|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries: |
Research categories | Follow us on Twitter |
Research categories
View all topics in the newsView all reference sources at Encyclopedia.com |
|||
Gorboduc
Gorboduc, or Ferrex and Porrex, one of the earliest of English tragedies, of which the first three acts are by Thomas Norton (1532–84) and the last two by T. Sackville. It was acted in the Inner Temple Hall on Twelfth Night 1561. The play is constructed on the model of a Senecan tragedy, and the subject is taken from the legendary chronicles of Britain. Gorboduc and Videna are king and queen, Ferrex and Porrex are their two sons, and the dukes of Cornwall, Albany, Logres, and Cumberland are the other chief characters. Ferrex and Porrex quarrel over the division of the kingdom. Ferrex is killed by Porrex, and Porrex is murdered in revenge by his mother. The duke of Albany tries to seize the kingdom and civil war breaks out. There is no action on the stage, the events being narrated in blank verse. The legend of Gorboduc is told by Geoffrey of Monmouth, and figures in Spenser's Faerie Queene (ii. x. 34 and 35), where Gorboduc is called Gorbogud.
|
|
|
Cite this article
MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Gorboduc." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Gorboduc." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-Gorboduc.html MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Gorboduc." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-Gorboduc.html |
|
Gorboduc
Gorboduc , legendary early British king mentioned by Geoffrey of Monmouth. In his lifetime he divided his kingdom between his sons Ferrex and Porrex, thereby creating great civil strife in which the two sons were killed. Gorboduc, or Ferrex and Porrex, the first English blank verse tragedy, was performed by the players of the Inner Temple in 1561. The first edition of the play, published in 1565, attributes the first three acts to Thomas Norton (1532–84) and the last two to Thomas Sackville . The play is modeled on Senecan tragedy. |
|
|
Cite this article
"Gorboduc." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Gorboduc." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Gorboduc.html "Gorboduc." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Gorboduc.html |
|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries:
HighBeam™ Research, Inc. © Copyright 2012. All rights reserved.
The Encyclopedia.com advertising network includes:
