Shakespeare's Rome
By: Robert S. Miola.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 1983
Place of publication: Cambridge [Cambridgeshire]; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 244
Subjects: Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616 -- Knowledge -- Rome.; Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616 -- Sources.; Historical drama, English -- History and criticism.; English drama -- Roman influences.; Rome -- In literature.
Description: This book studies Shakespeare's changing vision of Rome, its people, and its ideals, in the six works where the city serves as a setting. The author examines the symbolic and topographical features that help define the city: the walls that divide civilization and wilderness; the battlefields, which become the testing ground for people and ideas; the Capitol, center of the city and seat of its reason and authority. He examines the Roman code of military honor and the increasing scrutiny to which this code is subjected by the playwright. He also analyzes Shakespeare's developing interest in the Roman family and his growing awareness of the paradoxes of peitas- the conflicting loyalties that make responsible action in the family and state impossible. -- from Book Jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.