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| Game of Thrones: much more than blood and bosoms | Game of Thrones: much more than blood and bosoms |
| (5 months later) | |
| Roses are very much on trend this spring, nowhere more so than in the new series of Game of Thrones. After last season's introduction of the florally-themed Tyrell family, we're now treated to frequent appearances by the gratuitously handsome brother and sister Loras and Margaery Tyrell, always chic in botanical garb, as they begin their second bid for power. | Roses are very much on trend this spring, nowhere more so than in the new series of Game of Thrones. After last season's introduction of the florally-themed Tyrell family, we're now treated to frequent appearances by the gratuitously handsome brother and sister Loras and Margaery Tyrell, always chic in botanical garb, as they begin their second bid for power. |
| As a classics professor, I am often on the lookout for material that can bridge the gap between past and present, and Game of Thrones hits the sweet spot. So many of us, myself included, can't seem to get enough of this series, but it's hardly the first story of bloodshed in the hunt for a crown. | As a classics professor, I am often on the lookout for material that can bridge the gap between past and present, and Game of Thrones hits the sweet spot. So many of us, myself included, can't seem to get enough of this series, but it's hardly the first story of bloodshed in the hunt for a crown. |
| What makes Game of Thrones a particularly good ambassador for "old literature" is that it opens up not one, but a whole world of literary associations. For one thing, Margaery's new fiance, the young king Joffrey, is a cartoonish yet charismatic villain worthy of Shakespeare himself. An inheritor of Richard III's theatrical persona, Joffrey fulfils every tyrannical cliche, delighting in cruel whims and obsessing over his hold on power. | What makes Game of Thrones a particularly good ambassador for "old literature" is that it opens up not one, but a whole world of literary associations. For one thing, Margaery's new fiance, the young king Joffrey, is a cartoonish yet charismatic villain worthy of Shakespeare himself. An inheritor of Richard III's theatrical persona, Joffrey fulfils every tyrannical cliche, delighting in cruel whims and obsessing over his hold on power. |
| But Game of Thrones is hardly a straightforward re-enactment of Shakespeare. I can't help but think that whereas Richard, at least on stage, manifests his wickedness in his deformity, Game of Thrones breaks up the union of appearance and character. Joffrey performs all manner of villainy while showing off his golden good looks; his uncle Tyrion, meanwhile, although mocked for his dwarfism as 'the imp' or 'half-man,' nevertheless steals the limelight with an all-too-relatable mixture of charm, resentment, cunning, and the occasional scruple. | But Game of Thrones is hardly a straightforward re-enactment of Shakespeare. I can't help but think that whereas Richard, at least on stage, manifests his wickedness in his deformity, Game of Thrones breaks up the union of appearance and character. Joffrey performs all manner of villainy while showing off his golden good looks; his uncle Tyrion, meanwhile, although mocked for his dwarfism as 'the imp' or 'half-man,' nevertheless steals the limelight with an all-too-relatable mixture of charm, resentment, cunning, and the occasional scruple. |
| What's more, Joffrey lacks Richard's wit and tenacity, which rather neatly turns Richard III's famous wooing scene ("Was ever woman in this humor woo'd?") on its head, as Margaery, her husband's corpse barely in its grave, sets out to ensnare the neophyte king. | What's more, Joffrey lacks Richard's wit and tenacity, which rather neatly turns Richard III's famous wooing scene ("Was ever woman in this humor woo'd?") on its head, as Margaery, her husband's corpse barely in its grave, sets out to ensnare the neophyte king. |
| Margaery and Loras are both on the rebound from the ill-fated attempt to crown Renly, not only Margaery's husband but also Loras' secret lover, as the rightful king. This is one of my favorite plotlines, despite my students' spluttering insistence that anything to do with Robb Stark must be infinitely superior. But I stand by my preference, not least because Renly and Loras' plot has a good classical, specifically Vergilian, pedigree. | Margaery and Loras are both on the rebound from the ill-fated attempt to crown Renly, not only Margaery's husband but also Loras' secret lover, as the rightful king. This is one of my favorite plotlines, despite my students' spluttering insistence that anything to do with Robb Stark must be infinitely superior. But I stand by my preference, not least because Renly and Loras' plot has a good classical, specifically Vergilian, pedigree. |
| In the Aeneid, Vergil tells the story of Nisus and Euryalus, a pair of Trojan youths and lovers who make a daring raid against the enemy and meet their untimely deaths. Vergil's subplot and the relationship of Loras and Renly have various similarities, but it's the shared flower imagery that's most striking. The very first thing we hear about Loras Tyrell is that he's young, pretty, and known as the "Knight of Flowers". Turning to Vergil's episode, we find one of the poem's most famous similes: as Euryalus is slain, the poet compares him to a purple flower, cut down by the plow, and to a poppy, its head drooping with the weight of rain. It's one of the most touching moments in the Aeneid, and the poppy fields of Flanders have only made it a more poignant symbol for the tragedy of wasted youth. | In the Aeneid, Vergil tells the story of Nisus and Euryalus, a pair of Trojan youths and lovers who make a daring raid against the enemy and meet their untimely deaths. Vergil's subplot and the relationship of Loras and Renly have various similarities, but it's the shared flower imagery that's most striking. The very first thing we hear about Loras Tyrell is that he's young, pretty, and known as the "Knight of Flowers". Turning to Vergil's episode, we find one of the poem's most famous similes: as Euryalus is slain, the poet compares him to a purple flower, cut down by the plow, and to a poppy, its head drooping with the weight of rain. It's one of the most touching moments in the Aeneid, and the poppy fields of Flanders have only made it a more poignant symbol for the tragedy of wasted youth. |
| Early on in the Aeneid, Nisus and Euryalus participate in a footrace, which later turns into a hopeless race for their lives. So, too, the grand "Tournament of the Hand" early in Game of Thrones paves the way for the real battles to follow, with Renly's loss in the joust, described in the original novel, foreshadowing the young man's death. | Early on in the Aeneid, Nisus and Euryalus participate in a footrace, which later turns into a hopeless race for their lives. So, too, the grand "Tournament of the Hand" early in Game of Thrones paves the way for the real battles to follow, with Renly's loss in the joust, described in the original novel, foreshadowing the young man's death. |
| More than once I have wanted to ask the author, the director, and the scriptwriters if they had one eye on Vergil or Shakespeare. I can't tell you what any of them think. But really, should it matter? | More than once I have wanted to ask the author, the director, and the scriptwriters if they had one eye on Vergil or Shakespeare. I can't tell you what any of them think. But really, should it matter? |
| Literature, both in the reading and in the writing, is a process of creative association. Game of Thrones, despite its prurient interest in blood and bosoms, has enough intellectual muscle to accommodate quite a few literary associations – and winter is still coming. | Literature, both in the reading and in the writing, is a process of creative association. Game of Thrones, despite its prurient interest in blood and bosoms, has enough intellectual muscle to accommodate quite a few literary associations – and winter is still coming. |
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