Reflecting on the Metaphor of the Body-Politic in Coriolanus and Julius Caesar
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.30972/clt.227302Keywords:
Shakespeare, Coriolanus, Julius Caesar, body politicAbstract
From a political and philosophical perspective, tragedy is viewed by Eduardo Rinesi (2021; 2011) as a productive conceptual framework for reflection on political issues. In accordance with this perspective, the aim of this paper is to present some thoughts resulting from the close literary analysis of two plays by William Shakespeare, Coriolanus (c. 1608) and Julius Caesar (1599), in connection with the idea of the body politic. Not only do we attest for the positive characterization of plebeian figures in contrast with the senatorial class, but we also present evidence of the historical change regarding the sociopolitical structure taking place in Shakespeare's time: from the obsolete, aristocratic, feudal worldview to a new perspective that requires the building of social consensus.