From Britannia to England: Cymbeline and the Beginning of Nations.

This essay explores a Shakespearean intimation of an alternate model of modern nationhood by looking at the drama "Cymbeline" which was set in ancient Britain. It describes the manner in which the play tackled the paradox of deep roots that modern theories of nationhood describe. The author argues that in the play, Shakespeare registers a transition from conceiving a nation as a community of deep-rooted nati to conceiving it as a community of rather recent origin. The essay also examines Shakespeare's attitude toward nationhood.