로마 사극에 나타난 셰익스피어의 민중관: 『줄리어스 시저』와 『코리오레이너스』

Abstract

Jonghwan KimThe aim of this study is to examine Shakespeare's political attitude towards the populace presented in Julius Caesar and Coriolanus. Rome is a real background to both plays, but the plays are involved with the contemporary economic problems of the plebeian in England and the contemporary political conflict between the plebeian and the patrician. Shakespeare's attitude towards the populace is rather different in each play. In Julius Caesar, a play in the middle period of his theatrical career, the plebian are presented in the negative way. In Coriolanus, his later play written in 1608, the plebeian are presented more favorably than the irrational, unstable, fickle, and unreliable populace as in Julius Caesar.Conservative critics have argued that Shakespeare was not so negative when he depicted the plebeian as an individual, but he presented negative point of view on the populace when he depicted them as a mass; they are contemptible because of their irrationality and fickleness. They regarded Shakespeare as a conservative playwright who accepted the contemporary social hierarchy and its anti-popular myth. However, this is not true. Because Shakespeare's attitude towards the plebeian was dynamic rather than static, and it was presented as different aspects in different plays. To investigate Shakespeare's portrayal of the populace and his political attitude towards the plebeian, I will discuss the relationship between the plebeian and the patrician, the plebian and the tribune, and the patrician and the tribune in Julius Caesar and Coriolanus with a special reference to the socio-political contexts related with the plebeian. Shakespeare's modification of the source material, Plutarch's Lives, will also be examined.김 종 환 (단독연구)계명대학교 외국어문학 대학 영어영문학과 대구광역시 달서구 신당동 1000번지jhkimsh@kmu.ac.kr