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Julius Caesar in Shakespeare……………………………………………………… This electronic thesis or dissertation has been downloaded from the King’s Research Portal at https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/ Transcending Temporality a Study of the Reception of Julius Caesar’s Self-representation in Epic and Drama Dimitrova, Miryana Awarding institution: King's College London The copyright of this thesis rests with the author and no quotation from it or information derived from it may be published without proper acknowledgement. END USER LICENCE AGREEMENT Unless another licence is stated on the immediately following page this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ You are free to copy, distribute and transmit the work Under the following conditions: Attribution: You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work). Non Commercial: You may not use this work for commercial purposes. No Derivative Works - You may not alter, transform, or build upon this work. Any of these conditions can be waived if you receive permission from the author. Your fair dealings and other rights are in no way affected by the above. Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact [email protected] providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 02. Oct. 2021 This electronic theses or dissertation has been downloaded from the King’s Research Portal at https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/ Title: Transcending Temporality – a Study of the Reception of Julius Caesar’s Self- representation in Epic and Drama Author: Miryana Dimitrova The copyright of this thesis rests with the author and no quotation from it or information derived from it may be published without proper acknowledgement. END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ You are free to: Share: to copy, distribute and transmit the work Under the following conditions: Attribution: You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work). Non Commercial: You may not use this work for commercial purposes. No Derivative Works - You may not alter, transform, or build upon this work. Any of these conditions can be waived if you receive permission from the author. Your fair dealings and other rights are in no way affected by the above. Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact [email protected] providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Transcending Temporality – a Study of the Reception of Julius Caesar’s Self-representation in Epic and Drama Miryana Dimitrova PhD Classics School of Arts and Humanities, King’s College 1 Abstract The aim of the thesis is to establish a sense of continuity in the development and transmutation of the character of Julius Caesar from history to epic and drama. The research question is: what elements from Caesar’s self-representation, constituting themes and characterization, have been transmitted to his epic and dramatic representation? The groundwork of my study is formed by an analysis of Caesar’s self-representation in his Commentaries on the Gallic and Civil Wars as fundamental for the establishment of his specific epic-dramatic image. Epic Caesar is characterized by exceptional speed, leading to his transcendence of ordinary temporality; this supernatural asset distinguishes him as a certain quasi-divine presence. Caesar’s dramatic aspect is expressed in the heightened sense of self-dramatization achieved by the self-referential use of the third person, the utilization of dramaturgical techniques and by highlighting the performativity of war and the gaze of the commander. The fusion of author and protagonist exemplified in Caesar’s works allows their assessment both on a level internal to the narrative, and on an external, or meta-level, as part of the author’s political and personal propaganda. A chapter on ancient historiography, focusing primarily on events not described in the Commentaries, explores the development of Caesar’s epic-dramatic character in the light of his dramatization by the historical canon and the Late Republican performative milieu. One epic (Lucan’s Civil War) and three dramatic case studies (Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, George Chapman’s The Tragedy of Caesar and Pompey and Bernard Shaw’s Caesar and Cleopatra) are investigated in the light of the set of qualities, identified as intrinsic to Caesar’s agenda set in his own works. By drawing parallels between Caesarean self-characterization and its interpretation by the dramatists I aim to elucidate the Commentaries’ potential for thematic influence, created by the unique blending of author and protagonist. 2 Table of contents Abstract………………………………………………………………………………........2 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………..........4 Chapter 1: Caesar’s Epic Drama: the Gallic and Civil Wars…………………………….28 Chapter 2: Lucan versus Caesar: Fighting for Time in the Epic Civil War……………...92 Chapter 3: Transcending Self-representation: Epic-Dramatic Caesar as Character in Ancient Historiography………………………………………………………………125 Chapter 4: Brighter than the Northern Star, Constant as the Speed of Light: Julius Caesar in Shakespeare……………………………………………………….......172 Chapter 5: George Chapman’s The Tragedy of Caesar and Pompey: The Tragedy of Caesar’s delay………………………………………………………....212 Chapter 6: The Existential Visions of a Superman: Internalizing Caesar’s Epic Experience in G.B. Shaw’s Caesar and Cleopatra………………………………….....250 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………….......299 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………306 3 Introduction Julius Caesar (100-44 BC) played a decisive role in shaping of the geo-political and cultural map of Europe, his intellectual brilliance an epitome of Roman imperial worldview. Caesar’s persona is enigmatic, contradictory and has provoked the imagination of historians and artists for two thousand years: charismatic leader, devious politician, womanizer, he is also a symbol of autocracy and personifies the sea change in Roman history – the transition from Republic to Empire. Though never fully liberated from his aura of political allegory, Caesar nevertheless enjoys an exciting modern afterlife: students of Latin are introduced to the language through his lucid narratives and fans of comic books revel in the ironic historicity of his character in Goscinny and Uderzo’s Asterix. It is not an overstatement to claim that Caesar has acquired universal popularity, which renders impossible the task to attempt to describe all aspects of his multifaceted persona. The ambivalence of Caesar’s character is rooted in his controversial career, which demonstrates extraordinary charisma and capacity for command. By recognizing both negative and positive traits in Caesar’s character and conduct, ancient historiography contributed to the creation of the general’s enigmatic aura and encouraged interpretations from different political perspectives. Caesar was popular in medieval times: Li Fet des Romains, a thirteenth-century fusion of various ancient accounts, focuses on his life; a symbol of chivalry and prowess, the Roman general featured in the collection of perfect warriors, the ‘Nine Worthies’, together with Alexander and Hector. With the rising of Renaissance humanism, Caesar appeared in discussions comparing political systems, as 4 well as personally inspiring representatives of powerful Italian families.1 The emergence of the term ‘Caesarism’, related to Napoleonic power, created another layer of appropriated historical exempla and political references. Notably, Caesar was hailed by Theodor Mommsen in his monumental Römische Geschichte as the most successful of all Romans.2 The crucial role played by Caesar has become part of a tradition of evaluating European systems of government in terms of their Roman predecessors. In the twentieth century, specific aspects of Caesar’s politics were often highlighted to serve a particular agenda, such as Fascism, seeking ideological justification in Roman imperial power. A striking instance of Mussolini’s desire to associate the new order with Caesarean imperialism is the play Cesare (1939) by Giovacchino Forzano, in which the speeches of Caesar are modelled on those of the Duce himself.3 This characterization of Caesar, deformed by propaganda, yet poignant, exemplifies the importance of Caesarean dramatic afterlife. Caesar’s life and importantly his death possess great dramatic potential, utilized by numerous playwrights from the Renaissance onwards.4 In one of the most influential dramatizations, William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, the assassination of the dictator has been interpreted as depicting the complexities of authoritarian government as well as 1 On the ‘Nine Worthies’, see Suerbaum (2009: 332) and Wyke (2007: 11-12); on the medieval reception and mythologization of Caesar, see Wyke (2007: 8-16); on Li Fet des Romains, see Beer (1976); on the Renaissance popularity of Caesar, particularly in Italy, see Clark (2009), McLaughlin (2009), Temple (2006); on Cesare Borgia – Wyke (2007: 76-9; 143-4). 2 ‘Caesarism’, the concept developed by Auguste Romieu in 1850, is discussed by Wyke (2007: 156,159). Mommsen’s
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