Abstract

Seneca's dramatic works has long suffered from the famous definition of "tragoedia rethorica" (F. Leo, "Observationes criticae", Berlin 1878), that resulted in a nearly unanimous negative evaluation, until the second half of twentieth century, of critic essays on the theatricality of that drama. The connection between rethoric and Tragedy must be analyzed on two levels. It should be noted the value of the item dramatic rethorical in Seneca's "fabulae", inherited in Elizabethan theater culture. Secondly, it is necessary to hightlight the problematic nature of the link tragedy/oratory in the second half of i d.C.; the more stable are the braids on the side of deep structure of the text, the more tragic poetry and "oratoria eloquentia" become alternative life choises, that aim to challenge the change, pursues the opposite to each other.