Tag Archives: Covenantal Shakespeare

Five Reasons for Studying Shakespeare Covenantally

Three kinds of people would be interested in studying Shakespeare covenantally. Those who are familiar with covenantal theology and want to see it applied to culture more generally Those who are familiar with Shakespeare and want to see his works interpreted from new persepctive Those who don’t know much Shakespeare but want to read andContinue reading “Five Reasons for Studying Shakespeare Covenantally”

Covenantal Shakespeare: An Overview

I continue to put together a Covenantal Shakespeare course. Last week, I completed my commentary on the play. Now I am pulling back from the particular literary work and trying to write a general introduction to the course with a more specific explanation about why studying Shakespeare through the covenant matters. Introductions to the covenantContinue reading “Covenantal Shakespeare: An Overview”

Julius Caesar: Act 5 Commentary

The play’s final act begins and ends with Antony and Octavius, the counterparts to Brutus and Cassius respectively. Antony and Brutus are mirrors of each other: close friends of Caesar, one to the extent that he will get revenge for his death, the other to the extent that he was willing to kill his friendContinue reading “Julius Caesar: Act 5 Commentary”

Julius Caesar: Act 4 Commentary

Act 3 revealed the Roman plebeians as an unruly mob. They do not appear again. Instead, Act 4 shows us the men who will lead these plebeians: the imperial triumvirate in scene 1 and the republicans in scene 2. Both sides are divided. Antony and Octavius dismiss Lepidus, the third man in their partnership. He’sContinue reading “Julius Caesar: Act 4 Commentary”

Julius Caesar: Act 3 Commentary

Act 3 contains the most thrilling scenes in the play: Caesar’s assassination and Brutus’s and Antony’s dueling funeral orations about what that assassination means. Five comments on the act: Caesar is never more defiant than just before he dies. He compares the rest of the senators to mutable heavenly bodies and himself to the unchangingContinue reading “Julius Caesar: Act 3 Commentary”

Julius Caesar: Act 2 Commentary

The most important quotation from Act 1 was Cassius’s comment regarding Caesar: “And this man / Is now become a god.” The first act gives us ample evidence that none of these characters are transcendent, Caesar included. The most important quotation from Act 2 is a question from Caesar himself: “What can be avoided /Continue reading “Julius Caesar: Act 2 Commentary”