Some aspects of the choral odes of Seneca's Thyestes
Date
1976
Authors
Millar, Elizabeth
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Abstract
This thesis offers an examination of the dramatic, poetic and philosophical' aspects-of the four choral odes in Seneca's Thyestes. A chapter is devoted to each of these aspects. Criticism of the Thyestes, and of the other tragedies, has tended to discredit Seneca as a dramatist, some critics stressing a philosophical influence on the plays, while others concentrate on making comparisons between the Senecan plays and Greek precursors. Although some critics do find merit in the tragedies, the majority have denied Seneca's work much dramatic or literary value. In this thesis; therefore, I show that Seneca's Thyestes is a play which provides firm evidence of the author's excellence and finesse as a writer of drama.
In Chapter I, I discuss the dramatic aspects of the odes, indicating that the structure of the play relies on a thematic basis rather than on a continuous action or plot. The odes play a significant role in this structure, being closely connected with the action and highlighting its important elements. A notable feature of the play is the many deliberate verbal echoes between certain characters and the Chorus. Where such similarities occur between ode and Act, there is also a marked ironic contrast. This type of contrast is evident in Odes I to III, while Ode IV performs a slightly different function. The Chorus_ pursue one train of thought, peace and security, but the possibility of such ideals being attained is denied by the events in the play. It is only in Ode IV that the Chorus realise the true situation, and here they resign themselves to facing total destruction. The subsequent irony is that though Atreus achieves all his evil wishes, the world does not in fact come to an end. In my examination of these aspects of the odes, the verbal echoes and the irony, I attempt to show that the odes are highly relevant to the structure of the play.
The poetic elements of the odes are examined in two sections in Chapter II. In Part I, I discuss Seneca's use of metre, language and rhetorical tropes. Seneca's use of metre has been much criticised for monotony and dullness. I attempt to show that his handling of metre does have its virtues, while the other aspects display his poetic abilities convincingly. I offer also some discussion on the place of rhetoric in Senecan drama, since· criticism has tended to find fault with this element. In Part II, I discuss some parallel passages between Seneca's odes and works by Horace and Virgil in order to show that certain suggested borrowings do not exist, while the genuine borrowings have been carefully integrated into the particular context.
Chapter III is devoted to the philosophical aspects. The moralising nature of the odes is closely examined to determine whether they reflect theories from any particular school of philosophy or whether the origin of their material is literary and traditional. Certain critics have placed undue emphasis on Seneca's interest in the doctrines of Stoic philosophy and assumed that Stoic theories have influenced the Thyestes. My approach in this Chapter is, therefore, initially a negative one, to show that Seneca's ideas in his prose works are not entirely Stoic and that the Thyestes is not intended to portray Stoic theories. While the odes form the focal point of the discussion, the rest of the play and the characterisation of Atreus and Thyestes are also discussed. The presentation of the two main characters i s seen to show conclusively that Stoicism has not influenced the composition of the play. More positively, I suggest that the bulk of the material in the odes, and in the play, is derived from a literary tradition and that Seneca has composed a well-constructed play containing a penetrating study of human passion.