Diocletian: Difference between revisions
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'''Harbage''' suggests Thomas Dekker may have been the author of the play. His hypothesis rests on the fact that ''The Virgin Martyr'' (1620) by Dekker and Philip Massinger features Diocletian as a character. However, there is no evidence that ''The Virgin Martyr'' is a revision of the earlier play.
'''Harbage''' suggests Thomas Dekker may have been the author of the play. His hypothesis rests on the fact that ''The Virgin Martyr'' (1620) by Dekker and Philip Massinger features Diocletian as a character. However, there is no evidence that ''The Virgin Martyr'' is a revision of the earlier play.
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'''George Kirkpatrick Hunter''' (102) argues that the play was presumably a story 'of Christian triumph and pagan wickedness (like ''Ben Hur'' and ''The Sign of the Cross'')'.
'''George Kirkpatrick Hunter''' (102) argues that the play was presumably a story 'of Christian triumph and pagan wickedness (like ''Ben Hur'' and ''The Sign of the Cross'')'.

Revision as of 10:16, 2 July 2015

Anon. (1594)


Historical Records

<Reproduce relevant documentary evidence from historical records here. (For example, entries from Henslowe's Diary).>


Theatrical Provenance

Performed as a new play by the Admiral's Men at the Rose on Saturday 16 November 1594. Performed again on Friday 22 November.


Probable Genre(s)

Classical history (?) (Harbage), tragedy (?) (Wiggins).


Possible Narrative and Dramatic Sources or Analogues

<Enter any information about possible or known sources. Summarise these sources where practical/possible, or provide an excerpt from another scholar's discussion of the subject if available.>


References to the Play

None known; information welcome.


Critical Commentary

Harbage suggests Thomas Dekker may have been the author of the play. His hypothesis rests on the fact that The Virgin Martyr (1620) by Dekker and Philip Massinger features Diocletian as a character. However, there is no evidence that The Virgin Martyr is a revision of the earlier play.

George Kirkpatrick Hunter (102) argues that the play was presumably a story 'of Christian triumph and pagan wickedness (like Ben Hur and The Sign of the Cross)'.


For What It's Worth

<Enter any miscellaneous points that may be relevant, but don't fit into the above categories. This is the best place for highly conjectural thoughts.>


Works Cited

Hunter, George Kirkpatrick. "A Roman Thought: Renaissance Attitudes to History Exemplified in Shakespeare and Jonson." An English Miscellany: Presented to W. S. Mackie. Ed. Brian S. Lee. Cape Town: OUP, 1977. 93-118.



Site created and maintained by Domenico Lovascio, University of Genoa; updated 02 July 2015.