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"The place of the tragedies of Seneca in literature is unique. They stand, with the exception of a few fragments, as the sole surviving representatives of an extensive Roman product in the tragic drama. They therefore serve as the only connecting links between ancient and modern tragedy. They parallel more or less closely the tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides; and the Greek and Roman product in literature along similar lines cannot be better studied than by a comparison of these seneca plays with their Greek prototypes." -- Back cover.

This complete collection contains a group of nine tragedies by Seneca, as well as a tenth tragedy, Octavia, but there is fairly good ground for doubting Seneca is the author of the later.Seneca, for all his rhetorical liabilities, has some very considerable literary assets. The choruses are, indeed, often prosy, malapropos and disappointing; but here and there we find in these the ring of true poetry, exquisite in its descriptions of natural scenery, genuine in its human touches, and appropriate to the dramatic situation. Such is the chorus in Hercules Furens (lines 125 ff".), in Troades (1009 ff.), in Medea (301 ff.), Agamemnon (52 ff.). He has in his recitativo passages admirable descriptions of natural scenery and simple life, as in Hippolytus (482 ff.) ; spirited expressions of lofty sentiment, as in Hercules Furens (925 ff.) ; speeches expressing deep and real passion, as throughout the first half of the Phoenissae, in Medea (199 ff), Hercules Furens (1321 if), Hippolytus (195 ff"., 566 ff., 671 ff.), Hercules Oetaeus (1377 ff.), Troades (766 ff., 888 ff.) ; and numerous sententiae, terse, epigrammatic statements of general ethical truths, which are well worth remembrance and quotation. The reader will find many echoes of Vergil, Horace, and Ovid scattered through the plays, which serve to claim the tragedies for Latin literature not- withstanding their Greek models. Looking in the other direction, we find that the influence of Seneca's tragedies upon succeeding literature, especially upon English literature in the case of pre-Elizabethan and Elizabethan drama, is very great. A glance at the bibliography following will show something of the extent and importance of this influence.

Lucius Annaeus Seneca, known commonly as Seneca, was a Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman and dramatist of the Silver Age of Latin literature. He is most noted for developing a new type of drama, the Senecan tragedy, which differed greatly from Greek tragedy. While the Greek tragedies were expansive and periodic, Senecan tragedies are more succinct and balanced. In Senecan tragedy, characters do not undergo much change, there is little or no catharsis in the end, and violence is acted out on stage instead of being recalled by characters to the audience. Often, Seneca's plays contain pronounced elements of the macabre, grotesque, and even the supernatural. Not only have these plays withstood the test of time, but they essentially fueled the growth of Elizabethan and Jacobean drama in England many centuries after their creation. Seneca's work exerted significant influence on writers like Thomas Kyd, Ben Jonson, and William Shakespeare, to name a few. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper, includes the ten tragedies thought to be authored by Seneca, and follows the translations of Ella Isabel Harris.

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