Sejanus His Fall: ‘Ambition Makes More Trusty Slaves Than Need’

Episode 203: We now stay in the world of the Elizabethan interpretation of classical history and myth with Ben Jonson’s next play ‘Sejanus His Fall’. Rooted more firmly in history than myth Jonson’s play uses the story of a power struggle motivated by personal ambition to look at the nature of power, justice and politics. This was quite evidently dangerous ground for a playwright already known for his clashes with the authorities, but it was not just that commentary of contemporary politics that got Jonson into trouble with this play. A brief word on the unfinished tragedy ‘Mortimer His Fall’ The ‘argument’ of the play and some thoughts on what the play might have been The early performance history of ‘Sejanus His Fall’ The possible co-author of the play The early reception of the play The background to the poor reception of the play A synopsis of the play The ban on satires and histories The translations of Tacitus and complications with Essex How John Heyward’s problems with censorship influence the play The play as a commentary on Elizabethan society Questions of the control of power in the play Questions of the application of justice in the play The motivations of Sejanus The aesthetic issues with the play How Jonson mixed comedy and tragedy in the play The influence of Marlowe on the verse in the play Jonson censured for the play The later performance history of the play Support the podcast at: Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Sejanus His Fall: ‘Ambition Makes More Trusty Slaves Than Need’ is an episode from The History Of European Theatre by Philip Rowe.

This episode is 36:14 long.

This episode was published on Feb 2, 2026.

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