City of In-gratia: Roman Ingratitude in Shakespeare's Coriolanus
Shakespeare's Coriolanus is among the most politically rich of Shakespeare's plays, and has often been produced with an ideological slant to the right or left. Shakespeare's political interests, however, are more basic than these productions suggest. The article examines the theme of...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Oxford University Press
2006
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| In: |
Literature and theology
Year: 2006, Volume: 20, Issue: 4, Pages: 341-360 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (JSTOR) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
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| Summary: | Shakespeare's Coriolanus is among the most politically rich of Shakespeare's plays, and has often been produced with an ideological slant to the right or left. Shakespeare's political interests, however, are more basic than these productions suggest. The article examines the theme of political gratitude in the play which gradually moves towards a theological and specifically Augustinian interpretation of the play. Three dimensions of the theme are explored: first, the ingratitude of the populace of Rome towards Coriolanus; second, Coriolanus’ own ingratitude towards Rome and, finally and fundamentally, Rome's essential perversion of the economy of benefit and gratitude. By hinting that pagan Rome cannot help but be a cannibalistic Mother-city, Coriolanus gestures towards another city, a city marked by grateful participation because it is the realm marked by gratia. |
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| ISSN: | 1477-4623 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Literature and theology
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1093/litthe/frl028 |