Northwestern University

Fate, Seneca, and Marlowe's "Dido, Queen of Carthage"

Author(s): RICHARD A. MARTIN
Source: Renaissance Drama, New Series, Vol. 11, Tragedy (1980), pp. 45-66
Published by: The University of Chicago Press for Northwestern University
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 Fate , Seneca , and Marlowe's

Dido, Queen of Carthage

RICHARD A. MARTIN

the Marlowe canon, Marlowe'sDido, QueenofCarthage , is

a
Within usuallygiven quiet cornerof its own. Performedin 1587 by the
ChildrenofHer Majesty'sChapel,Dido revealsa sensitivity notpresentin
Marlowe's popular worksof grandiloquenceand bombast,and it draws
withuntypicalMarloviandependenceon a widelyknownliterary source.It
lacks the dramaticintensityof Marlowe'slaterworksbut remainsun-
mistakablyhis byvirtueofitspoetry,"someofMarlowe'sbest,"according
to G. S. Rousseau.1
While praisingMarlowe'stalentsas a poet,whatlittlecriticism theplay
produced has a
reflected generaldissatisfaction
with Marlowe's handlingof
his material.In contrastto Tamburlaineand thelatertragediesin whichwe
sense the artist'scontrollingpowers,Dido seems thematically undevel-
oped. Whereassome critics,like David M. Rogers,see in Dido a splendid
but undeviatingRenaissanceportrayalof love's incompatibility withthe

1. G. S. Rousseau,
"Marlowe's
DidoandtheRhetoric
ofLove,"EM,XIX (1968),
35^*9.

45

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46 RICHARD A. MARTIN

pursuitof honor,2others,like Douglas Cole, contendthatMarlowepre-

sentsa "warmand sympathetic Dido"3 whosepassionoutweighstheepic
values that oppose it. Opinion thus createsambiguityout of literary
tradition.4Was Marlowe'sattitudetowardhis subjectmoreheavilyinflu-
enced by Ovid or Vergil?Does MarloweshareOvid's senseofAeneasas a
feelinglesscad and adventurer, or does his "slavishschoolboy"relianceon
Vergilglorify for the spectator pietasthatleadsAeneasto rejectDido in
the
favorofhis divinemissionto foundRome?In short,bywhichvalues,epic
or lyric,arewe to judgethecharacters, and whommaywe holdculpable?
Dido is admittedlynot a workof majorliterary It did not
significance.
spark the kind of popular imitationsthat Tamburlaine and Edward II did,
and it does not probe the Renaissanceanxietiesdisplayedin TheJewof
Malta or DoctorFaustus.Yet becauseit is one oftheearliesttragediesthat
was cast as neithera moralityplaynoran adaptationofSenecanclassicism,
Dido revealsless in contrastto the laterworksthatovershadowed it and
morein contrastto theearlierformsit refusedto imitate.I shouldlike to
argue in the followingdiscussionthat in dramatizingthe Dido story,
Marlowe shaped the conflicting epic and lyricmodesassociatedwiththe
story into a dialecticthatwas incompatiblewiththetragicdramaturgy of
his time and that demandeda broaderunderstanding of tragicguilt.
Indeed, throughthe conflicting epic and lyricmodesMarloweexpressesa
notionof tragedyfarmoreSenecan- in its senseofuncertainfeteand free
will- thanBritishimitatorsofSenecathoughtto allow. To be sure,many
pre-Marlovianadaptationsofclassicaltragedy,likeNortonand Sackvilles
Gorboducor Pickering'sHorestes, have theirinconsistencies, but in these

2. SeeDavidM. Rogers, "LoveandHonorinMarlowe's Dião,Queen ofCarthage

friar,VI (1963),3-7.
Grey
andcm intheiflaysofChristopher
3. DouglasCole,buffering mar Lowe (1962;rpt.New
York,1972),p. 80 n. Forsimilarlyexpressedviews, seeJohnD. Cutts,"'ByShallow
Rivers':
A Study ofMarlowe'sDido,Quem ofCarthageinStudies inMedieval, Renaissance
andAmerican Literature:
A Festschrift
inHonor ofTroyC. Crenshaw,etal., ed.Betsy
Feagan
Colquitt(FortWorth, Tex., 1971),pp. 73-94.
4. DonCameron Allenamasses
theclassicalandmedievalsourcesonbothsidesofthe
issuein his essay,"Marlowe's
DidoandtheTradition," in Essays onShakespeareand
Elizabethan
DramainHonor ofHardinCraig,ed. RichardHosley (Columbia, Mo., 1962),
pp. 55-68.

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 Fate , Seneca, and Marlowe's Dido 47

plays we senseartisticclumsinessratherthanan expressionofthoughtand

feelingwhich strainsour to
capacity judge. Marlowe's Dido deservesour
attentionnot simplybecauseof its poetry,whichindeedgivesit a unique
vitality, but because it is perhapsthe earliestElizabethanattemptto
abandon moral complacencyin tragedyand portraya worldthatverifies
yet resistsabsolutes- a world that seeks to excusein some measurethe
veryvictimsit condemns.
The epic and lyricmodesthroughwhichtheDido storyreachesus carry
with them theirown distinctjudgmentsof unchastelove and of love's
interference with the prince's duty. Renaissancemoralists,of course,
turnedmoreexclusivelyto Vergil'sstrict,epic judgmentsthanto Ovid's
morallypermissiveones.5Theyfoundproofin theAeneidthatevenheroic
love can give slandertheopportunity to subverttheprince'sobligationto
thestate.Thus Vergil'sFamagossipsmaliciously aboutDido andAeneas:

nunchiememinterse luxu,quamlonga,fovere
immemores
regnorum turpiquecupidinecaptos.
IV. 193-194)6
(Aeneid,

Now theyspendthewinter, all itslength,in wantoneasetogether,

heedless
of
theirrealmsand enthralled
by shamelesspassion.

In theirinfatuation,Dido and Aeneas ignorethe affairs of stateand lose

theirreputations.Books I- IV oftheAeneid, Marlowe'ssource,werein fact
a locusclassicusforthe conventionalRenaissancewarningagainstthisand
similardangersof passion. Vergil'sapparentfearthatEasternindulgence
would erode the Roman ideal ofduty(pietas ) provideda clearlyunambig-
uous judgmentagainstDidos voluptuousness. Victimsofrumor,Dido and
Aeneasbothlose theirclaimsto thevirtuethatis indispensable to a prince,
and it is upon this point that the Renaissancecommonplacejudgment

5. Reuben A. BrowerdiscussestheElizabethanattitude
towardVergil's in
narrative
hisHero& Saint
: Shakespeare
andtheGraeco-Roman Heroic
Tradition
(NewYork,1971),pp.
99-114.
6. Virgil;
Eclogues, Aeneid
Georgics, 1-6, trans.
H. RushtonFairclough,LoebClassical
ed. T. E. Pageet al. (1916;rpt.Cambridge,
Library, Mass.,I960),I, 408-409.Ali
translations
ofVergilarefrom theFairclough
Edition.

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48 RICHARD A. MARTIN

rested.Thus, fromVergil'spointofview,Aeneas'sfinalrejectionofDido
- his divinemissionto foundRome- saveshim from
in favorof hispietas
dishonor,while Dido's uncontrollablepassionsdestroyherhonorutterly.
Giraldi Cinthio revealssuch an interpretation of the Dido storyin the
introductionto his Didone(1541): "Ove Enea reppresenta uno prudentis-
sime [sic]heroe,Giove la partesuperioredell' animahumana,Mercuriola
discorsivee ragionevole,e Didone la parteinferiore e sensuale."7
But Vergil'sfinaljudgmentof Dido is not itselfabsolute.Vergilends
Book IV of the Aeneidwith the narrativeinsightthatDido's death was
neitherfatednor deserved:

. . . nec fato,meritanecmorteperibat,
Sedmiseraantediemsubitoqueaccensafurore.
(Aeneid,IV. 696-697)

. . . neither
in thecourseoffatedid sheperish,norbya deathshehadearned,
but haplessbeforeherday,and firedby suddenmadness. . .

Thus we learnthatwhilethegods did not intendDido's deathwhenthey

meddled in her affairsde coeur, neitherdid Dido's tacit defianceof the
Roman destinyshe unwittingly servedmakeherculpable.The readerwho
would blame Dido's on
tragedy divineinterference is told he cannot(nec
fato)yand themoralistwho wouldholdDido fullyaccountableforherown
undoingfindsno supportin Vergil'sspecialexculpatingknowledge(merita
nec).Whetherthatknowledgerevealsanydivineattitudein theepic or is
simplyVergilianpathos, it most certainlycapturesthe reader'ssenseof
injusticeabout Dido's suffering.Indeed, thepathosofDido's suffering is
the basis forthe anti-heroictraditionassociatedwiththestory.The same
fourbooks of the Aeneidthatprovideda sternjudgmentagainstpassion
also became a pointd'appuiforboththeOvidian notionthatAeneasloved
falselyand the medievalnotionthat,as a falselover,Aeneasalso played
falseat Troy,leadingtheGreekforcesto Priam'spalacein accordancewith

7. In "Marlowe's
DidoandtheTradition," AllenquotesCinthio.
DonCameron

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 Fate, Seneca, and Marlowe's Dido 49

a secrettreatyhe had made withUlyssesand Diomede.8Accordingto this

anti-heroicview, put forthin theHeroides and laterdevelopedby Chaucer
and othermedievallove poets,Dido was a trueloverscornedand Aeneasa
feelinglesscad and adventurer,"weryof his craftwithinnea throwe"
{LegendofDido, 1. 1286). In theseterms,"Fate" becamenothingmorethan
Aeneas's excuse for treatingothersdishonorably.By desertingDido,
Aeneas bore entirelythe guilt of her death.
In his dramatizedDido, withits Olympiangods and lyricexpositions,
Marlowe capturesboth the cosmologyof Vergil'sepic and thepassionof
Ovid's love poetry.But by confounding theVergilianand Ovidianmodes
as he so oftendoes, Marloweconfusesthequestionoffateand culpability
and thusblursorthodoxjudgments.At thebeginningofAct III, sceneiv,
when a storm forcesDido and Aeneas to take shelterin a cave, the
dramaticdialogue calls our attentionto the story'sepic framework and
remindsus thattheloversarenotentirely in controloftheirowndestinies.
The scene is fromVergil (Aeneid , IV. 160-172), but the mythological
referenceis more typicallyOvidian {Metamorphoses, IV. 169-189):

DIDO
Tell me,dearlove,howfoundyououtthiscave?
AENEAS
By sweet
chance, Queen,as MarsandVenusmet.
DIDO
Why,thatwas in a net,wherewe areloose;
And yetI am notfree- O wouldI were!
(III. iv.2-5)9

8. JohnLydgate portraysAeneasas a traitor

in his Troy
book(IV. 6388-6392).
Lydgatecontinuesthe
medievalnotionthatAntenorand"faisEnee"actually the
conveyed
Greek forces
intoTroy.Lydgate
andother medieval
writers
arelisted
aspossible for
sources
Marlowe byEthelSeatonin"Marlowe'sLight inElizabethan
Reading," andJacobean
Studies
Presented
toFrankPercy ed. Herbert
Wilson, DavisandHelenGardner (Oxford,1959),
pp. 17-33.
9. Allquotations
from Dido,Queen aretaken
ofCarthage from theRevels ed.
Edition,
H. J. Oliver(London,1968).

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50 RICHARD A. MARTIN

Here thelanguageoffreedom and chance,setironically

againstthestoryof
Marsand Venustrappedin Vulcan'snet,clasheswiththespectator's larger
awarenessthatbothAeneasand Dido arevictimsofVenus'sdivineschem-
ing, and thattheyare notmerely"adulterers surfeitedwithsin," as Iarbas
later asserts(IV.i.20). AlthoughIarbas uttersdramaticallyin Act IV,
scene i, the judgmentVergil makes againstDido at the corresponding
point in the narrative(conjugium vocat,hocpraetexitnomine culpam), that
judgment loses the rhetorical Vergil gives
respectability it in the epic.
Indeed, in Marlowe'scave scene,thelanguagesuggeststhatwe mayonly
judge Aeneasand Dido afterwe judge thedivineworldthatso apparently
victimizesthem.
By remindingthe spectatorof Dido's helplessnessat the handsof the
epic gods, and thusimplyinguncertainty abouthershareofguilt{culpam)
in herown undoing,MarlowenotonlyviolatesthetoneofVergil'swork,
but also distinguishesDido fromthe Englishtragediesof the 1560s and
1570s. Those tragedies,modeledin parton William Baldwin'sA Mirror
10
for Magistrates, regardedtragicactionas exemplary,a lessonin erring
behaviorintendedto bringthespectatorto someclearlyformulated under-
standing of the failureof characters
and their values. Such an attitude
toward tragicaction prevailedwhen earlyEnglishexposureto Seneca's
worksbroughtnativethinkingintoconflictwiththeclassicalnotionthat
tragicresponsibility was notalwayseasilydistributed betweenfateand free
will. Earlytranslators of Senecaresistedchoricexpressions of theGraeco-
Roman imponderability of suffering's
causes. In his prefaceto Troades
(1559), JasperHeywoodapologizesforaddinghis own moralizingchorus
to clarifya work he otherwisefound "imperii te";11 for Heywood the
dramatic statementwas incompleteunless the question of guilt was
answeredand those culpable were shownto have been punishedjustly.
AlexanderNeville tendersan apologysimilarto Heywood'sin his prefece

10. WillardFarnham discusses

thederivation
ofElizabethandramatic from
judgments
bothpublicandprivatetheaters
inTheMedieval
HeritageofElizabethan
Tragedy
(Berkeley,
Calif.,1936),pp. 340-420.
Histenne
11. Seneca: ed.Thomas
Tragedies, Newton (1581;rpt.NewYork,1927),II,
3-5.

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 Fate, Seneca, and Marlowe's Dido 51

to Oedipus(1563). Neville dropsor changeschoriccommentin Oedipus to

reestablisha storyoriginallydepictedin termsofcursesand oraclesas the
portrayalof a man's "misguydedlyfe" and of "Gods vengeauncefor
sinne."12Nothingwas morecontrary to Nevilles dramaticintentionthan
the Senecan impulse to excuse Oedipus by blamingthe misfortunes of
Thebes on the curse on the house of Cadmus:

Non tu tantiscausapericlis,
nonhincLabdacidaspetunt
fata,sed veteresdeum
iraesecuntur.13

Not thouthecauseofourgreatperils,noton thyaccountdo thefatesassailthe

houseof Labdacus;nay,'tis theancientwrathof thegodsthatfollowsus.

Seneca's chorus, composed of dramatispersonaewho constantlyremind

themselvesoftheinjusticesoffate,becomesin Neville'shandsan authorial
interpreterwho sees the action more exclusivelyin termsof individual
responsibility.In Neville's versionof the lines quoted above, the chorus
offersOedipus's plightas an exampleof themisfortunes thatmenofhigh
rank must endure,and Oedipus himselfas a man possiblyguiltyof the
chargesagainst him:

See, See, themyserable

State,of Princescarefull
lyfe.
What ragingstorms? Whatbloudybroyles? Whattoyle?
Whatendlessestryfe
Doe theyendure?(O God) whatplagues?whatgriefedo
theysustayne? ...

Let Oedipusexamplebee of thisuntoyouall,

A Mirrourmeete,A Patern playne,ofPrinces
careful
thrall,
. . . subjectto sucha Cryme
Whereatmytongueamasedstayes.14

12. Ibid.,I, 189-191.

, 11.709-712,inSeneca's
13- Oedipus Tragedies Frank
, trans. LoebClassical
Miller,
Justus
LibrarySeries,ed. T. E. Pageetal. (1917;rpt.Cambridge,
Mass.,1968),I, 488-489.
14. SeeSeneca: Histenne , I, 215-216.
Tragedies

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52 RICHARD A. MARTIN

In Neville, no appeal to our senseof a malignantuniverseextenuatesthe

circumstancesof Oedipus's "Cryme." If fortunedeals moreharshlywith
princesthanwith beggars,it is onlyby increasingin magnitudethe sin
theyare capable of committing.
Neville's senseoftheSenecanchorusas authorialinterpreter ratherthan
as dramatispersonaewas shared by theInnsof Court playwrights whosuited
theiroriginaleffortsto the tastescreatedby Senecanthemes.Thus, as
BritishSenecanismmovedintothetheater,theInnsofCourtplaywrights
mergedclassicalformwiththekindofexplicitjudgmentsnativetradition
seemed to demand.
Yet the playwrights did not completelylose perspectiveoftheirheroes
as victims;theyweresimplyunableto syncretize theclassicalnotionoffate
with the Christianuniversetheyknew and portrayed.Senecanfatalism
influencedall fouroftheextant"mirror"tragediesproducedin theInnsof
Court, but in all fourcases theplaywrightsexploitedtheSenecanconven-
tion of the cursewithoutthe Senecanhabitof using it to mitigatejudg-
mentagainstthe centralcharacter.While thechorusat theend ofAct III
of Gorboducrecalls that an ancientcurse still applies to the legendary
British offspringof Troy, it regardsthe king's behavioras no less
damnable.A farmoretypicaluse offate,however,appearsin a companion
"mirror" tragedy,Gismondof Salerne(1568). In Gismond,playwright
Robert Wilmot and his collaboratorsattemptto demonstrate,as the
numerouschoriccommentsmake clear,the ruinousqualitiesof unchaste
love.15In thiscase, Gismond,forbidden byherfatherto remarry afterher
husband's death, takes a lover,Guishard,stainsher reputation,and is
murderedby her vengefulfather.But the measureof blame the chorus
levels against Gismond conflictswith spectatoracceptanceof Cupid as
presenterof the play, a presenter who offers
Gismond'sfallas an example
of love's godlike destructivepower. Cupid promisesto "inflamethe fair
Gismond" so that throughlove she will "feelmuchwoe." Then, asserts
Cupid, skepticswill have to admit to his omnipotence:

15. See EarlyEnglish

Classical ed.JohnW. Cunliffe
Tragedies, (Oxford, 1912),pp.
314-326.Cunliffe eachofthefiveactsofGismond
assigns to"Rod.Staf.,"
HenryNoel,
"G. Al.," Christopher
Hatton,and"R. W[ilmot]."

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 Fate, Seneca, and Marlowe's Dido 53

We mustrelentand yeld;fornowwe knowe,

Loue rulestheworld,Loueonelyis theLorde.16

Thus, the prologuecharacterasks thespectatorto believethatthedrama-

tic world is subjectto the will ofCupid, an agentoffate.But thechorus
nevertheless insistson itsownauthority will of
and on thefreebut infected
Christian man. The chorus of Act III argues that while Cupid is so
powerfulthateven the gods cannotresisthim, he nevertheless "assaultes
not but the idle hart,"and mortalsmayovercomehimsimplyby resisting
"his firstassaulte." Fate, we are told, is onlypowerfulin pre-Christian
termsand has no controlover a virtuousChristianwill:

Furiesmustaid, whenmenwill ceasseto know

theirGoddes:and Hell shallsendreuêging
paine
to those,whomeShamefrõsinnecan notrestraine.17

It may of course be argued that Wilmot's judgmentagainstlove is

merelythe kind of cant typicalof his age, and thattherefore the chorus
does not influencethe spectatorsattitudetowardthe dramaticworld.
CertainlyWilmot's chorusassessesthe actionof Gismondno moreaccu-
ratelythan it assessesthe action of Shakespeare'sAntony and Cleopatra.
Wilmot shows the lovers,Gismondand Guishard,as nobleand virtuous
creatures,aware of the dangersof passionand actingless in defianceof
choric moralitythan of Tancred's motivelessand apparentlyneurotic
injunctionagainstGismond'sremarriage.But the authority we grantto
the chorusby conventionoutweighsanymoraluncertainties thedramatic
action seeksto express.AlthoughTancred'sbehaviorwouldseemto make
him culpable to some degree(and indeeddoes so in Wilmot'ssource,the
Decameron) ,18 the chorusof Act II supportshis positionand consistently
places on Gismond the full responsibility
forherown tragedy.Gismond,
like the other"mirror"plays,considersfateonlyto leaveit incidentaland
at odds withChristianmorality.As muchas thedramaticworldseemingly
confoundsany simplifiedjudgmentby raisingtheissueoffate,it is stilla

16. Ibid.,p. 169.

17. Ibid.,p. 191.
18. Specifically
in Fiammetta's day,first
tale;fourth tale.

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54 RICHARD A. MARTIN

world of absolutes- of clear, unambiguouschoicesand clear,unambig-

uous failure.
Marlowe's dramaticintentionin Dido is obscuredpartlybecause of
conflictingtraditionsbehind the Dido story,but partlybecauseof the
absence of a clear moralframe.Unlike "mirror"tragedies,Dido does not
make any explicitjudgmentsthroughtheauthoritative voiceofa chorus.
In dramatizingtheDido story,Marloweseemsto haverejectedcompletely
both theBritishSenecanrelianceon choricinterpretation ofactionand the
popular theater'suse of Inductions,
prologues, and personifiedvirtuesand
vices, all, like the chorus,revealing to thespectatorthemoral characterof
theaction. In factthedramaticworldofDido, withitspastoralsettingand
its dei ex machinae, does not resembleso muchtheworldofothercontem-
porary Elizabethan tragediesas the worldofJohnLyly'scourtcomedies.
There, in the absence of authorialinterpretation,characterscontinually
refinetheir responsesto a complex reality,while gods and goddesses
resolve on an ideal level what mortalsfindhopelesslyincompatiblein
human terms. In short,our assumptionsabout dramaticjudgmentsin
Elizabethantragedymaynotapplyat all to Marlowe'sDido, a playcastnot
in theformofprevailingmodesoftragedy,withtheirfixedmoralbounda-
ries, but in the mannerof exploratory comedy,whereparadoxdestroys
absolutism.
While the moralboundariesof Marlowe'sDido appearmovablein the
absenceof a chorus,traditionalvaluesnevertheless speaktheloudest.The
audience of Dido is everywhere awareof the story'sVergilianoriginsand
attitudes.The notionthatlove is subversiveto honorformsa basictopos,
expressedin Aeneas's discomfort at the "courtlyease" of Carthageand
again in Achates' warningagainstlove:

This is no lifeformen-at-armsto live,

Wheredalliancedothconsuñie a soldier'sstrength,
And wantonmotionsofalluringeyes
Effeminate ourmindsinur'dto war.
(IV.iii.33-36)

The warningsummarizestheepic positionagainstsensualindulgence,and

theactionindeedadheresto theRenaissanceidea ofVergil'spointofview,
revealingAeneas's worldas one of men "inur'dto warre,"and depicting

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 Fate, Seneca, and Marlowe's Dido 55

Dido's worldas one ofsumptuousness and repose.In an evenmoreempha-

tic use of his source,Marlowecalls our attentiondirectlyto epic tradition
in Aeneas's recountof the Sack of Troy (II. i., 121-288), an expository
monologue that translatesin part directlyfromBooks II and III of the
Aeneid.The storyof the fall of Troycreatesa miniatureepic withinthe
dramaticworld and, throughnarration,gives heroicvalues a shape and
substancetheyotherwisedo not findin physicalaction. Moreover,the
narrativeis an exercisein blank-versestyle,repeatingtheearlierattempt
by Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey,to renderinto Englishthe verysame
passagefromVergil. Surrey'sinventionofblankverseto capturethesound
and rhythmof Roman epic poetryassociatesthe meter'straditionat its
inceptionwithAeneas'snarrative, and Marlowe,byrelyingon 180 linesof
solid narrationto "dramatize"heroicaction,displayshisgreatertalentsin
vividlyrecreating thegrandeurofepic verse.WhereSurrey's linesareloose
and uneven,Marlowe'sare compressedand expressive.A momentin time
contains the making of legend as Neoptolemusleaps fromthe Trojan
horse:

Thenhe unlock'dthehorse,and suddenly

Fromout his entrailsNeoptolemus,
Settinghisspearupontheground, leaptforth,
And afterhima thousand Greciansmore,
In whosesternfacesshin'dthequenchlessfire,
That afterburnttheprideofAsia.
(II. i. 182-187)

Marlowe's virtuosoretellingof Vergil establishesthe heroicmode as a

verbal power withinthe play. Throughthis mode the traditionaljudg-
mentsspeak, investingthemselveswiththeauthority oftheepic mythof
immutable destinythateverywheredetermines Dido's world.Achates'warn-
ing againstthe passionsis thusendorsedby theplay'sstylisticself-aware-
ness; the heroicpoetryin Aeneas'smonologuecalls our attentionto the
epic traditionbehindDido's tragedy,a traditionthatgivesthattragedyits
values and its determinants.
More thanstyle,of course,thepresenceof thegods as dramatis personae
emphasizesforthe spectatorthe worldof Roman destinythatDido and
Aeneas inhabit. Here Marlowe comes his closestto providingthe play

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56 RICHARD A. MARTIN

with a moral framework, some explicitindicationthat fateratherthan

individualwill is the moverof humaneventsand tragedy.And nothing
could be moreexplicitthanJupiters offerin Act I, sceneI, to abrogateto
Ganymedethepowerto "Controlproudfate,and cut thethreadoftime,"
in exchangeforhis affection.The spectatoris remindedby thismarvelous
opening scene that theJupiter-Ganymede affairwas the casusbelliof the
Trojan War that
and, therefore, Jupiter's love of Ganymedecontainsthe
nucleusof Aeneas'swanderingand of Dido's misery.Thus, to theextent
thatfatein the shapeofdivineinterference makesits intentions knownin
the play, the spectatormayfeelcertainthatAchates'judgmentworksin
accord with the will of the gods, hasteningAeneas's departurefrom
Carthagein searchof the citydestinedto rule the world.
But the play's moralboundariesappearsomewhatlargerthanAchates
understandsthemto be, forhis judgmentagainstlovealso clasheswithan
Olympian precedentin the openingscenein whichJupiter'sinterests lie
not withepic destinybut with"wantonmotions"and "dalliance."Indeed,
Marlowe's rhetoricalmovementsin the openingscene establishliterary
decorumonlyto violateit. AlthoughthescenedepictstheVenus-Jupiter
encounterthatoccursin Vergil,at 1.223^04, it does not introducethe
epic world of the play accordingto the Vergilianpattern.Ganymede's
presencealters the significanceof the encounter,and Jupiter'srole as
primemoverand controller ofdestinyis supplantedby hisOvidianroleas
philanderer:
FromJuno'sbirdI'll pluckherspottedpride,
To maketheefanswherewith to coolthyface;
AndVenus'Swansshallshedtheirsilverdown,
To sweetenout theslumbers of thybed.
(I. i.34-37)

This is not Vergil'sJupiterbut Ovid's, and thelanguageofpersuasionin

the passage, laterto becomemorequotablein Marlowe'slove lyric,"The
, in
PassionateShepherdto His Love," findsits sourcein theMetamorphoses
Polyphemus'spleas to Galatea.19
Jupiter ironically the
establishes Ovidian

19. Although theGalathea-Polyphemus

myth is thelocus ofthistype,
forpoetry the
reference
specific in this is
passage toBookII ofthe , where
Metamorphoses Ovid describes
birdas a peacock:
Saturnia's

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 Fate, Seneca, and Marlowe's Dido 57

mode as its own verbalpowerwithintheplay, a powerof sensualindul-

gence. When Dido exploresher feelingsforAeneas,we detectthe same
dominatingpower of the senses:

I'll makeme braceletsofhis goldenhair;

His glisteringeyesshallbe mylooking-glass,
His lips an altar,whereI'll offer
up
As manykissesas thesea hathsands.
(III.i.84-87)

The Ovidian sensualityDido expressesoccupiesa conflicting positionin

Marlowe's epic world. As Achates suggests,that sensualitythreatens
Roman destinyby opposingtheprospectofconquestwiththeprospectof
love and the pleasuresof abundance;but the play also emphasizesthat
Roman destinybegan with "wanton motions,"with Jupiter'slove of
Ganymede. Thus, as dramaticallypresented,the pleasuresof the senses
precede any cosmic determinismin the epic worldof the play, and the
implicit judgment that the Ovidian sensualityof the Heroideslevels
against epic heroes,chargingthemwithfalselove and dishonor,gains a
value it does nothavein Vergil.IfDido misreadsheruniversebybelieving
that individualwill, not fate,is behindAeneas'sactions,heraccusations
neverthelesscaptureas part of the plays essencethe rhetoricalforceof
Ovidian anti-heroism:

WhereinhaveI offended Jupiter

ThatheshouldtakeAeneasfrom minearms?
O no, theGods weighnotwhatloversdo:
It is AeneascallsAeneashence.
(V.i. 129-132)

habiliSaturnia
curru
turliquidum
ingredi pavonibusaethera
pictis.. . .
(11.531-532)
Themostfrequently
citedworkonMarlowe'suseofOvidis Boleslaus
Knutowski'sDos
vonMarlowe
Dido-Drama undNash(Breslau,
1905).Knutowski's
sourcework isinhislast
pp. 61-73.
chapter,

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58 RICHARD A. MARTIN

Here Dido eloquentlyraisesthe questionof injusticein gods and men.

Jupiter,she avers,would notmoveagainsta sincereand innocentpassion;
only man could harborsuch treachery.
This is the judgmentwe associate
withOvid's Heroides,a judgmentheardthroughtheinconsolable cryofthe
forsakenmaidenand thecomplaintto a faithlesslover.Thus, Ovid's Dido
to Aeneas:

quo fugis?obstathiemps.hiemismihigratiaprosit!
adspice,ut eversasconcitetEurusaquas!
quod tibi malueram, sineme debereprocellis;
iustiorest animoventuset undatuo.20

Whitherareyouflying? risesto stayyou.Letthetempest

The tempest be my
grace!Lookyou,howEurustossestherollingwaters!WhatI hadpreferredto
blasts;windandwavearejusterthanyour
owe to you,letmeoweto thestormy
heart.

In Marlowe, Vergil'schargesagainstDido- her lust and faithlessness to

the memoryof Sychaeus- do not gain the rhetoricalimpactthatOvid's
chargesagainstAeneas gain. Moreover,Marlowe'sDido drawsour sym-
pathieswith the Ovidian spiritof hersuffering. If the sensesare to have
any value in theplay, and the scene
Jupiter-Ganymede impliestheymust,
thenwe cannotjudge honorsolelyin termsofepic norms,but musthold
Aeneas culpable to some degree forfailingto act upon his emotions.
Within the epic contextof the play, with its emphasison humansub-
servienceto the will of the gods, Marlowedoes not completelydenythe
possibilitythat guilt may exist independently of divinelaw, that those
who further thecause ofdestinymaynevertheless be judgedand censured.
In these terms, the price of Aeneas's honor is not an "effeminating"
passion that would controvert destiny,but thatpartof his humanityfor
which the spectatormay hold him to account.
The Aeneas of epic traditionis, of course,a creatureof destiny,forhe
existsin Vergil onlyto fulfillthedesignsof thegods, not to exercisefree
will. And indeed nowheredoes Marloweindicatethathis play will com-

VII. 41^44,inOvid:
20. Heroides, HeroidesandAmores, Grant
trans. Showerman, Leob
Classical ed. T. E. Pageet al. (1914;rpt.NewYork,1931),pp. 86-87.
Library,

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 Fate, Seneca, and Marlowe's Dido 59

pletely overturnits Vergiliansource to demonstratethe triumphsand

failuresof the will. Nevertheless,theAeneasMarlowedoes portrayis not
incontrovertibly Vergil's,and thedemandto subordinate theselfto divine
prophecy clashes in Marlowe's play withan un-Vergilianimpulsetoward
emotional frankness.The heroicachievementportrayedin Aeneas's re-
count of the Sack of Troy in Act II, scene i, lines 121 through288, is
pursuedat the expenseof humanity,and thenarrative sequencerevealsan
Aeneas who reactswith uncharacteristic sensitivity his own imagina-
to
tive recreationofthehorrorsofwar. Dido promptstheretellingbyraising
the question of the medievalnotionof Antenor'streachery, a notionin
which honoris blurredby betrayal.Aeneasclarifiesthe conceptof honor
by insistingon the classicalversionof thestoryand, in his "invocation,"
prepareshis audience fortales of bloodshed:

Thenspeak,Aeneas,withAchilles'tongue,
And, Dido, and youCarthaginian peers,
Hearme,butyetwithMyrmidons' harshears,
Daily inur'dto broilsand massacres,
Lestyoube mov'dtoomuchwithmysadtale.
(Il.i. 121-125)

Aeneas's desireto speak throughAchillesis explainedin his reference to

theMyrmidons,Achilles'followers.The violenceand brutality ofhisstory
are such that they requirea speakeras insensitiveto bloodshedas his
listeners.Achilles,who slew Hectorand boreTroyan unrelenting malice,
qualifiesas such a speaker,whereasAeneas,who breakshis narration off
twice underthe strainof emotion,does not. Indeed,theaudience,listen-
ing withDido's ears,beginsto shareDido's feelingsofshockand revulsion
at the worldof epic conquest.The promiseof heroicachievement merely
gives way to sadistic The
absurdity. image of Hecuba "swung . . . howl-
ing in the empty air" is emblematicof a universe
where heroes are mind-
less savages and women mere victimsof theirsavagery.
Dido's reactionto thebrutality ofconquestrevealsa sensitivity compat-
ible with her role as an Ovidian lover.But Aeneas'semotionalresponses
to whateverremindshim ofTroy,be it Priam'sstatue(Il.i. 15-36) or his
own recountof the sack, alterhis statureas an epic hero.Aeneasassumes
a verypassiverolein theplay,and whetherheedingthewill ofthegods or,

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60 RICHARD A. MARTIN

like Hamlet's actor,movedby thepathosofhis own "conceit,"he proves

susceptibleto thepressuresofpoeticpersuasion.He is particularly
suscep-
tible to the languageofOvidian sensuality,a languagethroughwhichthe
play perpetuallyseeks to escape fromthe epic mode, and he weighsthe
claims of love equally against thoseof the Fates. The renewedsense of
destinywithwhichAeneasprematurely orderstheTrojanfleetlaunchedin
search of Rome (IV.iii. 16-30) immediatelygives way to thoughtsof
sensual indulgenceand the poeticallyparadoxicalassumptionthatDido
and Aeneas may fulfillRoman destinytogether:

Aboard,aboard,sinceFatesdo bid aboard,

And slicethesea withsable-colour'd
ships,
On whomthenimblewindsmayall daywait
Andfollowthem,as footmen, thedeep!
through
Yet Dido castshereyes,likeanchors,
out,
To staymyfleetfromloosingforththebay.
"Comeback,comeback!"I hearhercryafar,
"And let me linkthybodyto mylips,
by thestriving
That, tiedtogether tongues,
We mayas one sail intoItaly."
(IV.iii.2 1-30)

As theheroicmode exertsitsverbalpower,thedramaticworldswellswith
epic excitement.But forAeneas, whoseemotionsplace him beyondthe
epic confinesof his universe,the imperativesof destinyare not heard
alone, and the lyricmode acknowledgesonce again the claimsof love. If
Giraldi Cinthio holds Dido's sensualityto be inferiorto man's god-
inspiredparts,Marloweasksus in passageslike thisto give thatsensuality
equal value. The beliefsimplicitin eithermode, epic or lyric,simultan-
eously prevail. While Achates' judgmentagainst passion upholds the
heroic contextof the play, it is insufficientto deny the nobilityof the
senses; honor attainedthrough heroic achievementdoes notdisplacehonor
lost in love.
But ifthepursuitof love is no less noblethanthepursuitofhonor,itis
still not the meansby whichman exerciseshis individualfreedom.There
is no freedomfromfate in abandoningoneselfto the senses. Marlowe
establishesthisnotionearlyin theopeningscenewhere,withtheappear-
ance of Venus, he reassertsthe literarydecorumhe violatedwith the

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 Fate, Seneca, and Marlowe's Dido 61

Jupiter-Ganymede affair.Venus gives the play its Vergiliancontextby

denyingJupiter'slyricismand, ironically,herown attributes as thegod-
dess of love. WhereasVergil'spassiveVenuspleadswitha Jupiteralready
concernedwith the shape of humanaffairs(1.288 ff.),Marlowe'sVenus
assumesa morereproachful tone,interrupting Jupiter'sdalliancein order
to bringhis attentionto the pressingmatterof Aeneas'sfate.Angryand
resentful at Juno'sattemptsto destroyAeneas,Venusis herself a pictureof
epic wrath. Her language drawson epic rhetoricas she describesAeneas's
voyage as anotherfall of Troy:

PoorTroymustnowbe sack'duponthesea,
AndNeptune'swavesbeenviousmenofwar;
Epeus'horse,to Aetna'shill transform'd,
standstowracktheirwoodenwalls,
Prepared
And Aeolus,likeAgamemnon, sounds
soldiers,to thespoil.
The surges,hisfierce
(I. i.64-69)

In Venus's epic introductionto the action,Jupiter'slove of Ganymede

loses its pastoralvalue and becomesan indulgentretreatfroman urgent
call to the activeworld.The languageoftheopeningscenethusrefusesto
affirmthe values of passion and sensualityit initiates.The heroicmode
awakensthe spectatorboth to theVergiliancontextoftheactionand to a
subversivenessinherentin Ovidian sentiments.
Just as Jupiter'slyricismdissolvesunderthe pressuresof Venus's epic
rhetoric,so does Aeneas's assertionof freewill lose its value againstthe
claims ofdestiny.MarloweonceagainviolatestheVergiliancontextofhis
play by allowing Aeneas to act (temporarily) againstthe courseof fate.
Vergil'sAeneas, whenreproachedby Dido forhis planneddeparturefrom
Carthage,arguesthatdestinyand notfreewill leadshimto Italy(IV. 33 1-
361) and, without waiting longer, departs. Marlowe's Aeneas, after
making severalexcuses, again findsvalue in sensualityand remainsin
Carthage.In his choiceoflove, however,Aeneasrevealsthesubversiveness
of the sensesto the activeworld. He envisionsin the new Carthagenot a
fortressof warriorsand kingsbut a Lotus-eaters'paradise,heavywiththe
lethargyof pleasure:

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62 RICHARD A. MARTIN

The sun fromEgyptshallrichodoursbring

Wherewith hisburningbeams,likelabouring
bees
ThatloadtheirthighswithHybla'shoney's
spoils,
Shallhereunburdentheirexhaledsweets
And plantourpleasantsuburbswithherfumes.
(V.i. 11-15)

This hypnoticlyricism,whichearlierlulledAscaniusto sleepin violation

of his Vergiliancharacter,promisesto workthe same transformation on
Aeneas. Aeneas'slyricismis of courseshort-lived, forMercuryinterrupts
his visionof the new Carthageto remindhim ofdivineprophesy.But for
severallinestheactionstraysfromitsepic source.Marlowe'sAeneas,never
quite theheroicequal ofVergil's,finallyexercisesa freedom ofchoice,and
the world that seems determinedby fatethreatensto be remadeby an
overmasteringrhetoricalpower. With Mercury'sappearance,as with
Venus's in the firstscene, the play reestablishes
its epic norm.The gods
move againstpassion, and, in spite of its rhetoricaldeparturesinto the
language of love, the dramaticworldinsistson theheroictraditionof its
Vergiliansource.Withinthattradition,humanendeavoris subjectto the
will of the gods and not to the will of man.
Marlowe's emphasison feteratherthan individualwillfulnessas the
sourceof humanunhappinessin Dido presentsa radicalchangefromthe
attitudesexpressedin theInnsofCourttragedies.In a worldwheretragic
heroesand heroinesare victimsofthegods, Dido's defianceofdivinewill
cannotbe judged in the same termsas Gismond'sdeviationfromchoric
morality.Absolutevaluesdiminishin Marlowe'splay,and in theend the
spectatoris asked to weigh the pursuitof honor against the guilt of
forswornlove. Aeneas manifeststhisguilt as he reluctantly resumesthe
heroicroleassignedhim. His departure fromCarthage,relatedbyAnna,is
reminiscentof Ulyssessailing by the Island of the Sirens,tornbetween
desire and fearto listen:

Thengan he waghishand,which,yetheldup,
Mademesupposehewouldhaveheardmespeak;
Thengan theydriveintotheocean,
WhichwhenI view'd,I cried,"Aeneas,stay;
Dido, fairDido willsAeneasstay!". . .

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 Fate, Seneca, and Marlowe's Dido 63

Theygan to movehimto redress myruth,

And staya whileto hearwhatI couldsay;
But he, clapp'dunderhatches,sail'daway.
(V.i.229-240)

This is not Chaucer'sAeneas,"weryofhis craftwithinnea throwe,"noris

it Vergil's, who acts decisively, like a hero, vaginaque eript
ensem/fulmineumstrictoqueferit retinaculoferro (IV. 579- 580). The
spectator'sfinal view of Aeneas, throughAnna, is one of a man still
tormentedby his place in theheroicuniverseand by thesuffering he, as a
hero, inflictsupon Dido. In the
fulfilling epic expectations of his char-
acter, Marlowe'sAeneas remainspainfullyawareof the culpabilityof his
behavior. Having transgressed "againstall laws of love" (IV.iii.48), he
hides his emotionsbelow boardwhereDido cannotexercisethepowerof
her wordsor her will. Dido, however,standstrueto herOvidian nature
and, in her suffering, turnsfromlyricismto bacchicfrenzy:

I'll frameme wingsof wax likeIcarus,

And o'erhis shipswill soaruntothesun
That theymaymeltand I fallin his arms;
Or else I'll makea prayer
untothewaves
That I mayswimto him,likeTriton'sniece;
O Anna,fetchArion'sharp,
That I mayticea dolphinto theshore
And rideuponhis backuntomylove!
(V.i.243-250)

The passionateintensityof theplay'slast scene,withits triplesuicide,

is as mucha descentintoSenecansensationalism as a demonstrationofthe
unreadability of the moralworld. If a meddling universe Dido's
inspires
passion, an indifferent
universepresidesoverherself-destruction; thegods
do not acknowledgeDido's suffering and death,and theydo not indicate
whetherher end is fetedor deserved.Indeed, in Anna and Iarbas'ssui-
cides, anothernoticeabledeparturefromVergil, Marlowesuggeststhat
passion carriesits own destructive
power,independent of theconcernsof
the gods. Anna and Iarbas,who are morevictimsoftheirownwillfulness
thanofanydivineinterference, mirrorDido's accensa in theirhurried
furore
suicidesand demonstrate theverydangersofpassionthattheheroicworld

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64 RICHARD A. MARTIN

rightlyseeks to avoid. The catastrophe thusleavesthe measureofDido's

guilt uncertain.As both a victimof the gods and a victimof her own
irrationalsensuality,Dido is neitherjudged by the divine world that
manipulatesher nor vindicatedby the lyricismthroughwhichshe seeks
her freedom.
Yet while Marloweoffers no explicitjudgmentofDido's behavior,the
play does elicit our forgivenessforthosewho suffer disproportionatelyto
theirfaults.If love is subversiveto thepursuitofhonor,honorattainedat
the expenseof love is, in lightofDido's emotionalcollapse,indeedques-
tionable. Neithergod nor man oughtto treathumanaffections inconse-
quentially, and as the audience is let to grow criticalof the gods, so
Achates'judgmentagainstlove is let to failby natureofitsown inflexibil-
ity. That judgmentcannotmove beyondthe heroiccontextof the play,
while spectatorsympathyforDido clearlydoes. AlthoughDido's last
wordsare ones ofdefiance,perhapstheonlyformofepic dignitylefther,
her end retainsthe spirit of Ovidianism that redeemedher character
throughouttheMiddleAges. EvenAnnaand Iarbaselicita greatersenseof
sorrowthanreproachin theirself-destruction. Only Aeneas,whosecom-
mitmentto pietasreceivesdivinesanction,bearsthe guilt of honor.

In a sense,Marlowerediscovered classicaltragedyin Dido. The impulse

by Neville and otherearlytranslatorsof Senecato ignoretheworkingsof
fate and assign the originsof tragedyto individualresponsibility is re-
placed in Dido by a dramatic scrutinyof the forcesof destiny. Marlowe's
world moves closer to Seneca's, whereinthe questionof culpabilityis
complicatedby assumptionsabout man's relationship to his universeand
about the limitationsof the will. To be sure,Marlowedoes not simply
replacea sixteenth-centurysenseofretributive justicewithan epic senseof
divinepurpose.In Dido, MarlowecapturedforEnglishtragedya visionof
man as a victim,forcedto enduretheinjusticesofthegods and simultan-
eously trappedby his own self-recriminations.21

21. In hisLifeofSidney
(ca. 1610-1612)FulkeGreville classical
distinguishes tragedy
fromthetragedy ofhisowndaybynoting thattheworks tended
oftheancients tostir
"murmur DivineProvidence."
against SeeL. G. Salingar, andtheTragedy
"Tourneur of
Revenge," in The Guide
Pelican toEnglish :
LiteratureThe ed.
AgeofShakespeare,Boris Ford
(1955;rpt.Baltimore, Md., 1970),pp. 334-354.

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 Fate, Seneca , and Marlowe's Dido 65

The uniquenessof Marlowe'svision deriveslargelyfromthe relative

uniqueness of his dramaticexpression,a uniquenessmanifestedby his
avoidanceof an explicitmoraljudgment.Whereaspre-Marlovian drama-
tists followed native moralitytraditionsand transformed the Senecan
chorus into an extradramatic device capable of makingauthorialvalue
judgmentsexplicit,Marlowe,followingSeneca,let the voicesof destiny
speak as dramatis personae,characters who investthepursuitofhonorwith
divinepurposebut whosevaluesdo not"frame"thedramaticworldanddo
not dictate absolute judgments.Thus in Dido the commonplacenotion
thatlove is subversiveto honordoes notrhetorically outweighourexperi-
ence of the Ovidian view thatdishonorin love destroyssomethingmore
valuablethanhonorthroughfeme.In theabsenceofauthorialcommenton
action, the dramaticexperiencegeneratesits own beliefs,creatingan
argumentthat refinesour judgmentswithoutsimplifying them.
Dido is worthexploringcriticallybecause,in spiteofits imperfections,
it reaches a maturityof expressionthat pre-Marloviantragedylacks.
CertainlyJohn Pickering'sattemptin his Historyof Horestes (1567) to
understandthe tragicuniversein termssimilarto Marlowe'srepresents an
early failure of English classicism. Writing still in the old "morality"
tradition,Pickeringmoralizesin his play on sure retribution forun-
righteousness,but vindicatesHorestes(Orestes)while condemninghis
murderofClytemnestra and Egistus.Horestesnevershowsanyremorse for
his matricideand indeedjustifieshimselfby claimingthatthegods com-
manded the murder,a rationalePickeringletsstand,ignoringits incom-
patibilitywith his moral frame.Horestes thus absorbsa classicaltension
between feteand freewill withoutever reconcilingit with its explicit
Elizabethanidea of moralfailure.And it is in contrastto defective play-
writinglike thisthatMarlowe'sDido revealsthedramaturgical sophistica-
tion two decades had wrought.Indeed, what Marloweexploressuperfi-
in his laterplaysintoa morevisionary
cially in Dido crystallizes question:
to what extentmay the superiorwill and imaginationcontrolrealityand
transcendthesuffering realityimposes?Marlowe'sanswersvariedbroadly.
In Tamburlaine, Part/, thewill and imaginationtriumphovertragedy;in
Edward //, the will fails utterly;and in DoctorFaustus , the Christian
imagination turns cruellyupon the mind thatoversteps own religious
its
confines.

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66 RICHARD A. MARTIN

It is unlikelythataudienceswill everregainany interestin Dido as a

performableentertainment.The dramatic clumsinessof the dei ex
machinae,the wordinessof dialogue, the oftentoo strictconformity to
Vergil's Latin speeches,all from
detract what is distinctlyoriginal about
Marlowe'streatment of theDido story.In thisrespect,JohnLyly'sinflu-
ence on Marlowewas probablyas deleterious to theconceptionofDido as it
was helpful.The Cupid-Ascaniusswitch,reminiscent of similarploysin
Lylian comedy, does create an emblem of self-confusion as Dido draws
closerto herbreastthepassionsthatafflict the
it, yet imaginative god-man
disguise only servesto distractus fromthe realityof Dido's suffering.
Today, as much as in Marlowe'sday, Dido, QueenofCarthageremainsa
"bookish"play, betterreadthanviewed.As a literary artifact,it displays
the working of an unusual talent who transformed Vergil's conflict
betweenloveand honorintoan originalexperience ofpassion,destiny,and
cosmic betrayal.

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