Translating and Transgendering Orestes in Early Modern England

Abstract

In early modern theatres, beyond his appearances in productions of classical plays, Orestes featured in new plays by writers including Pickering, Chettle, Dekker, Heywood, and Goffe, as well as inspiring allusions in plays by Kyd, Greene, Marlowe, Marston, and Jonson. In contrast with the female protagonists who typically featured in early modern translations of Greek tragedies, Orestes resonated with the melancholy, malcontent male characters who took central roles in new tragedies by Shakespeare and his contemporaries. This essay suggests that Euripides’ identification of Orestes with female tragic figures offered a template for rewriting iconic female tragic roles at a moment when playwrights were redesigning tragedy to showcase increasingly prominent male actors.