I agree that he was really the first writer who cared to make his females really flesh and blood women. The Greek tragedies, for instance, the women seemed to be androgynus.
I would agree. The same thing goes with Sallust.
The Roman historian? I wasn't sure of his dramatic output but would like to explore it. He was close to Julias Caeser as I recall.
He had one drama. Cicero's female characters are cardboard cutouts as well. Fiction doesn't really re-appear until the later 16th century, unfortunately. There were gestae, but these usually took the form of allegory.
You're not saying that religion succeeded in squelching all imagination? It really took Shakespeare to break out into that unexplored territory and really bring flesh and blood characters to life.
Personal opinion. Prior to the print revolution and the associated economic improvements that went with increased urbanization and the increased secularization of society during the seventeenth century, there was no place for non religious drama.
Very true. Now in our time we've got a TV move coming up entitled "Judas." It's the story from Judas' viewpoint. May or may not be good drama but a fascinating idea.
