Hercules Furens (Mad Hercules) (Seneca's First Tragedy)

Heywood, Jasper / Seneca, Lucius Annaeus, published 1561 · tragedy; literary play · Translation;Nonprofessional;Closet/Unacted · other editions of this work: 60 (1581)

28chunks

14,044words

4topics

25 %unassigned

Metadata

Title	Hercules Furens (Mad Hercules) (Seneca's First Tragedy)
Author	Heywood, Jasper / Seneca, Lucius Annaeus
Publication year (edition)	1561
Genre (British Drama)	tragedy; literary play
Genre group (comparison)	tragedy — British Drama label compound or missing → Annals label used · Annals: tragedy
Play type	Translation;Nonprofessional;Closet/Unacted
Work / edition / TCP / DEEP	work 34 · edition 59 · TCP A11911 · DEEP 51
Edition role	Representative edition — used in the analysis
First performance / composition (Annals)	1561
First performance (BritDrama)	1561
Printer	Sutton, Henry
Publisher	Sutton, Henry
Format	Octavo
STC	22223
Greg	34a
Genre (Annals)	Tragedy
Genre (BritDrama)	Literary Tragedy
BritDrama no.	342
Title page	Tragedia prima quæ inferibitur Hercules furens ... The first Tragedie ... intituled Hercules furens,
Corpus build	corpus-v3-2026-09-08 · nodes 1232 · witness single

Topic composition (share of words)

T20 Hercules: labours, suffering and virtue

46.9 %

unassigned

24.9 %

T7 The Trojan war: conflict and its afterma

14.3 %

T36 Hell, Furies and the language of punishm

7.0 %

T34 Thebes and royal catastrophe: siege, sla

6.8 %

Chunks in order

#	nodes	words	topic	typ.	opening
1	0–43	507	T20 Hercules: labours, suffering and virtue	0.72	ISyster of the thunderer, (for now that name alone remains to me) Ioue evermore as though devorste and gone, A…
2	44–88	508	T20 Hercules: labours, suffering and virtue	0.83	With lion fierce, and Hydra both: nor land sufficeth wide, But broke he hath the threshold lo of that infernal…
3	89–129	502	T20 Hercules: labours, suffering and virtue	0.86	Despise man's works: thinkest the fierce wight that hell and souls allow Thou haste escaped? nay here I will a…
4	130–160	508	unassigned		At will doth play in open meadow fair, that ealfe, whose brow did dam yet never tear The empty kine their udde…
5	161–205	487	T20 Hercules: labours, suffering and virtue	0.75	QGuyder great of heaven, and of the world o judge full high, Yet now at length appoint a mean●… of careful mis…
6	206–250	479	T34 Thebes and royal catastrophe: siege, sla	0.78	And th'earth well knows the worker of his quietness to be Away from earth: the prosperous guilt that beareth h…
7	251–294	496	T7 The Trojan war: conflict and its afterma	0.75	What way I pray you had he then when through the burning cost, Aud tumblyng after maner of the troubled sea vp…
8	295–339	481	unassigned		NOt I of native country bowers Possess the ancient right Unworthy heir nor yet to me are noble men of might, T…
9	340–383	476	T34 Thebes and royal catastrophe: siege, sla	0.82	Then brother, father, kingdom, house, that dearer is to me The hate of thee: the which to me with people for t…
10	384–429	472	unassigned		The heavy poise oppresseth him Of all the earth full great. He with no burden shall be priest, that heaven its…
11	430–475	484	unassigned		Call we him stout, from shoulders high of whom the lion thrown A gift for maiden made, and eke his club from h…
12	476–512	500	T20 Hercules: labours, suffering and virtue	0.84	This only boon I father of Alcides ask of thee, Which well may me beseem to crave, that I first slain may be. …
13	513–550	502	unassigned		Break fate by force: & let the sight of day to sorry sprights of hell apparently, and porch unpassed show way …
14	551–591	456	T7 The Trojan war: conflict and its afterma	0.83	Do either else my great desires delude and mock mine eyes? Or hath the tamer of the world and Greeks renown li…
15	592–640	554	T7 The Trojan war: conflict and its afterma	0.71	All right of world, and thee likewise I pray that bearst the rain In kingdom wide, and thee, for whom All roun…
16	641–685	476	T36 Hell, Furies and the language of punishm	0.67	What? ●…e that doth those places dark with regallsceptor gwyde, In what seat set, doth he dispose and rule tho…
17	686–731	506	T36 Hell, Furies and the language of punishm	0.81	Ixion rollde on whirling wheel is ●…ost and turned high: Upon the neck o●… Sisyphus the mighty stone doth lie.…
18	732–773	510	T20 Hercules: labours, suffering and virtue	0.80	Of dreadful voice from triple mouth, even sprites that happy Bee Doth make afraid. from left side then straigh…
19	774–811	506	T7 The Trojan war: conflict and its afterma	0.76	And from their howsen left do haste to cum, the Attic priests the night to celebrate: Such heap is chaste bene…
20	812–859	504	unassigned		And what soever brother else of mine doth dwell in sky, Not of my stepdame brother. bring ye hither by and by …
21	860–905	477	T20 Hercules: labours, suffering and virtue	0.85	What is this sudden ill? Thy cruel cowntnance whether son Dost thou cast here and there? And seest with troubl…
22	906–953	511	T20 Hercules: labours, suffering and virtue	0.89	His other br●…ods I overthrow will quite, And corners all. What stay I yet? to me a greater fight Remains then…
23	954–993	510	T20 Hercules: labours, suffering and virtue	0.70	With neck full prone: I give myself, I run, I follow lo. Me sacrifice. what meaneth this? his eyes roll to and…
24	994–1029	513	T20 Hercules: labours, suffering and virtue	0.90	Thee guiltless make: in next estate it stands to hurtless hands, thy mischief not to know. Now strooken let wi…
25	1030–1078	503	T20 Hercules: labours, suffering and virtue	0.79	And who was he that feared not even sleep of Hercules? To see my conqueror me likes, it likes me him to know: …
26	1079–1125	499	T20 Hercules: labours, suffering and virtue	0.82	Thy grievous woe is there, The crime thy stepdames: this myschawnce no fault of thine hath here. From every pa…
27	1126–1178	552	unassigned		By sacred holly kindred's rights, by force and duty all Of both my names, if either me thy bringer up thou cal…
28	1179–1231	565	T20 Hercules: labours, suffering and virtue	0.84	This word is meet for Hercles' father lo. With this same arrow slain behold thy son is tumbled down, This weap…

Grace · generated by 13_site.py from run runs_Qwen_Qwen3-Embedding-0.6B_masked_hdb10, seed 42. Texts: EEBO-TCP / EarlyPrint (CC BY-NC 3.0). Metadata: DEEP, Wiggins & Richardson.