|
|
REVIEW
- Miles, Gary B. "How Roman Are Shakespeare's 'Romans'?"
- Shakespeare Quarterly. 40 (1989) 257-83.
Thesis: Miles states his essential idea towards the end of his essay:
For Shakespeare character is the product of an essentially private
struggle—even though that struggle may be provoked by public
circumstances or may have public consequences. For Plutarch and the
Romans, character not only is expressed but is defined by public
action. (282)
Most of Miles' essay (which includes pictures of Roman statuary) is
devoted to explaining the Roman concept of character. For example,
Miles pays a great deal of attention to two key words in Julius
Caesar, "honor" and "noble." Miles points out that the Romans of
Caesar's time didn't have words that exactly corresponded with those
two words as Shakespeare used them. For the Romans, an honorable
action was not primarily one that flowed from righteous intentions,
but one which brought public recognition—honors. And when the
Romans referred to someone as "noble," they were thinking first of
all of his family history.
About Julius Caesar, Miles doesn't have any new light to shed.
Bottom Line: Mildly interesting.
|