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Roman Tragic Hero: Who Is Lucius Annaeus Seneca?

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Who was Lucius Annaeus Seneca? He was a tragic writer in the Roman era. It is generally believed that he is the Roman writer who served as a tutor to the emperor Nero. Seneca was well known and had written many plays. But there are certain plays that he is still famous for today. They include: The Trojan Women, Medea, Oedipus, Phaedra, Thyestes, Hercules on Oeta, The Mad Hercules, The Phoenician Women, and Agamemnon. All of which are great examples of Roman Tragedy. Seneca had a pretty interesting life, some say that he was somewhat of a contradictory to himself. He supported the stoicism philosophy of moderation and a calm acceptance of whatever happens. Which was the complete opposite of his personal life. In his personal life he enjoyed the pleasures of the flesh, which stoics were not allowed to do. But I believe this stems from his early lifetime. Seneca was born in Cordoba Spain, but was later sent to Rome where he studied literary criticism and explored a number of different philosophies. In 32 b.c. he was a orator for the emperor Caligula. The emperor was so jealous of Seneca’s skills as an orator that he considered executing him. I found that really interesting. That an …show more content…

Definitely not me! It is crazy to think how history connects us with each other. Thankfully Seneca had written in Latin so that we did not lose his great plays. Since he wrote them in Latin they were easier to translate than the Ancient Greek plays. Along with that he also has set the five episode structure that is separated by choral odes, also known as the basis for the five-act tragedy. He also helped influenced the use of supernatural characters and the use of soliloquies and asides. All in all I find Seneca and his style very interesting. I never knew that I would be interested in such things. I love how the past will always influence the future. Seneca is a great example of

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