Sejanus His Fall by Ben Jonson
"Sejanus His Fall" is a tragedy by Ben Jonson, first performed in 1603, set during the Roman Empire and focusing on the political machinations at the court of Emperor Tiberius. The play centers on the character of Sejanus, Tiberius's ambitious favorite, who employs manipulation and betrayal to consolidate power. As Sejanus orchestrates the downfall of rivals such as Silius and Sabinus while courting the widow Agrippina, the narrative highlights the treachery and moral decay that pervade the imperial court. Tiberius, portrayed as a duplicitous figure, engages in a hypocritical charade of governance, while Sejanus ultimately faces a dramatic downfall due to his overreaching ambitions. The play serves as both a historical commentary and a moral exploration of tyranny, authority, and the cyclical nature of power. Jonson's work is notable for its rich dialogue and complex characterizations, reflecting the political climate of his time while drawing on classical sources. "Sejanus His Fall" invites contemplation of the consequences of ambition and the inevitable fate awaiting those who engage in treachery.
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Sejanus His Fall by Ben Jonson
First produced: 1603; first published, 1605
Type of work: Drama
Type of plot: Tragedy
Time of plot: First century c.e.
Locale: Rome
Principal characters
Emperor Tiberius ,Sejanus , his corrupt favoriteEudemus , a physician and beauticianLivia , Tiberius’s daughter-in-lawArruntius , a righteous and indignant Roman citizenSilius , ,Sabinus , ,Cordus , andLepidus , noble Romans hostile to Tiberius’s corrupt governmentMacro , a fiendish tool of the emperor
The Story:
Silius and Sabinus, respectable Roman citizens of the old stamp, meet and discuss the corruption of Tiberius’s court. Both admire Agrippina, the widow of Germanicus. Although conscious of the prevalence of spies controlled by the emperor’s loathsome favorite Sejanus, they show no personal fear. Arruntius and the historian Cordus, men of their kind, join them. Two of Sejanus’s spies watch and plan to entrap these men devoted to freedom. Sejanus enters with a group of hangers-on and suitors. Arruntius and his friends observe the favorite with scorn. One of Sejanus’s followers presents a suit from Eudemus, the physician of Livia, wife of the emperor’s son Drusus. Sejanus sends for Eudemus privately and lays plans with him for the seduction of Livia.
When Tiberius, followed by Drusus, makes a public appearance, Sejanus bathes him in fulsome flattery, to the disgust of Arruntius and his friends. The emperor answers with a devious, hypocritical speech. After his departure, Drusus and Sejanus clash, and Drusus strikes him. Sejanus remains alone, promising himself to add revenge to his ambitious motives for the destruction of Drusus. Having found Livia a willing victim of corruption, Sejanus plots with her and Eudemus to poison Drusus. Sejanus works on the fears of Tiberius to persuade him to destroy Agrippina and the sons of Germanicus, who after Drusus are heirs to the empire; he also warns the emperor of the danger of Silius, Sabinus, and others. Tiberius consents to call the senate and to allow Sejanus to handle the destruction of Silius, his wife Sosia, and Cordus, leaving Sabinus and Arruntius for the future.
Arruntius and his friends, hearing that Drusus is dying, recalls the public blow given to Sejanus. Later, the senate convenes, with Drusus’s death on all lips. Tiberius enters, to the amazement of the senators, who assumed grief would keep him from a political function. Tiberius delivers one of his hypocritical orations, punctuated by low-voiced comments from the undeceived Arruntius and his friends. Suddenly, without preliminary warning, Sejanus’s puppets accuse Silius of treason. Recognizing the tyrant’s trap and his own hopeless situation, Silius recalls his important services to Rome in peace and in war, formally accuses Tiberius of fraudulent conduct, and, mocking the tyrant’s power, stabs himself. Tiberius hypocritically expresses regret that he is thus deprived of an opportunity to show mercy to an erring subject. Cordus is next accused and sentenced to prison. His books, histories of the Roman Republic, are sentenced to be burned. Arruntius growls at the senate’s “brainless diligence” in attempting to destroy truth by book-burning.
At the conclusion of the senate meeting, Tiberius and Sejanus plan future moves to strengthen their hands; flushed with power and triumph, however, Sejanus makes a major mistake by asking to be allowed to marry Livia. Startled into suspicion, the emperor grunts ominously, then launches into a devious speech pointing out the dangers of such a match. Sejanus hastily withdraws his request but, still blinded by overconfidence, he urges Tiberius’s retirement to Capri. Alone, he gloats over past successes and looks toward future triumphs, including the overthrow of the emperor himself. Tiberius, thoroughly suspicious, begins to work with a new tool, the villainous Macro, to undermine Sejanus. While the emperor retires to Capri, Macro begins his work by advising Caligula, one of the sons of Germanicus, to surrender himself to Tiberius, saying that he fears the plots of the powerful Sejanus.
The next victim of Sejanus is Sabinus. Arruntius is moved to wonder why Jove did not strike down the impious and ruthless favorite. Sejanus, having reached a dangerous state of intoxication with his own greatness, thinks himself superior not only to men but also to gods. Ominous events occur, but Sejanus scorns superstition and remains confident of success in his march to absolute power. Macro, with authority from Tiberius, causes the senate to convene again, apparently to confer new honors on Sejanus. Macro himself remains in the background but assumes control of the guards. As the senators gather for the session, Arruntius and Lepidus, a good old Roman unspotted by corruption, stand aside to observe the flatterers eager to get close enough to Sejanus to give his ears confidential whispers. Great rivalry follows to see who can sit close to him during the proceedings. When the senators are seated, a letter from the emperor is read aloud to them. Bit by bit this masterpiece of political deviousness shifts the majority of the hearers from fulsome support of Sejanus to suspicion, fear, and hostility. Flatterers who clamor to get near the favorite hastily shift their seats, all but a gouty one who struggles in vain to rise, much to the delight of Arruntius at seeing gout keep the flatterer “miserably constant.” Macro enters, supported by the guards, and drags Sejanus from his seat, heaping violent personal indignities on him. Sejanus is hurried away to execution. Later reports tell of his body’s being torn to pieces by the mob. Most horrible of all, the children of Sejanus are torn from his divorced wife, Apicata, and are killed. In agony and fury, Apicata accuses Livia and Eudemus of poisoning Drusus. Their death sentences are foretold.
Arruntius and Lepidus know that Rome exchanges one instrument of evil for another, as Macro is no improvement on Sejanus, and the venomous, reptilian emperor remains untouched. Arruntius, however, delivers a valedictory prophecy to all tyrants and, using the fall of Sejanus as an example, warns of the inevitability and terror of their destruction.
Bibliography
Barrish, Jonas A. Introduction to Sejanus, by Ben Jonson. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1965. Argues that Jonson moves between closet drama and popular theater but shows a departure from other contemporary playwrights by remaining faithful to his sources. Demonstrates how Jonson coats his history in a morality play format and reduces his characters to moral types.
Donaldson, Ian. Jonson’s Magic Houses: Essays in Interpretation. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997. Donaldson, a Jonson scholar, provides new interpretations of Jonson’s personality, work, and literary legacy.
Engel, Wilson F. “The Iron World of Sejanus.” Renaissance Drama 11 (1980): 95-114. Shows how Jonson used a diverse collection of classical sources but wove them into a dynamic and coherent plot, producing a drama that vividly depicts the viciousness of a political age.
Harp, Richard, and Stanley Stewart, eds. The Cambridge Companion to Ben Jonson. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2000. Collection of essays about Jonson’s life and career, including analyses of his comedies and late plays, a description of London and its theaters during Jonson’s lifetime, and an evaluation of his critical heritage.
Lever, J. W. The Tragedy of State. New York: Methuen, 1971. Devotes a chapter to Roman tragedy, covering Jonson’s Sejanus His Fall. Jonson is seen as different from other playwrights of his time in his concern for political instead of heroic personalities.
Loxley, James. A Sourcebook. New York: Routledge, 2002. An introductory overview of Jonson’s life and work, particularly useful for students. Part 1 provides biographical information and places Jonson’s life and work within the context of his times; part 2 discusses several works, including Sejanus His Fall; part 3 offers critical analysis of the themes in his plays, the style of his writing, and a comparison of his work to that of William Shakespeare.
McEvoy, Sean. Ben Jonson, Renaissance Dramatist. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2008. McEvoy analyzes all of Jonson’s plays, attributing their greatness to the playwright’s commitment to the ideals of humanism during a time of authoritarianism and rampant capitalism in England. Chapter 3 focuses on his Roman tragedies, Sejanus and Catiline.
Sweeney, John G., III. “Sejanus and the People’s Beastly Rage.” English Literary History 48 (1981): 61-82. Shows how Jonson wrote a play that distances itself from the audience and does not give the viewers any characters with whom they may identify.