Republicanism and Theatre in Herman Melville's "Two Temples"

What is it about?

This essay considers Herman Melville's engagement with the British playwright Edward Bulwer-Lytton's 1839 work "Richelieu, or The Conspiracy" in his short story "The Two Temples". I consider how Melville's changing politics in the 1850s coincided with his increasing use of British theatrical material. I also show how the short story served as a bridge between British and American conceptions of the role of the author in relation to government.

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Why is it important?

This is the first publication to take seriously Melville's engagement with Victorian theatre. I show how Melville's investment in Anglophilia and class politics drew him to utilise British theatrical sources in his short fiction.