Obviously, there are no Shakespeare references in the
actual text of
Republic, as Plato
lived hundreds of years before William Shakespeare. But the copy I read does
mention Shakespeare in the introduction. Actually, it is in the note on the
translation which comes just after the introduction. Elizabeth Watson
Sharffenberger writes, “To enhance its appeal to an audience familiar with
English-language classics, Jowett embellished his version of
Republic with language evocative of
famous literary works dating from the Renaissance on, and readers of this edition
should not be surprised if Socrates and his companions occasionally sound as if
they were quoting from Shakespeare or the King James version of the Bible” (p.
liii).
Republic is
thought to have been written between 380 and 350 B.C.E. Benjamin Jowett’s
translation was first published in 1871. My copy, with an introduction and
notes by Elizabeth Watson Scharffenberger, was published in 2004 by Barnes
& Noble Classics.
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