The Relation between Seneca’s Hercules Furens and Aristotle’s Poetics E

The Relation between Seneca’s Hercules Furens and Aristotle’s Poetics The intent of this paper is to discuss Seneca’s Hercules Furens in relation to Aristotle’s description of tragedy as outlined in the Poetics. It begins by discussing character, and attempts to determine the nature of Hercules’ error (a(marti/a).1[1] The paper then discusses matters of plot (mu~qoj), attempting to determine the degree to which Hercules Furens meets Aristotle’s requirements for good tragedy in this regard. According to Aristotle, the best tragedy evokes feelings of fear and pity.2[2] Since characters in a tragedy must perform action (pra~cij), it follows that the best tragedy must contain some action that is repugnant (mia&ron) or terrible, so as to inspire pity and fear.3[3] In Hercules Furens this action is Hercules’ murder of his wife and children. Here, as a result of his madness, Hercules commits a repulsive act in ignorance of what he does, which according to Aristotle is better than to act with knowledge of the wickedness of the act (he gives Medea’s murder of her children as an example). The very best tragedy, however, is one in which the character is ignorant of the repulsive act he is about to commit, yet becomes aware of that act just in time to refrain from committing it. Obviously this last is not the case with Hercules, and therefore Aristotle would count Seneca’s tragedy as belonging to the second best type (like Sophocles’ Oedipus). However, there is a second action of this sort that occurs at end of the play, when Hercules intends to kill himself. It occurs just as Hercules is about to carry out the act of suicide. Here Amphitrion also threatens to kill himself should Hercules die: aut vivis aut occidis (1308), â€Å"eithe... ... 10. [10] Poet. 1452a25-30. [11] Poet. 1452a20-25. [12] Poet. 1452a30. [13] Poet. 1452a25. [14] Lawall (1983) 10 argues that the final act, not the madness, is â€Å"the true dramatic climax of the play.† Works Cited Aristotle’s Poetics. Trans. Apostle, H. G., E. A. Dobbs, and M. A. Parslow. Grinell, IA: The Peripatetic Press: 1990. Lawall, Gibert. â€Å"Virtus and Pietas in Seneca’s Hercules Furens.† Senecan Tragedy. Spec. issue of Ramus 12.1-2 (1983): 6-26. Motto, A. L. and J. R. Clark. â€Å"Maxima Virtus in Seneca’s Hercules Furens.† Classical Philology 76 (1981): 101-17. Additional Works Consulted Motto, A. L. and J. R. Clark. â€Å"The Monster in Seneca’s Hercules Furens 926-939.† Classical Philology 89 (1994): 269-72. Rose, A. R. â€Å"Seneca’s Dawn Song (Hercules Furens, 125-58) and the Imagery of Cosmic Disruption.† Latomus 44.1 (1985): 101-23.