Following is a set of notes for a lecture given at the Biblical Horizons conference, July 21. I will deliver the same lecture as part of a series on Shakespeare’s Classical World at the NSA Summer Institute next week. Shakespeare’s Classical World INTRODUCTION There are a variety of ways to approach the topic of these lectures. We could trace Shakespeare’s quotations and allusions to classical sources. We could assess the influence of classical writers on Shakespeare. These are valuable exercises,... Read more

Robert S. Miola’s article on Shakespeare’s Rome in the Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare’s History Plays is superb. Here are a couple of excerpts: ?The spectacle of such bloodshed and death defines Shakespeare?s ancient Romans as other, as deeply alien and strange. But Roman violence had other significations for original audiences, imaging forth as well familiar political and religious conflicts. David Kaula has well demonstrated, for example, that Julius Caesar reflects contemporary religious disputes over popish ceremonies, papal authority, reliquary veneration,... Read more

Robert S. Miola’s article on Shakespeare’s Rome in the Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare’s History Plays is superb. Here are a couple of excerpts: ?The spectacle of such bloodshed and death defines Shakespeare?s ancient Romans as other, as deeply alien and strange. But Roman violence had other significations for original audiences, imaging forth as well familiar political and religious conflicts. David Kaula has well demonstrated, for example, that Julius Caesar reflects contemporary religious disputes over popish ceremonies, papal authority, reliquary veneration,... Read more