Cymbeline and Empire

Innes, Paul

doi:10.3167/cs.2007.190201

Cited by 7 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Fear of barbarism and desire for civil status epitomizes the ethos of Britain as a burgeoning empire. Jodi Mikalachi (as cited in Innes, 2007) views that "in early modern England an originary engagement with Rome was necessary for the formation of an autonomous national identity." (p. 9) Cymbeline compromises the rivalry between the conqueror and the conquered, introducing…”

Section: A Roman Britainmentioning

confidence: 99%

Imperial Imagination in Cymbeline

Zhang

2017

TPLS

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Abstract-Though telling the story of the Roman conquest, Cymbeline features alliance and fraternity, instead of enmity, between ancient Briton and the Roman Empire. Cymbeline, through its appropriation of the Roman-Briton tie, gives shape to the imperial imagination of the Stuart court. Shakespeare depicts the historical King of Briton, Cymbeline, the legendary warrior raised by the Romans, as the British counterpart of Caesar Augustus and heir of the mythical Brutus. Cymbeline can also be seen as an avatar of James I, who at that time willed to become the second Brutus and was keen to conquer. Shakespeare presents a Romanized Briton as the proper heir to the Roman Empire, degrading the Empire's natural descendent Italy for their moral corruption. The sense of moral superiority caters to the burgeoning imperial practice of the Jacobean monarch.

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Section: A Roman Britainmentioning

confidence: 99%