SOURCE: Bergeron, David M. “Cymbeline: Shakespeare's Last Roman Play.” Shakespeare Quarterly 31, no. 1 (spring 1980): 31-41.

In the following essay, Bergeron studies the Roman sources of Cymbeline and probes affinities between several of the drama's main figures and individuals in the family of the Roman Emperor Augustus.

By the time he wrote Cymbeline, Shakespeare had already made several forays into things Roman: the early tragedies Titus Andronicus and Julius Caesar and the two tragedies shortly before Cymbeline—Antony and Cleopatra and Coriolanus. Shakespeare apparently saw in the ancient Romans virtues that could be celebrated, historical events of profound significance, and characters ripe for dramatic presentation.

In a recent retrospective essay discussing criticism and scholarship on Shakespeare's classical plays, John W. Velz wrestles with the question, “What … was Rome to Shakespeare?”¹ He argues that Shakespeare thought concretely, perhaps authentically, about Rome. The “Roman” qualities Velz sees in Shakespeare's plays include language...