What have the Romans ever done for us?

Key terms for Captain Corelli’s Mandolin (Chapter 1)

In what ways is the novel Postmodern? (AOs 2+4)

The post modern setting – on the fringes/margins of Greece and the Western World.

Prompt: what have the Romans ever done for us?
The scene is from Monty Python's film, "The Life of Brian" (1979). Reg., of The People's Front of Judea, rails against the big government of the Romans and how they have done nothing but cause problems.

Prompt: what have the Greeks ever done for us?

Philosophy – Architecture – The Gods, Poetry, Drama, Great Stories, Culture, Democracy – Greek culture is an integral part of our own: BT vans and Pan playing his pipes.

This novel’s form – historiographic fiction – a mix of historical facts and real settings with fictitious characters.

Polyphonic novel – “many voices” (viewpoints).

De Bernieres experiments with viewpoint, language, playscript, chapter titles, form, characters, settings, etc. (i.e. the title for chapter 1 is set out in an eighteenth century style.) He also teases the reader by holding back the entrance of Captain Corelli until page 191 (new edition).

Of course, there are other ways in which this novel is postmodern.