 | Caractacus |  |
THE ARGUMENT.
Caractacus, King of the Silures, having been defeated by Ostorius, the Roman Præfect, his queen taken prisoner, and his son (as it is supposed) either slain or fled, retired with his only daughter, and took sanctuary amongst the Druids in Mona. Ostorius, after the battle, leaving garrisons in the conquered country, marched to subdue the northern part of Britain, and led his troops to the frontiers of the Brigantes, then governed by Cartismandua. This queen, dreading the victorious enemy, made a truce with him; one of the conditions of which was, that she should assist the Romans in securing the British king, that he might be carried to Rome to grace the triumph of Claudius. She accordingly gave up her two sons as hostages, to be sent themselves to Rome, in case they did not seduce Caractacus from his sanctuary, to which place they were to be accompanied by Aulus Didius, and a sufficient force, to effect that design.
The Drama opens on their arrival in the consecrated grove, a little before midnight, and about the time when the Druids, who form the Chorus, were preparing the ceremonial of Caractacus's admission into their order. The two princes are seized as spies; and the incidents, consequent upon this, form what is called the Episode of the piece. The Exode, or Catastrophe, is prepared by the coming of Arviragus the king's son, who, having escaped with life in the late battle, had employed the intermediate time in privately collecting his father's scattered forces, to put him again into a condition of facing the enemy. His bravery, in defending his father and the Druids, occasions the Peripetia, or change of fortune; and his death, with the final captivity of Caractacus, concludes the Tragedy.
| Caractacus | |