History and Politics and Shakespeare

History plays play an important role in creating the collective memory of a nation by celebrating the nation's heroes and the important moments in its history. They are instrumental in inciting the nationalist spirit and it is easy to see why in the times as tumultuous as the Elizabethan era one fifth of total plays were histories. Shakespeare drew on the historical records of the time. However he allowed himself some poetic liberty and rearranged …

…evidently the products of a disillusioned mind: can a good man survive in the world of politics? What happens to one's personality when one becomes a public figure? What does it mean to be a good leader? Shakespeare seemed to have learned a valuable lesson from history: whenever a Caesar dies, an Anthony rises to power. There is no lasting pomp and glory in being a public figure - history always remains bigger than man.