was published with
The Two Foscariand
Cainin late 1821.
Sardanapalusand
The Two Foscarieach have the sub-title “A Tragedy”, but they were not written for the stage and are what is known as closet or verse dramas. Both works were, however, performed in London in the 1830s, with
Sardanapalusalso being staged (with some considerable success) in the same city later in the nineteenth century. In a short note for this play, Byron tells us that he has observed the dramatic “unities” of action, time, and place: it, then, follows neoclassical precedents, and a small number of characters appear in the action, while the rebellion that we see takes place, as Byron states, in “one day […] instead of the long war of the history”.
The “history” is, as Byron also tells
2761 words
Citation: White, Adam. "Sardanapalus". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 30 September 2013 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=2314, accessed 03 December 2024.]