George Gordon Byron, Sardanapalus

Adam White (The Open University)

Ed. by Daniel Robinson, Widener University
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.06: English Writing and Culture of the Romantic Period, 1789-1837.
Vol. editors: Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Daniel Robinson (Widener University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1821

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Play

Resources

Sardanapalus was published with The Two Foscari and Cain in late 1821. Sardanapalus and The Two Foscari each 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 Sardanapalus also 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 …

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2761 words

Citation: White, Adam. "Sardanapalus". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 30 September 2013 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=2314, accessed 16 April 2024.]

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