John Fletcher''s Rome: Questioning the Classics

John Fletchers Rome is the first book to explore John Fletchers engagement with classical antiquity. Like Shakespeare and Jonson, Fletcher wrote, alone or in collaboration, a number of Roman plays: Bonduca, Valentinian, The False One and The Prophetess. Unlike Shakespeares or Jonsons, however, Fletchers Roman plays have seldom been the subject of critical discussion.

Domenico Lovascios ground-breaking study examines these plays as a group for the first time, thus identifying disorientation as the unifying principle of Fletchers portrayal of imperial Rome. John Fletchers Rome argues that Fletchers dramatization of ancient Rome exudes a sense of detachment and scepticism as to the authority of Roman models resulting from his irreverent approach to the classics. The book sheds new light on Fletchers intellectual life, his vision of history, and the interconnections between these plays and the rest of his canon.