The Common Good and the Necessity of War: Emergent Republican Ideals in Shakespeare's Henry V and Coriolanus

Abstract

The Common Good and the Necessity ofWar: Emergent Republican Ideals in Shakespeare's Henry Vand Coriolanus Rita Banerjee The Chorus in act 5 ofHenryVlikens Henry's victoryto that ofJulius Caesar: "Like to the senators of th' antique Rome / With the plebeians swarming at their heels,/ Go forth and fetch their conqu'ring Caesar in."1 To envisage a scene of national triumph for an English king, Shakespeare chose the Roman republic with all sections of the population participating in the triumph—the plebeians and the senators, who presumably included the patricians, although a substantial number of the latter were absent at Caesar's triumph.The sense ofa nationaltriumph brings to mind the idea ofa matter for common rejoicing, ofthe common good that involved the entire body of the people. By foregrounding and bringing together the issues of war and the common good, this choric portrayal ofvictorytempts us to question howfar such a war contributes to the general good. Although the notion ofthe public good is common to most forms of government,it was the republican form that emphasized the goal.According to Aristotle, all forms ofgovernment, whether monarchy, aristocracy, or democracy, were directed toward achieving the public good.2 Nevertheless ,in course oftime,the republic (respublica orpublic thing) came to represent what Cicero calls "the concern of a people."3 Markku Peltonen emphasizes the notion ofthe"public good"as an important feature ofthe classical republicanism of the 1650s, which was indebted to Greek and especially Roman sources.According to Peltonen,'It conceived ofmen as citizens rather than subjects; they were characterized not so much by obedience to the king as by active participation in the political life of their community through counselling and the law-making process. The 29 30Comparative Drama citizens'participatory role was chieflybased on their virtuous characters, which enabled them to promote thepublicgood.'4Peltonen emphasizes public good; J. G.A. Pocockwrites in a similarvein that republics directed the"intelligence ofall tothe good ofall."5 Eventhoughthe objective ofthe common good did not feature in England as exclusively a republican notion ,its association with the republican ideal wouldhavebeen recognized. The question as to how far war could contribute to the general weal could well provide an occasion for debate. Although Henry Vportrays Caesars victory at Pharsalia as an occasion for common rejoicing, in Julius Caesar, Marullus and Flavius rebuke the plebeians who grace this unholy triumph. Marullus carefully distinguishes between Caesar's war of autocracy waged against a compatriot like Pompey and wars of conquest abroad; the latter,he implies,couldjustifya scene ofgeneral rejoicing . Henry's war against France and Essex's unsuccessful venture in Ireland to which the chorus in Henry Vrefers were both wars of conquest, but theirjustifiabilityremains open to question.The analogycan be extended to Coriolanus's triumphant return after the defeat oftheVolscians, a victory greeted by the entire populace. Because Henry V and Coriolanus center on the theme of war, it is legitimate to explore the relationship between war and the common good in these plays. Significantly, soon after completingthe second tetralogywith Henry V,Shakespeare turned to the Roman historyplays.6 From apoliticalperspective , Rome could symbolize the empire as well as the republic. Yet Shakespeare's dramatization ofthe disintegration ofthe republic inJulius Caesar7 and Antonyand Cleopatra and the early days ofthe republic in Coriolanus suggests that he was interested in the functioning of the republican form ofgovernment,which presented an alternative to monarchy . The change from English to Roman history implies an attempt to review the objectives and ideals of government through the perspective of republican Rome. Charles and Michelle Martindale write, "the three Romanplays arebest seen as developments ofEnglishhistories.Byswitching his attention to Rome, Shakespeare was able to achieve both a greater detachment and a rather greater freedom of manoeuvre."8 Republican ideas had acquired currencyin England, and republican writings were beginning to be familiar possibly decades before Shakespeare's time, as some critics have argued.9 Moreover, important RitaBanerjee31 works popularizing republican ideas were being translated in the sixteenth century. Christopher Marlowe translated the first book ofLucan's Pharsalia,which portrayed the defeat ofthe republican Pompey, in 1598. Tacitus's Annals,whichpaid tribute to the Roman republican values,was also translated by R...