Visitors from the realm of death
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Date
2012
Authors
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Publisher
Wydawnictwo Poznańskiego Towarzystwa Przyjaciół Nauk
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Abstract
or influence events from backstage. Sometimes they suddenly come to haunt living relatives as phantoms or
hallucinations. Their influence on the actions of the dramatis personae is considerable and, in most cases,
negative or even destructive. Thanks to the fact that Seneca chose to unleash his imagination rather than cling
to the technical requirements of the ancient theatre, he could permit himself the luxury of filling his plays with
supernatural beings who contribute to the atmosphere of metaphysical awe that makes Seneca’s tragedies so
unique and that has become their hallmark.
Description
Constat manes mortuorum in tragoediis antiquis saepe apparuisse. Poetis tragicis Graecis
necessarii erant ut fabulam formarent spectatoresque exterrerent. Seneca manibus ad eadem
aliaque peragenda utitur, nam quasi omnes eius tragoediae phantasmatibus abundant.
Manes prologos dicentes, ut Thyestis umbra in Agamemnone Tantalique in Thyeste non solum
historiam Tantalidarum in memoriam revocant, sed etiam, ante omnia, nequitiam suam ut pestilentiam
in regia propagant. Non manes igitur, sed spectra infernalia apellandi sunt.
Alii manes, ut Achillis umbra in Troadibus Laiique in Oedipo, ex Erebo ad terram adeunt, sed
auditoribus invisibiles sunt. Crudeles, implacabiles poenaeque avidissimi, vitam dramatis personarum
male influunt. Adventus eorum a nuntiis quasi epico modo narrantur.
Nonnumquam dramatis personae in Senecae tragoediis visiones repentinas familiarium mortuorum
habent, qui aliis personis invisibiles sunt, ut Laius, cuius spectrum horribile Oedipum in
Phoenissis aggredit, Apsyrtusve, qui Medeae se ostendit. Haec malae conscientiae deliramenta
sunt.
Alii autem manes simpliciter familiares suos, quibus desunt, visitant, ut Deiphobi umbra
quam Cassandra in Agamemnone vidit. Simili modo Hectoris umbra Andromachae uxori quasi
somnium se ostendit in tragoedia quae Troades inscribitur.
Ex his omnibus constat Senecam plus ingenium suum quam conditiones theatri antiqui secutum
esse quam ob rem tragoedias suas spectris, phantasmatibus et prodigiis sine ullis obstaculis
implevisse. Constat etiam manes mortuorum his in tragoediis magno munere fungi, nam eas unicas
aliisque antiquis poematibus tam epicis quam dramaticis dissimiliores reddunt.
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Keywords
Seneca, tragedy, ghost, supernatural, spectre, dream, epic, hallucination, haunt, dead
Citation
Symbolae Philologorum Posnaniensium, 2012, nr XXII/2, s. 61-73
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ISBN
978-83-7654-139-6
ISSN
0302-7384