CORIOLANUS

Republican Government in Ancient Rome

Republic Government in Ancient Rome

Introduction

Shakespeare certainly is the world most renowned writer with respect to the depiction of tragedies in the plots and the tragedies of the respective characters constituting of those plots. Amongst the revered masterpieces of Shakespeare, is his yet another mature tragedy, known as Coriolanus. Shakespeare framed this master piece during the period when he was relishing the peak of his creative power in the domain of writing. However, numerous eminent writers have graded this masterpiece by Shakespeare, as a bar slightly below his previous tragic master pieces; whereas a few revered his efforts in Coriolanus, to be his finest endeavors in his attempt at tragedies.

Republican Government in Ancient Rome

The period of the republican government in Rome began around 500 B.C, as a consequence of the overthrowing of the ancient Roman monarchy. The representatives of the common citizens of Rome proudly replaced the monarchy and ruled over Rome, thus paving the way for the republic for the first time in the history of Rome.

However, in the context of the play, as Rome was struggling through the transition from monarchy to a republic, there are numerous instances depicting the political conflict between the general class and the most powerful members of a society. These events and the transition of the roman government from monarchy to republic occurred during the lifetime of Coriolanus. Most interestingly, the conflict and clashes between the classes of Rome are revered as the reflective and contemplative of the turbulence endured by the English population, which ironically, had occurred years ago when the writer even conceived the play. The governments of both Rome and King James I, were most often subjected to doubts and questions, due to the way the rulers opted to run and govern the regions, by the common people of the society. At the outset, it was the English government, possessing limited powers, which began to bring into existence the form and representation of Roman Republic as a new and stronger suitable and official form of government, in order to question the societal monarchy. Even the plot of this masterpiece and others by Shakespeare, during the 19th and 20th century, principally revolved around the limited powers relished by the British monarch and their publicity of the republican (Brower, Barnet & Shakespeare, 2002).

The endeavors of Shakespeare in the Coriolanus mainly revolve around the social disorder that took place during the ...