‘The Eccho of Uncertaintie’: Jonson, Classical Drama and the English Civil War

Abstract

As the presentiments of civil discord which open Catiline indicate, Jonson’s tragedies, sources of controversy in his own lifetime, have obvious resonances in the Civil War period. This essay discusses the implications of the reworking of those plays, especially Catiline, Epicoene and Sejanus rather than discussing the plays themselves in detail.1 Jonson’s texts were variously reworked during the period 1640–60, but these rearticulations imply that ‘Jonson’ or ‘his’ texts occupied a disputed, rather than agreed, cultural place. Moreover, the narratives Jonson used were reused in a range of texts which did not necessarily invoke his name, such as The Powerful Favourite (1628) which used the narrative of Sejanus to discuss the Duke of Buckingham.2 Civil War uses of ‘Jonson’ suggest a continuum of cultural reworking from the invocation of his name to emulation of his textual strategies.KeywordsCultural CapitalRoman HistoryClassical DramaComplex EngagementTextual StrategyThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.