Greek Plays in England

Abstract

Chapter 1, “Greek Plays in England,” argues that England played a crucial role in new transnational conversations about rediscovered Greek plays. The chapter traces the history of scholarship, translation, and publication of Greek plays in England, with a focus on the contributions of Erasmus. It develops extended readings of two important early contributions—Jane, Lady Lumley’s Tragedy of Iphigenia, a translation of Euripides’ Iphigenia in Aulis, and George Gascoigne and Francis Kinwelmersh’s Jocasta, a translation of Euripides’ Phoenician Women—as well as discussing Thomas Watson’s Latin translation of Antigone. The chapter closes by exploring knowledge of Greek among writers for London’s commercial theaters, and identifying key plays and figures that loomed large in English dramatic responses.