Commanding Constantia in Senecan Tragedy

Abstract

This paper investigates the language of self-address in Seneca's tragedies. I show that the rhetorical language Seneca's characters direct at themselves constitutes a key similarity to the techniques Seneca recommends in his philosophical works. Initially, I demonstrate how Seneca urges Lucilius and even instructs the Emperor Nero (if only indirectly) to battle for consistency through self-command. Secondly, through careful explication of passages from Agamemnon, Thyestes, and Medea, I show how this same rhetorical figure, self-apostrophe, is used by Seneca's characters to achieve their criminal self-fulfillment. In Senecan tragedy as well as philosophy, consistency is achieved by self-command regardless of whether consistency results in knowledge for Lucilius, clemency for Nero, or revenge for Seneca's tragic characters.

Seneca's Characters

“…70 Johnson (1988) 88 notes a broad correspondence between these two figures. Star (2006) 218-21 sees in the Cato of Prov. 2.10 a model of Stoic self-command that is replicated in the tragedies.…”

Recognition and the Character of Seneca's Medea

“… 42 Bartsch (2006) 255–81; Star (2006) and (2012) 62–83. Johnson (1988) 93–7 also sees in Seneca's Medea a perverted image of the Stoic proficiens . …”