本•琼生曾经说过：“莎士比亚不属于一个时代，而是属于所有的世纪”。这句著名的话曾经被无数的文学评论家引用过，赞叹其作品永恒的魅力。莎士比亚一生共创作了37部戏剧，本文所指的罗马剧是以发生在罗马真实历史和人物为基础所创作的戏剧，即《裘力斯•凯撒》《安东尼与科利奥特佩特拉》《科利奥兰纳斯》。 在三部罗马剧中，莎士比亚并没有按照时间顺序来呈现这些历史人物的命运，而是多次偏离其主要来源普鲁塔克的叙述。在《裘力斯•凯撒》剧中，凯撒因为对共和国觊觎野心而遭到以布鲁特斯为首的元老院议院议员的暗杀。凯撒死后，罗马共和国处于动荡之中。罗马大将安东尼奥与埃及女王克里奥特佩拉的联合令共和国一次次置于灭亡的危险之中。《安东尼与科利奥特佩特拉》中，阿克提姆海战战败后，安东尼与安东尼与科利奥特佩特拉的自杀，宣告了罗马共和国的最终失败以及罗马帝国的建立。作为创作时间最晚的一部罗马剧，《科利奥兰纳斯》讲述的却是罗马共和国建国之初罗马大将科利奥兰纳斯斯战功累累，却因为脾气倔强而被护民官所陷害，遭到罗马平民的放逐而最终被敌人所杀害。 一直以来，莎士比亚罗马剧中裘力斯•凯撒的遇刺，安东尼与科利奥特佩特拉的自杀以及科里奥兰纳斯的死亡以其宏大的主题和令人印象深刻的场景引起了学者们广泛的关注。本文以莎士比亚罗马剧中主要人物的死亡为研究对象，试图通过分析揭示莎士比亚的创作意图。莎士比亚的罗马剧创作于伊丽莎白一世晚期和詹姆斯国王一世早期，此时的英国正处于黄金时期，但是这种繁荣之下也蕴藏着危机。王位的继承问题，平民在议会中地位的上升，詹姆斯一世与议会的交恶，都使得莎士比亚时代的英国与罗马共和国晚期和罗马帝国兴起的时期有着微妙的相似之处，所以正如同很多评论家所指出的那样：莎士比亚罗马剧的创作并不是一种偶然。但是如果我们简单地将莎士比亚看做是一个政治支持者，我们可能都错了。正如同亚历山大•莱格特所说的那样，莎士比亚在罗马剧中为我们所展现的是，当我们面对死亡时，人们对人类权力的无限渴望。

Ben Jonson once said: “Shakespeare was not of an age, but for all time.” This remark has been quoted by numerous critics and scholars to praise Shakespeare’s profound significance and dramatic presentation in his writing.During his whole life, Shakespeare wrote about 37 plays. Roman plays in this thesis referred to plays set in ancient Rome and centered on real characters in history. They were Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra and Coriolanus. Shakespeare did not present the historical figures’ fate in his Roman plays in a chronological way; on the contrary, he constantly departed his primary source, Plutarch’s account. In Julius Caesar, Caesar was assassinated by a group of senators led by Brutus out of Caesar’s ambition for royal power. After Caesar’s death, Roman Republic was in an era of social turbulence. The alliance of Roman general Antony and Egyptian Queen Cleopatra constantly threatened the stability of Roman Republic. In Antony and Cleopatra, after the battle of Actium, the suicide of Antony and Cleopatra indicated the fall of Roman Republic and the birth of Roman Empire. Coriolanus was generally considered to be Shakespeare’s last Roman play, but it centered on the early days of Rome Republic, valorous solider Coriolanus was plotted against by the tribunes and banished by Roman plebeians because of his fiery temper who was finally killed his enemy. For a long time, Julius Caesar’ assassination, suicide of Antony and Cleopatra and the death of Coriolanus have aroused scholars’ interest by its magnificent theme and impressive scene. In this essay, we concentrate on the death of major characters in Shakespeare’s Roman plays, struggling to get the intention of Shakespeare’s creation. Shakespeare’s Roman plays were created at the reign of Queen Elizabeth I and King James I. This was a time which was often regarded as the golden era in English history. But this prosperity was also hidden under a crisis. The succession to the throne, the increasing status of the Commons in the parliament, the increasing hostility between King James I and parliament, all these issues made England was like in the era of Late Roman Republic and Early Roman Empire with subtle similarities. As many critics pointed out, the creation of Shakespeare’s Roman plays was not a coincidence. But if we deem Shakespeare as a political propagandist, we might be wrong. Just like Alexander Leggatt pointed out, what we could find in Shakespeare’s Roman plays was “something about human power and the endless fascination it has for us in the face of our mortality.”