Seneca
Subtitle: Thyestes
By: P.J. Davis.
Series: Duckworth companions to Greek and Roman tragedy
Publisher: Duckworth
Published: 2003
Place of publication: London
Language: eng
Number of pages: 172
Subjects: Seneca, Lucius Annaeus, ca. 4 B.C.-65 A.D.; Thyestes (Greek mythology) in literature.; Violence in literature.; Tragedy.
Other titles: Thyestes
Description: Written in Nero's Rome in about AD 62, Seneca's Thyestes is one of the greatest and most influential of classical tragedies. As the bloodiest work in the Greco-Roman canon, Thyestes was long reviled for its depiction of savage violence and for its representation of human bestiality. Peter Davis argues that the play needs to be understood as the response of a major politician, philosopher and tragic poet to the increasingly tyrannical rule of the emperor. In this companion he explores key aspects of the play, including the circumstances of its composition, its performance history and its impact on subsequent dramatists, including Shakespeare and Jonson
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 157-168) and index.