George Chapman's "Oedipus Complex": Intertextual Patterns in The Conspiracy and The Tragedy of Charles Duke of Byron

Abstract

Gunilla Florby’s essay situates George Chapman’s two-part play The Conspiracy and Tragedy of Charles Duke of Byron at the intersection between topical reference and classical intertext. In particular, Florby investigates the transformation of Seneca’s Oedipus into an eloquent debate with a bearing on current political events such as the Essex conspiracy. By exploring the double take in this double play, Florby is able to sound the text’s “dynamic interaction of positions and ideologies”—something which lies at the heart of Chapman’s obsessive exploration of the classical heritage that informed his writing.