Seneca's Influence on Webster's Revenge Tragedy The Duchess of Malfi | ||
| Journal of Tikrit University for the Humanities | ||
| Article 1, Volume 21, Issue 2, December 2014, Pages 499-523 | ||
| Author | ||
| Taha Khalaf Salim | ||
| Abstract | ||
| ABSTRACT It is universally admitted that Senecan drama was a turning point in the development of English tragedy. Seneca's tragedies, based on themes of Greek mythology, offered an admirable model that imposed one of the foremost influences on the English tragic writers of Elizabethan and Jacobean periods. Written in an atmosphere of gloom, Seneca's tragic plays immensely concentrated on themes of bloody revenge which were in harmony with the English taste. His stoicism and rhetoric represented significant participations to the Elizabethan form. John Webster was one of the Jacobean tragedians who continued the trend of stage violence and scan set by Elizabethan writers. Webster's The Duchess of Malfi, which arose as an identifying mark in the history of Jacobean revenge tragedy, is analysed in order to define the extent to which Webster was influenced by Seneca. The research also provides the reader with the basic information about Seneca and his tragedies, the concept of revenge tragedy, and a brief introduction about John Webster as a tragic writer. The aim is to establish the background of this study which ends with a conclusion to sum up the findings. | ||
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