The American Spectator

home
ADVERTISEMENT
Print Email
Text Size

Another Perspective

In High Roman Fashion

A Shakespearean gloss on the death of Deborah Jean Palfrey.
p>The night before Deborah Jean Palfrey took a length of nylon rope and stepped into her mother's garden shed in a trailer park in Florida to hang herself, I went to see a production of Antony and Cleopatra at the Shakespeare Theatre of Washington. Among that play's memorable lines, you will remember, are those of Cleopatra's resolution on the death of Antony who, having been defeated in battle by Octavius Caesar, falls on his own sword rather than allow himself to fall into the hands of his enemy. "We'll bury him," says Cleopatra to her maid-servants, br> /p> blockquote> em>and then, what's brave, what's noble, br> Let's do it after the high Roman fashion, br> And make death proud to take us. /em> /blockquote> br> The rest of the story is well known, and the magnificence of the Shakespearean language continues with her to the end, through br> blockquote> em>Show me, my women, like a queen; go fetch
Page: 1 2 3   Last ›

topics:
Books

About the Author

James Bowman, our movie and culture critic, is a resident scholar at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. He is the author of Honor: A History and Media Madness: The Corruption of Our Political Culture, both published by Encounter Books.

Letter to the Editor Leave a comment

Leave a Comment

N.B. We encourage readers to share and discuss their thoughtful and relevant comments about this Spectator article. Comments are routinely monitored and will be deleted if profane, bigoted, or grossly impolite. Please be respectful. (And don't feed the trolls!) Thank you.

Related Articles

More Articles by James Bowman

More Articles From Another Perspective

http://spectator.org/archives/2008/05/07/in-high-roman-fashion

ADVERTISEMENT

The Spectacle Blog

Gallup: Veterans Prefer Romney

W. James Antle, III | 12:48PM

Markos Moulitsas is Scum

Quin Hillyer | 10:35AM

Weekend Political Wrap-Up, Memorial Day Edition

W. James Antle, III | 5.27.12

An Honor Flight Story

TAS Staff | 5.26.12

WaPost Criticizes Romney's Lack of Rhythm

Aaron Goldstein | 5.25.12

Tom Coburn on the Debt 'Disease'

Vivien Chang | 5.25.12

SPONSORED LINKS

Special Feature

Better that we become a nation of choosers rather than beggars. Our symposium on choice from the May, 2012 issue:

A Time for Choosing

James Piereson

The Road from Serfdom

Stephen Moore and Peter Ferrara

FLASHBACK TO: 1984

Clip of the Day

Most Popular Articles

Meet the Flukes!

F. H. Buckley | 5.25.12

In Search of Muhammad

Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi | 5.25.12

The Wisconsin Turning Point

Peter Ferrara | 5.23.12

Age and Kyl

Quin Hillyer | 5.25.12

Follow Me

Jay D. Homnick | 5.25.12

How About the Record of DOE Capital?

William Tucker | 5.25.12

In a Class of His Own

Daniel J. Flynn | 5.25.12

The Great Debate

R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr. | 5.24.12

ADVERTISEMENT