The Description of the Palace in Seneca Thyestes 641-82 and the Literary Unity of the Play

Abstract

AbstractIn the ongoing debate concerning the performability of Senecan tragedy, the plays tend to be studied as either literature or drama. One consequence of this artificial distinction is that set passages such as descriptiones loci appear to support the view that Seneca's plays were intended for public reading, as 'recitation drama'. By means of a close examination of the messenger's description of the palace of Atreus (Thyestes 641-82) in the context of the play as whole, this article suggests that the description functions as a structural device that provides unity to the text of the play.