ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -Gorboduc’s queen, Videna, avenges the death of her more-beloved older son by murdering Porrex. Gorboduc and his queen are, in turn, murdered by their horrified former subjects. One of the first English tragedies to take Senecan tragedy as its model, Gorboduc is a blend of English and Classical elements.

Detailed explanation-2: -Senecan tragedy, body of nine closet dramas (i.e., plays intended to be read rather than performed), written in blank verse by the Roman Stoic philosopher Seneca in the 1st century ad. Rediscovered by Italian humanists in the mid-16th century, they became the models for the revival of tragedy on the Renaissance stage.

Detailed explanation-3: -Gorboduc, otherwise known as The Tragedy of Ferrex and Porrox, was performed at the Inner Temple as part of the Christmas and New Year festivities of 1561-62, in which Queen Elizabeth I’s favourite, Lord Robert Dudley, presided as Lord Governor of the Christmas revels.