Research Paper on:
Robert Graves's I, Claudius

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
However, in addition to telling a good story, Graves managed to show with clarity the inner workings and the subtleties of the various power structures within the Roman senate and  the Roman home. The various means by which the Emperor Augustus, Tiberius and Caligula gain and maintain power during their reigns not only serves as a fantastic backdrop to the  life of Claudius, but also foreshadows the beginning of the end, for Rome. I, Claudius is in fact a work of fiction, though it is skillfully crafted so as to  read more like an autobiography. It shows how Rome began a slow descent into a time of increasing depravity and internal decay from the reign of Julius Caesar through to  Claudius. In fact, Claudius life is shown to be one compounding incident after another. The first incident that would lay the foundation for the tyranny and the debauchery was  Claudius early years. He was reportedly a very weak child, sick often, and completely left to the care and attentions of a tutor who by all accounts was not only  strict, but emotionally distant as well. Claudius is interesting also because he is physically deformed and therefore none of the royal family really accepted him as one of them. Shunned  from an early age, dependent on those around him to care for him, he never really was able to learn or gain full independence. This characteristic would contribute to his  downfall. However, as if to compensate for his shortcomings, physically, he applied himself to his studies. Compared to the rest of the royal family, despite his physical limitations,  his mind was clear, sharp and intelligent. Quiet scholarship, however, was not considered an appropriate pastime for a ruler, however. Brute strength and prowess on the battlefield counted for more