Literature That Conquers Your Mind (I,Claudius - Robert Graves)

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Product:	I,Claudius - Robert Graves
Date:	10/03/02 (244 review reads)
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Advantages: Carefully Written Piece Of Literature, Inspiring, A Novel That Begs For A Sequel And Thus Receives One

Disadvantages: Can Cause Misunderstanding Between Fact And Fiction

I, Claudius is the riveting tale of one man, struggling with the expectations and success of those around him. Born into the most powerful and admired family of his time, Claudius has family links to Augustus Caesar, Cleopatra, Mark Anthony and Germanicus, one of the most beloved of all Romans. I, Claudius will not only have in at your knees in hysterics but the marvellous plot brought wonderfully to life will have you in awe and aspiration.


We all have something that we are ashamed of because of the media and the psychological tendering that society inflicts upon us. Claudius is that very entity; born into a family that is proud and very admired, he is hidden away from the public eye. His stuttering nature portrays him as an idiot and the powerful family disguise him, fearful that there honour and prestige may be affected because of their relation with this despised and regretted character.


The fictitious world that is created by Robert Graves is so very believable and even though there are historical inaccuracies, the story is beautifully written and everything is modified and adjusted for a certain effect. In this respect, I, Claudius sees the development of another history, one parallel with that learnt from the history books and this experience is wonderful.


This world and family is disturbed with the inevitable arrival of a new emperor. Claudius throughout the beginnings of the novel is portrayed as un-witty and unenthusiastic, and in the most part this is true, it is only when the reader some to the understanding of Claudius' psychology that the novel for the reader and Claudius begins. This realization comes with the arrival of a new history teacher; while his fellow siblings are trained to fight and lead, even conquer, Claudius is kept inside the darkness, away from the public and forced to learn history.


Pollio, the insightful new light in Claudius' life sees Claudius as more than a dribbling
fool, instead there is something unique about him. Robert Graves here makes the most important and enthralling point in this scene. I came to realise that instead of just looking at something visually and concluding, eve listing the negatives of it; we as a society should look for the positives and encourage the growth. Pollio is a character that does just this and the fruits that emerge as a reward are stifling. Pollio encourages Claudius to dribble, stutter and behave worth than previous so that he shall not be disciplined fatally by his grandmother. She feels that the next emperor should almost be heavenly, anyone in Europe that applies and fails is either executed or poisoned, Claudius appears to be harmless, a definite fool and so no threat to the thrown of Emperor; all the while our young Claudius is learning.


The sudden twist in Graves's literature sees the assassination of Claudius' nephew Caligula, the last emperor after the death of a large entity of his family. Fortunately Caligula is a treacherous emperor that betrays his friends and family and who is hell bound on the destruction of other with his only wish being his success as emperor of Rome. An example of his wickedness is how he sleeps in bed with his wife and three sisters. Fear leads to the bon fire climax in which Claudius finds himself pondering on a life changing decision.


Robert Graves's replication of Claudius' actual writing patterns is magnificent and just adds to the reality and believability of I, Claudius. In Claudius' writings and literature, he would often wonder of into different subject matter, Graves manages to imitate even this, the smallest of detail.


I, Claudius is the fictitious autobiography of Claudius Caesar, a man that lived through a time of indecision and frustration, inevitably these emotions are reflected in Graves literature. Graves focuses on a time when Claudius was least in the public eye, this is a per
iod of his life when even historians don't know what exactly transpired but Graves does a brilliant job of filling in the imperfections using a entertaining style.


I, Claudius is largely fiction although because author Graves has researched the workings of Seutonius and Tacitus there is an essence of fact. However this should not be considered as completely true, for instance, it is evident when reading the novel that parts, segments and regions of the novel have been exaggerated and highlighted to encourage the flow and rhythm of the literature. Without additions to the life of Claudius, I, Claudius would not have the interesting and mesmerizing impact that it had one me. History is not the main purpose for this work but rather entertainment and a unique style of literature.


I, Claudius and the sequel novel Claudius The God are two of the most entertaining novel that I have read in the past two years. It is not just the well-crafted and implemented literature, which makes I, Claudius a wonderful book to frequent, but also rather its insightful nature. You will find yourself wondering what you would do in the different situations and predicaments imposed upon our hero Claudius. A strong plot and the brilliant development of characters makes I, Claudius an intriguing novel which gives the reader a feeling that whispers the feelings of what it is like to be on the outside looking in. Exclusion is something that propels peoples to excel in their area of expertise; this is ever so visible in the gripping I, Claudius.

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