Shakespeare's Roman plays : the function of imagery in the drama

Maurice Charney analyzes Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra, and Coriolanus, chiefly through their imagery, but extends the definition of an image to the nonverbal resources of the theater—staging, costume, gesture. Approaching Shakespeare as a practical dramatist, he discusses Elizabethan stage conditions and the dramatic function of poetic imagery. Comparison reveals both similarities and differences in stylistic modes, and detailed readings show significant continuities within the imagery of each play. Charney’s study offers an important insight into a group of plays that has often seemed enigmatic. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS CONTENTS Chapter I INTRODUCTION: THE FUNCTION OF IMAGERY IN THE DRAMA Chapter II STYLE IN THE ROMAN PLAYS Chapter III THE IMAGERY OF Julius Caesar Chapter IV THE IMAGERY OF Antony and Cleopatra Chapter V THE IMAGERY OF Coriolanus Chapter VI CONCLUDING REMARKS APPENDIX THE ROMAN PLAYS AS A GROUP NOTES INDEX