Question

II what way(s) are Elizabethan tragedies structurally similar to Seneca's plays? Select all that apply.

Answer 1

Elizabethan tragedies were structurally similar to Seneca's plays as most Elizabethan tragedies include a Chorus, have complex plots, a five-act structure, long rhetorical passages.

The Elizabethan tragedy was the mostly influenced from the Senecan form of tragedy. Since the tragedies of Seneca was not acted on the stage, it took the help of figurative languages and rhetorical devices to fill the gap. Elizabethan plays were also filled with the descriptive usage of language, detailed descriptions and the use of long speeches. Shakespeare had borrowed the theme of revenge tragedy from the Seneca for his plays. The revenge taken is an outcome of the wrong and injustice done to the protagonist of the play. The theme of revenge is introduced by the spirit or supernatural creature in the play which leads the play further. “So art thou to revenge” this line shows the introduction of revenge in the play.

These themes have been introduced in the Elizabethan tragedies from the Senecan form of tragedies. In the play “Hamlet,” the protagonist is Hamlet whose father has been killed by his own uncle. He learns this fact from the spirit of his father who asks him to take revenge from his uncle. The spirit introduces himself as “Ghost I am thy father's spirit” to Hamlet.

The language of the play “Hamlet” contains figurative languages with long monologues and soliloquies with descriptive discussions. “A serpent stung me; so the whole ear of Denmark” this line shows the presence of figurative language in the excerpt.