Introduction

This chapter looks to uncover attitudes toward peace in the 21st century, knowing that Caesar's death somehow looms equally in the ancient past, in Shakespeare's re-staging, and in Central Park in 2017. The case of Julius Caesar suggests that Shakespeare thought a great deal about the causes of war. The collision of national politics, Shakespeare, and violence was clear. One can say that this has always been the case with Julius Caesar. The play contains an idiom repeated so often that it's easy to forget it's actually Shakespeare: "Cry 'havoc!' and let slip the dogs of war". The film version of Coriolanus characterizes the 21st-century Western forces as falling in love with war. The "bruised battered quality of some of the locations" speaks to the concerns of Coriolanus – primarily its despairing view of our deep desire for prolonged violence. Coriolanus desperately needs to learn about positive peace.