Thomas Kyd, Cornelia

Rebekah Owens (Anglia Ruskin University)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.03: English Writing and Culture: Renaissance (Elizabethan and Jacobean periods) , 1485-1625.
Vol. editors: William M. Hamlin (Washington State University), J A Roe (University of York), Virginia Mason Vaughan (Clark University), Ema Vyroubalova (Trinity College Dublin)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1594

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Play

Resources

A blank verse drama translated from the French original Cornélie published in 1574 by Robert Garnier (1544-90). This is the only extant work to be affixed with the name of Thomas Kyd and two editions were published in 1594 and 1595. The latter has on the title page: Pompey the Great his fair Corneliaes Tragedie: Effected by her father and Husbandes downe-cast, death, and fortune.

The style of the play follows the contemporary academic trend of the Senecan, or closet drama, admired by Sir Philip Sidney. In accordance with this the translation retains the Senecan traits of reportage over action, sententiousness and declamation. As the story opens, Rome is being ravaged by civil war, under the tyranny of Caesar. …

Please log in to consult the article in its entirety. If you are a member (student of staff) of a subscribing institution (see List), you should be able to access the LE on campus directly (without the need to log in), and off-campus either via the institutional log in we offer, or via your institution's remote access facilities, or by creating a personal user account with your institutional email address. If you are not a member of a subscribing institution, you will need to purchase a personal subscription. For more information on how to subscribe as an individual user, please see under Individual Subcriptions.

323 words

Citation: Owens, Rebekah . "Cornelia". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 15 April 2009 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=24179, accessed 25 November 2024.]

Save this article