Greek Romance Influence in Shakespeare and Sidney

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This study posits that the Greek romances of late antiquity significantly influenced the works of William Shakespeare and Sir Philip Sidney, particularly in shaping the portrayal of the chaste marriage plot. The research explores how the themes of Greek romance, specifically the ideals of mutual love in marriage and wedded chastity, reflected the social and religious ethics of the Jacobean and Elizabethan era. The renewed interest in Hellenistic romance during this period coincided with the emergence of a Protestant sexual ethic emphasizing mutual love within marriage.

The genre of Greek romance further contributed to the theme of erotic suffering, evident in the ideal romance plot pattern where love leads to marriage, with the young hero and heroine overcoming adversity to uphold the principle of true love. The study delves into Sir Philip Sidney's use of the Greek romance model in the New Arcadia, focusing on his exploration of erotic suffering as a paradigm of female virtue. Sidney explicitly draws on the Heliodorian model of ideal love.