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 | | In both The Roman Actor and Believe As You List, Massinger moves away from such mixed characters, which, in a less exaggerated form, Aristotle himself thought best for tragedy, and towards characters whose complete goodness or thorough villainy reminds one that the influence of the Morality tradition was still to be felt in English tragedy. |
 | | Since Massinger was not the sole practitioner of tragedy involving such antithetical figures, the important issue is the kind of tragic effect produced by this sort of play and its difference from tragedy which results from a flaw in character. |
 | | Like The Roman Actor, Believe As You List is a tragedy about the fall of a prince, but in the latter play we pick up the story long after Antiochus's defeat; he has spent 22 years in self-imposed exile and has, under the guidance of a Stoic philosopher, reflected upon his downfall. |
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