Opinion Beware the ides of October
Political dysfunction in Washington finds parallels in Shakespeares most overtly political play
Political dysfunction in Washington finds parallels in Shakespeares most overtly political play
A country is thrown into chaos when its leaders descend into conflict in Shakespeares Julius Caesar. Does this sound slightly familiar? The Rome depicted in Shakespeares play and our own fractious democracy are of course hardly equivalent. But it is an odd coincidence that at a time when the country appears to be on the brink of confusion with the fate of the worlds financial markets hanging in the balance,or so we are told New York should be hosting a new production of one of Shakespeares most overtly political plays,and one,furthermore,in which scheming politicians wreak havoc on what had been a functioning state.
Were you to go probing for specific parallels of the current moment,you might fancifully see the far-right wing of the Republican party as similar to at least some of the Roman conspirators who are determined to bring down the mighty Caesar in Shakespeares play. While the American president is hardly a figure ruling with the power of a Caesar,there does sometimes seem to be an almost obsessive desire on the part of the Tea Party and its Congressional supporters to oppose the presidents will at every turn.
Obviously I dont mean to suggest that any cabal of Congressman plans to pull out the knives in a conference in the Oval Office,but their animosity toward the chief achievement of the Obama presidency the healthcare plan grinding into operation just as the government has been effectively shut down does seem to resemble Cassiuss maniacal envy of Caesars power,as when Cassius crankily observes: Why,man,he doth bestride the narrow world/ Like a Colossus,and we petty men/ Walk under his huge legs,and peep about/ To find ourselves dishonourable graves.
It is continually a marvel that Shakespeares drama contains such an astute analysis of the way men with a taste for power behave: the egoism that blinds Caesar to even the possibility of his losing power,let alone being assassinated; the unctuous words with which politicians attempt to cover their nefarious deeds (see Brutuss speech to the public to explain the motivations for the killing of Caesar); the still more unctuous words with which politicians praise their foes even as the subtext of their words indicate just the opposite (see Mark Antonys famous oration following Brutuss,in which he appears to laud Brutus for his participation in the killing as,with each lofty phrase,he implies the opposite).
Perhaps the most unsettling theme in Julius Caesar,seen through the prism of todays politics,is the danger that threatens when the public perceives a void of power at the seat of government. With a steady drumbeat of hand-wringing filling the newpapers as the deadline for raising the debt ceiling approaches,you read of the confusion that floods Rome in the wake of Caesars death with a sting of dismay.
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