WHAT CICERO SAID

Burova I.I. Shakespeare’s Clumsiest Phrase or a Disregarded Case of His Quoting Plato Verbatim. Philologia Classica 2016, 11(2), 301–307., 2016

A number of researchers have shown that Shakespeare’s works bear the marks of the dramatist’s knowledge of Plato. Elizabethans could have an access to Plato’s heritage due to various editions of his dialogues, both in the original and also in Latin, Italian and French translations, but there is no way to establish whether the Bard borrowed directly from Plato or whether he learned about Plato’s teachings from some other sources. J. Vivian, H. R. Rickman, D. Quincy demonstrated convincingly Shakespeare’s indebtedness to Plato. They found that debt in such dramatic works as “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and “Henry V”. Meanwhile Shakespearean scholars have ignored a possibility of interpreting Shakespeare’s last will and testament as a text that could be properly understood due to allusions to Plato’s works incorporated in it. The embarrassingly unpolished style of the document and its having nothing in common with Shakespeare’s poetic diction, have both been explained by the testator’s poor physical condition. The purpose of this paper is to suggest a new reading of the most notorious phrase in the will, the one about the second best bed bequeathed to Shakespeare’s prospective widow. The phrase can be regarded as an allusion to two dialogues by Plato, the “Republic” and the “Laws”, and this reading might change some of the existing beliefs in Shakespearean studies.

Philologia Classica

A number of researchers have shown that Shakespeare's works bear the marks of the dramatist's knowledge of Plato. Elizabethans could have an access to Plato's heritage due to various editions of his dialogues, both in the original and also in Latin, Italian and French translations, but there is no way to establish whether the Bard borrowed directly from Plato or whether he learned about Plato's teachings from some other sources. J. Vivian, H. R. Rickman, D. Quincy demonstrated convincingly Shakespeare's indebtedness to Plato. They found that debt in such dramatic works as "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "Henry V". Meanwhile Shakespearean scholars have ignored a possibility of interpreting Shakespeare's last will and testament as a text that could be properly understood due to allusions to Plato's works incorporated in it. The embarrassingly unpolished style of the document and its having nothing in common with Shakespeare's poetic diction, have both been explained by the testator's poor physical condition. The purpose of this paper is to suggest a new reading of the most notorious phrase in the will, the one about the second best bed bequeathed to Shakespeare's prospective widow. The phrase can be regarded as an allusion to two dialogues by Plato, the "Republic" and the "Laws", and this reading might change some of the existing beliefs in Shakespearean studies.

Ben Jonson Journal, 2013

2015

Stage 1-Desired Results Desired Results Desired Results Desired Results Transfer Transfer Transfer Transfer Students will independently use their learning to… 1. Define and recognize honor and honorable actions in modern society. 2. Form educated opinions about and evaluate morality in relationships in modern society. 3. Write and convey persuasive speeches using purposeful language and devices, clear structure, and logical arguments. 4. Critically evaluate information to classify it as fact or fiction, and honorably consider the value of both as they act as readers or authors themselves. Meaning Meaning Meaning Meaning Established Goals (e.g., standards) St. John Paul II CHS standards, which are based on NCTE standards and TEKS.

2003

2010

Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies, 2010

The Review of English Studies, 2022

A courtier of Elizabeth I and later James I, Sir Julius Caesar (Giulio Cesare Adelmare, 1558–1636) is remembered today chiefly for his place in the history of the English legal system. His role as a lover and writer of poetry, however, has been almost entirely ignored by historians and literary scholars alike, even though a poem of his was found and published as early as the nineteenth century. A manuscript collection containing many of Caesar’s business and family papers confirms his authorship of these verses, and provides a date, a new context, and a far superior (and longer) text. Surrounded by documents relating to the literary exchanges of the Adelmare family, original letters by members of the Elizabethan élite, and presenting some disquieting references to treason, this apparently naive composition proves to be deeply connected with both Caesar’s life and the politics of his time.