David Lowenthal and Paul Cantor on Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar

A comparison of David Lowenthal and Paul Cantor on Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. David Lowenthal's essay on Julius Caesar seeks to "make Allan Bloom's brilliant interpretation of Shakespeare's Caesar more consistent by denying that Caesar, imprudently and in derogation of his own greatness, sought to become king of Rome." He explains Caesar's "true ambition," which he sees as perfectly in keeping with his greatness. Paul Cantor argues that "Julius Caesar provides the lynchpin of a historical trilogy that begins with Coriolanus and ends with Antony and Cleopatra, a trilogy that portrays the rise and fall of the Roman Republic. In that story, Julius Caesar is central."