Octavia

de A. J. Boyle

"Octavia is a work of exceptional historical and dramatic interest. It is the only surviving complete example of the Roman historical drama known as the fabula praetexta. Written shortly after Nero's death by an unknown author, the play deals with events at the court of Nero in the decisive year 62 CE, for which it is the earliest extant (almost contemporary) literary source: Nero's divorce from his stepsister Octavia and marriage to his mistress Poppaea Sabina; the quelling of the popular riots which followed; Octavia's deportation to exile and death. The play's overt themes of sex, murder, politics, and power inform an action which is no simple indictment of Nero, rather a dramatization of imperial autocracy, political causation, and the perceptions and constructions of history. The play appealed to the Renaissance and influenced Renaissance drama and seventeenth- and eighteenth-century historical opera." "Neglected throughout most of the twentieth century, this lyrical and spectacular play has only recently begun to receive appropriate scholarly attention. This new edition of Octavia attempts to present this important play to as wide a readership as possible. It offers a new Latin text, an English verse translation designed for both performance and serious study, and a detailed commentary on the play which is not only exegetic but analytic and interpretative. A substantial introduction discusses the play dramatically, locates it in its historical and theatrical context, and traces its influence on European drama and opera."--Jacket.