Isolation In Julius Caesar

Desiring Desolation

In the absence of common folk, what becomes apparent? Tracy Powers' J. Caesar is an interesting attempt to answer that question. In it, there is high fidelity to the text of Shakespeare's The Tragedie of Julius Caesar. Thus serving, to make any changes very pronounced. Her world, comparatively, is not one of all folk. Instead, it focuses more on the powerful people that move them. In removing the villager, Powers helps to redefine her world's humour and create an overall miasma of desolation.

J. Caesar opens with immediate differences. Not only are all the characters women, there are significantly fewer in comparison to Shakespeare's' original. Powers' script contains only ten of the original cast of twenty-plus. This

Moments that start with “Are you a married man or a batchellor?'”(III.iii.651) and end with 'Tear him for his bad verses...'”(III.iii.678) are amusing for their ubiquity. The situation is easily identified with as an audience member, because you have witnessed this gross escalation or it might have happened to you. For example, you're talking with your mother and suddenly she says, “You terrible child! That's why your brother is the favourite”, nevermind that you drive her to her appointments. Cinna the Poet's untimely death is a way of humourously playing with dangerous escalation; it is a little point of comedy. Without this instance, Power's world delves straight into the heaviness of war and there is no moment of pause before diving into “A battle...sharp, and ugly.” (page 42) This is how she sets up the rest of the world for the many deaths about to occur.

Powers' J. Caesar is ,”... a world melted away from what we recognize today but has been rebuilt.” (page i) The ways in which she marries her setting to the script are varied. In her use of Shakespeare's original text we witness new roles for characters. The reassigning of this text completely alters the atmosphere of these scenes. Furthermore, Powers' focus on force removes previously humourous situations. Tension and violence recieve more attention due to the removal of comedic elements. In simplifying the people's voice Powers aptly expresses