ABSTRACT

Obviously a great effort has been made to make a formal tragedy not on the strict classical lines of the Countess of Pembroke's Antonie (r 592) or the K yd-Garnier Cornelia (r 593), but in a way suited to the English popular theatre. As in these dramas rhetoric is very important, for tragedy to the Italians and French and their English imitators meant not only horrifying and grievous events but also violent and pitiful emotions.1 In Senecan tragedy the display of passions was of primary importance-the incidents in Medea, Troades and Phaedra were arranged to allow the characters to reveal diversity of passion through words and gestures. This is true of many scenes in Shakespeare's early Histories. So also in Titus, where the expression of emotion either through long individual speeches or through contrast by dialogue is a major aim-e.g. in the political speeches of Marcus and Titus, Tamora's pleading (I. r), Aaron's ambition (II. r), Tamora's love-speech contrasted with his vengeful one (11.3), the dialogue between Lavinia and her captors, Marcus's grief on finding her (II.4); the turns of Titus's emotions in III.r; 111.2 which exists mainly for its emotional effect and was probably cut in performance because it did not advance the action; Aaron's defence of his child (IV.2) and his gloating confession (V.I), Titus's mockmadness in IV.3, the mock Senecan speeches ofV.2, etc. Such speeches-like the playas a whole-differ from Seneca in that

action and passion are closely related. The dramatist is too much the theatrical presenter of a tale packed with incident to be satisfied with static analysis offeeling and motive.