Sofonisba

…his masterpiece, the blank-verse tragedy Sofonisba (written 1514–15, published 1524, first performed 1562), based on a story about the Carthaginian wars by the Roman historian Livy and employing the dramatic techniques of Sophocles and Euripides. Sofonisba, though not an interesting drama in itself, incorporated profound innovations in intent, structure, and…

Trissino’s Sofonisba (written 1514–15; the title is the name of the female protagonist) was the first tragedy of Italian vernacular literature to follow classical precedent; its structure derived from Greek models, but its poetic qualities were somewhat mediocre. Toward the middle of the 16th century Giambattista…