A TRANSLATION OF OCTAVIA, A
LATIN TRAGEDY, WITH NOTES
AND INTRODUCTION
BY
ELIZABETH TWINING HALL, A. B., 1900
THESIS
FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS
IN THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
1901
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
May 291901
THIS IS TO CERTIFY THAT THE THESIS PREPARED UNDER MY SUPERVISION BY
Elizabeth Hall
ENTITLED Translation of Octavia, a Latin Tragedy with Notes and Introduction
IS APPROVED BY ME AS FULFILLING THIS PART OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF A.M.
Herbert J Barton
HEAD OF DEPARTMENT OF Latin.
INTRODUCTION
Octavia is the only extant tragedy in fabulapraetexta or historical Roman tragedy in Roman scene and setting.It is remarkably true to fact, and almost every statement may beverified by reference to the ancient historians.
It deals with the sad story of Octavia, the daughterof Claudius and Messalina. Married against her will whenonly twelve years old to Nero, a lad of sixteen, she was afterfive years divorced by her husband on a charge of barrenness infavor of Poppaea Sabina, and in 62 A.D. was banished to a desertisland there to be executed.
The play is a well rounded whole, all the partsare well worked out, and the characters are vivid and lifelike.There is a force and majesty in the tragedy which carries thereader through without pause. The sad story of Octavia forms theplot, but the poet has interwoven political motives and representsthe people as taking Octavia’s part. This only serves to hastenher death, for Nero eagerly seizes upon this as a pretext to condemnher.
There are five acts in the play, and each is closedby chants from the chorus which serve to explain the actionfurther. There are many references to history and mythology, butthe atmosphere is distinctly Roman. At no time do three actorsappear on the stage in the same scene. The characters are exactlyas one would expect from a close study of history and are delineatedwith marvelous skill and fidelity.
The versification is confined to iambic meters inthe dialogues, while the choruses, though they form a very prominentfeature, are restricted to anapestic systems somewhat looselyconstructed.
The play is really a bitter impeachment of Neroand was composed shortly after his death in 68 A.D. The tragedyof Octavia for a long time was supposed to be written by Senecaand was handed down to posterity with his genuine dramas, butlater authorities ascribe its authorship possibly to CuriatiusMaternus. There is unmistakable evidence in the words of theplay that it was composed after Nero’s death, and this would