Shakespeare’s Rome Political Science 141 Classics 91 Tufts University Fall Semester 2010
This course will utilize Shakespeare’s poetry to examine a central question of political philosophy: how does the character of the regime affect the character of the individuals who compose it? In addition to considering Shakespeare’s views on the reasons for Rome’s greatness and on the causes of its decline, the course will examine ancient Rome as a model of civic participation, the demands of Roman virtue, the role of women in a martial regime, and the place of philosophy in the city. The study of Shakespeare’s works on Rome, in conjunction with Shakespeare’s classical sources, Plutarch and Livy, will lead to consideration of whether Shakespeare diverges from his classical sources to come to an independent judgment of Rome, and if so, why?
Office Hours Vickie Sullivan Packard Hall 111 x72328 [email protected] Tuesday 11-12 Wednesday 1:30-2:30 Thursday, 11-12 Other times by appointment
Required Books Livy, Early History of Rome Plutarch, Plutarch’s Lives, vols. 1 & 2 Shakespeare, Rape of Lucrece Shakespeare, Antony and Cleopatra Shakespeare, Coriolanus Shakespeare, Julius Caesar
Books on Overnight Reserve at Tisch Blits, The End of the Ancient Republic Bloom, Shakespeare’s Politics Brower, Hero and Saint: Shakespeare and the Graeco-Roman Heroic Tradition Cantor, Shakespeare’s Rome: Republic and Empire Charney, Shakespeare’s Roman Plays Donaldson, The Rapes of Lucretia: A Myth and its Transformations Fustel de Coulanges, The Ancient City: A Study of the Religion, Laws, and Institutions of Greece and Rome Gelzer, Caesar: Politician and Statesman Huffman, Coriolanus in Context Kahn, Roman Shakespeare: Warriors, Wounds, and Women
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Books on Overnight Reserve at Tisch (continued) Knight, The Imperial Theme: Further Interpretations of Shakespeare’s Tragedies Including the Roman Plays MacCallum, Shakespeare’s Roman Plays and Their Background Miles, Shakespeare and the Constant Romans Miola, Shakespeare’s Rome Phillips, The State in Shakespeare’s Greek and Roman Plays Platt, Rome and Romans According to Shakespeare Simmons, Shakespeare’s Pagan World: The Roman Tragedies Spencer, William Shakespeare: The Roman Plays Traversi, Shakespeare: The Roman Plays
Requirements When we begin studying each of the four selected works by Shakespeare, I will distribute paper topics for a five-page paper on that particular work. Students are required to write two such papers, but are free to choose which two. Papers submitted after their due date will be penalized for each day they are over due. I will also distribute topics for the final paper. Proposals for the final paper are due on Thursday, November 18 and the final paper itself on Thursday, December 16. Again, late papers will be penalized, and no work will be accepted after the end of the semester. For any paper, students may elect to write on a topic different from the ones I have specified, provided that they consult with me prior to the time they begin writing in the case of a five-page paper, or prior to the due date for the proposal in the case of the final paper. An in-class writing assignment on Plutarch will be given on Thursday¸ October 28. Participation will be an integral part of the course.
Final grades will be determined in the following manner:
Attendance and participation 20% Two five-page papers 20% (each) In-class writing assignment 10% Final paper (10-15 pages) 30%
Learning Objectives This is a course in the subfield of Political Theory and Philosophy within the discipline of Political Science. Courses in this subfield deal with the study of the history of ancient and modern political philosophy and its influence in shaping and understanding the Western political tradition; they also debate and discuss concepts such as justice, liberty, sovereignty, citizenship, oppression, tyranny, revolution, war and empire, and the relationship between religion and politics. You will encounter many of these themes in this course.
2 DATE AND TOPIC ASSIGNMENT
Introduction to the Course
Tuesday, September 7
Rome’s Beginnings
Thursday, September 9 Livy, Book I, pp. 33-57.
The Ouster of the Kings and the Beginning of the Republic
Tuesday, September 14 Livy, Book I, pp. 57-101. (Livy unavailable in English until 1600. Livy’s story of Lucretia available to Shakespeare in The Pallance of Pleasure by William Painter [1566].) Augustine’s commentary.
Thursday, September 16 Shakespeare’s Rape of Lucrece (1594).
Tuesday, September 21 Shakespeare’s Rape of Lucrece, continued. Paper Due.
Thursday, September 23 Plutarch’s Life of Coriolanus. Livy, Book II, pp. 140-51. (Plutarch available in English in North’s Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romanes [1579].)
Tuesday, September 28 Shakespeare’s Coriolanus (ca. 1608).
Thursday, September 30 Coriolanus, continued.
Tuesday, October 5 Coriolanus, continued. Paper Due.
The Decline of the Republic
Thursday, October 7 Matthias Gelzer, Caesar: Politician and Statesman, chapters 1 & 2.
Tuesday, October 12 Plutarch’s Life of Julius Caesar.
3 Thursday, October 14 Plutarch’s Life of Cato, pp. 270-6, 283-91, 298-306, 312-17.
Tuesday, October 19 Plutarch’s Life of Brutus.
Thursday, October 21 Plutarch’s Life of Cicero.
Tuesday¸ October 26 Plutarch’s Life of Pompey, pp. 104-39.
Thursday, October 28 In-class writing assignment.
Tuesday, November 2 Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar (1599).
Thursday, November 4 Julius Caesar, continued.
Tuesday, November 9 Julius Caesar, continued.
Tuesday, November 16 Julius Caesar, continued. Paper due.
The Beginning of Imperial Rule
Thursday, November 18 Plutarch’s Life of Antony. Proposal for final paper due.
Tuesday, November 23 Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra (ca. 1607).
Tuesday, November 30 Antony and Cleopatra, continued.
Thursday, December 2 Antony and Cleopatra, continued.
Tuesday, December 7 Antony and Cleopatra, continued. Paper due.
Thursday, December 9 Conclusions
Thursday, December 16 Final Paper Due at noon Department of Political Science
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