Closet drama
is a literary composition written in the form of a play, but intended—or
suited—only for reading in a closet rather than for stage performance. Senecan
tragedy is thought to have been written for private recitation, and there
are several important examples of closet drama in English, including Milton's
Samson Agonistes, Byron's Manfred, Shelley's Prometheus Unbound, and Arnold's
Empedocles on Etna.