This page is for tropes that have appeared in I, Claudius (the novels, not the series).
For the rest:
- I, Noun: The book may be the Ur-Example.
- Identical Grandson:
- Britannicus, Claudius' son, is very similar both in looks and personality to Germanicus, Claudius' brother. For a time that leads Claudius to suspect that Caligula, Germanicus' son, was Britannicus' real father.
- Nero, who is undoubtily Germanicus' grandson, also looks a lot like him, and the contrast between his handsome appearance and his corrupt personality greatly upsets Claudius.
- Illegal Religion: Several religious cults are banned in Rome and other parts of the Empire, including Christianity and Druidism.
- Incorruptible Pure Pureness: Tiberius' friend, Cocceius Nerva, is described by Claudius as an example: he "never made an enemy and never lost a friend" and he was "sweet-tempered, generous, courageous, utterly truthful and was never known to stoop to the least fraud, even if good promised to come from so doing". Nerva, however, does not protest Tiberius' depravity, because he's just too innocent and absent-minded to notice it.
- Inheritance Murder: Livia's grand plan is to ensure her son Tiberius becomes Augustus's successor by eliminating everyone ahead of him in the succession, one way or another.
- In the Blood: Claudius discusses how, in its long history, there have been two types of people in his family: those who are exceptionally wise and just, and those who are vile, decadent cutthroats.
- Insult to Rocks: Claudius' mother, Antonia, manages to make this one do double duty, by finding something a moment later that she thinks is a sufficiently insulting comparison.Antonia : That man [a senator] ought to be put out of the way! He's as stupid as a donkey—what am I saying? Donkeys are sensible beings by comparison—he's as stupid as... as... Heavens, he's as stupid as my son Claudius!
- In Vino Veritas:
- Invoked twice. First, when Claudius has dinner with Livia, he drinks too many cups of wine and speaks to her with brutal honesty. She's actually pleased, and mentions this trope by name.
- Later, when Claudius becomes emperor, he and Herod Agrippa get drunk together. Herod advises him not to trust anyone, including himself. In the end, Herod betrays Claudius, trying of organize an uprising against Rome.
- It's All About Me: In his last years, Tiberius feels sorry for himself after having murdered Sejanus, Agrippina and countless other people.
- It Will Never Catch On: Claudius makes a few mentions of this weird new cult called "the Christians", and is happy to say that he probably won't be troubled by them again.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Or Pompous Sycophant Has A Point. A translation of Seneca the Younger's The Pumpkinication of Claudius is included in the epilogue. While Seneca spends a lot of time mocking Claudius' disabilities and praising Nero shamelessly, he also skewers Claudius on his genuine faults.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Herod Agrippa, whom Claudius describes in Claudius the God as "a scoundrel with a golden heart."
- Just the First Citizen: Augustus, who was the Trope Namer in real life.
- Kangaroo Court: During Tiberius and Caligula's reigns almost every treason trial is this, and the Roman justice system becomes more and more corrupt as time goes by. Claudius tries to change things when he becomes Emperor, but several innocent people are executed during his reing nonetheless.
- King Incognito: After his Triumph, Claudius disguises himself as a commoner and walks the streets of Rome to listen to what his subjects really think of him.
- King on His Deathbed: Augustus and Tiberius, at the end of their reigns. Caligula is so impatient to become emperor, he has Tiberius smothered with a pillow.
- Kissing Cousins: Almost every marriage in the imperial family is between cousins: Julia and Marcellus, Agrippina and Germanicus, Castor and Livilla, Nero and Helen, Claudius and Messalina, etc.
- Klingon Promotion:
- The early Roman Empire is depicted this way, albeit with the murders carried out by proxy rather than in person. Livia, after killing everyone higher up the line of succession, poisons Augustus so Tiberius can succeed him; Caligula succeeds by having Tiberius smothered; and at the end Agrippina poisons Claudius to clear the way for Nero. The only Emperor who doesn't succeed this way is Claudius himself, who had nothing to do with Caligula's murder. (Historically, it's doubtful if Augustus and Tiberius were murdered, though Claudius probably was.)
- Macro becomes commander of the Praetorian Guard after having his predecessor, Sejanus, executed.
- Lady Macbeth: Livia, wife of Emperor Augustus and the Manipulative Bitch who essentially becomes the Woman Behind The Man by killing all the people that he won't to ensure that her descendants inherit the empire. Clearly one of the bad Claudians.
- Last-Minute Reprieve: Averted. When Tiberius dies, several people have been sentenced to death by him. They hope the new emperor Caligula might pardon them, but they can't reach to him in time and end up executed.
- The Loins Sleep Tonight: Augustus was apparently incapable of sustaining an erection with Livia, something she uses to her advantage.
- Lonely Funeral: Antonia's funeral is only attended by Claudius, Herod Agrippa and a handful more. This is because no one dares to offend Caligula, who drove her to suicide.
- Long Game: Claudius writes and buries his memoirs for the specific purpose of having them discovered "nineteen hundred years or near" later, as the Sybil said they would be.
- Long-Haired Pretty Boy: Nero is disdainfully described like this by Claudius.
- Loophole Abuse: When Sejanus and his supporters are being eliminated, guards are sent to kill his young children as well. They're understandably reluctant to do so and one of them even protests that the daughter is underage and a virgin; executing a virgin is unprecedented and could bring bad luck on the city. Macro's solution? Rape her, then kill her. Her brother is also underage, but they dress him up in his coming of age robes so he's legally a man - then they kill him too. As is the case with most of the stuff in these books, sadly Truth in Television.
- The Lost Lenore:
- Claudius' first love was a girl named Camilla who returned his affection. Unfortunately on the day they were to be betrothed, she was fatally poisoned (apparently as a Revenge by Proxy against her uncle, but heavily implied to have been killed by Livia, so that she can have Claudius betrothed to another girl) and poor Claudius clearly never recovered emotionally from it.
- Tiberius feels this way about his first wife, Vipsania. In this case, however, she didn't die: Tiberius was forced by Livia to divorce her so that he could make a more advantageous match by marrying Augustus' daughter Julia. Making things worse, Vipsania goes on to marry another man, who is a political rival to Tiberius.
- Loveable Rogue: Herod Agrippa.
- Love-Interest Traitor: Messalina ends up being this to Claudius, eventually trying to overthrow him and put her lover on the throne.
- Lured into a Trap: A sealed letter from Tiberius arrives to Rome, and Sejanus is led to believe it contains his appointment for a high office. He goes to a Senate meeting were the letter will be opened and read out loud. But instead of the appointment, the letter orders Sejanus' arrest, and he is seized on the spot by the Praetorian Guard.
- Mad Oracle: The Sybil.
- Make an Example of Them: Many people executed for treason are dragged by a hook and thrown to the river Tiber.
- Mama's Baby, Papa's Maybe: Several cases.
- Brutus, Julius Caesar's murdered, is claimed to be his biological son.
- Urgulanilla, Claudius' first wife, is believed to be Tiberius' daughter.
- Livia says Julia isn't really Augustus' daughter, although this is probably false.
- Gemellus, Castor and Livilla's son and Tiberius' grandson, is revealed to actually be the child of Livilla's lover, Sejanus.
- After Claudius finds out how many times Messalina cheated on him, he starts doubting whether he's the real father of their kids. He comes to the conclusion that Britannicus is his child, but Octavia isn't.
- Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: The books are mostly straightforward and realistic, but there are a few suspiciously accurate prophecies regarding the fates of the emperors that are difficult to explain away as coincidence.
- Men Are the Expendable Gender: This trope is invoked and defied by Claudius, who sentences several women involved in conspiracies against him to death, saying there's no reason why their gender should protect them.
- Mock Millionaire: One of the ways in which Herod manages to constantly get loans is to pretend to be wealthier than he really is; he knows that people will be more willing to lend him money if they thinks he's rich enought to pay them back.
- Moral Event Horizon: In-Universe. Claudius is devastated when he hears that Sejanus's underage children have been murdered as part of The Purge, and that in order to avoid sacrilege, the Guards first dressed the boy up in a man's toga, and raped the girl to make them (technically) adults before they were killed. He says that nothing Rome ever does can atone for such a crime.
- Morality Chain: Vipsania and Drusus to Tiberius early on in the story; Claudius notes that initially their influence checked the worse elements of his nature, but as he was forced to divorce Vipsania and Drusus was sent on a military campaign to a different part of the empire, their influence on Tiberius was removed and he gradually went altogether to the bad (especially after the two died). Later, and to a lesser degree, Cocceius Nerva to Tiberius. Caesonia tries to be this to Caligula, advising him to rule mildly and earn people's love. Unfortunately, this only makes Caligula announce that he will grant everyone amnesty and rule with love for a thousand of years, but only after purging Senate.
- Morality Pet: Tiberius is portrayed as a pedophile who murders most of his relatives and a good chunk of the senate but for some reason he insists on having an innocent and virtuous senator, Cocceius Nerva live with him in his Evil Playboy Mansion on Capri. It helps that Nerva seems to be the only real friend Tiberius had since the death of his brother Drusus and that he is possibly the only person in the empire who believes Tiberius to be just and moral, as Tiberius can't bring himself to disillusion him. When the senator decides to commit suicide, Tiberius is distraught, and actually goes so far as to tear up some death warrants in the hope that this will convince Nerva to live on.
- Mother Makes You King: Tiberius only becomes Emperor because his mother Livia has been very active in removing any inconvenient competitors for the succession that might stand in his way. And Agrippinilla clearly has the same designs in mind for her son Nero at the end of the story.
- The Mutiny: At the beginning of Tiberius' reign, several legions in Germany and the Balcans rebel against the new Emperor. Germanicus and Castor are sent to quell the uprising.
- My God, What Have I Done?:
- Antonia, Claudius' mother, realizes she's been an awful parent shortly before commiting suicide, when it's too late to change things between them. Even after admitting this to Claudius, she keeps nagging him.
- Claudius has a major one after Messalina's downfall, when he realizes that his competent rule has strenghtened the imperial monarchy, making it impossible to restore the Republic.
- My Master, Right or Wrong: Cassius Chaerea, the Praetorian Guard officer who eventually forms the plot to assassinate Caligula, is portrayed as one of the bravest and most loyal soldiers in the entire Roman military, and puts up with a tremendous amount of abuse from Caligula; Claudius reflects that the fact a man like Chaerea can be pushed to his limit is a sign of just how depraved, capricious, and dangerous life under Caligula's reign is.
