Seneca’s Phoenician Women — Genre, Structure, Thematic Unity

This article revises current perspectives on the generic status, composition, and subject matter of Phoenician Women by Seneca. It adopts a new approach, focusing selected elements text organisation. In particular, emphasis is given to construction characters analogies contrasts between them which were already interest ancient poetics rhetoric. Moreover, refers observations, accurate but isolated largely ignored, made scholars who recognised Seneca’s originality suggested that his plays might have been inspired declamatory tradition should be read in context evolving postclassical literature. By adopting this perspective, it becomes possible bring together large number partial conclusions are related as well other What more important, work brings light purposeful composition drama its thematic unity, allowing us return MS versions until now replaced conjectures, often distort meaning text. After dismissing emendations method reading, can regarded complete well-organised. The play has certain characteristic features tragedy, all dramas, one most genre declamation Seneca Elder’s anthology, an example use plot material typical tragedy for presenting problem pietas complexity.