Abundant Royalty

Today while we discussed the first part of Titus Andronicus, we talked about how successors are a common theme in Shakespeare's plays. At the opening of the play, they are trying to decide who will be the next emperor of Rome. This idea of who will serve as the next emperor or who will inherit the position is something that is still relevant today in England's society. Being from the United States, the idea of having kings and queens is such a foreign policy to me, because all of the information I have is from what I see on television and what I have read and learned in history classes. Already, while spending a short time in England, I can see how important it is in their culture. I saw this while visiting the Tower of London on Sunday, while looking at the Crown Jewels and admiring how expensive and gorgeous they were. Also, by learning about all the gifts they had given to them while they served as king or queen. It was very evident how admired and appreciated they are by their people and their country. It is also very visible in the time and money spent on many of their graves and memorials that are located in Westminster Abbey. You can tell that they were important by simply just glancing at their elaborate graves that were made and customized specially in their honor. It is interesting to learn about these important people in another country in classrooms and textbooks, but getting to see it for yourself in a magnificent city is just amazing.