Parts One and Two, and Henry V). Yoder relates Julius Caesar's Rome to England during the time of the tetralogy and demonstrates how both Shakespeare's Rome and England are plagued by disintegration and the unstoppable progression of power.

Henry the Fifth, thy ghost I invocate … A far more glorious star thy soul will make Than Julius Caesar or bright— 

(1H6, I.i.52-56)¹

I. the Necessary Form

Julius Caesar, a play remarkable for an infinite variety of interpretation, was the turning point of Shakespeare's career. As much as it points ahead to the great tragedies, Hamlet, Othello, and Macbeth, so much does it draw upon the cycle of history plays that...