The political allegories present in Henry Purcell's Dido and Aeneas

This study aims to examine Dido and Aeneas, one of the significant works of the English Baroque period composed by Henry Purcell, in the context of political allegory. The libretto, written by Nahum Tate, contains allegorical elements that reflect the political transformations experienced in 17th-century England. The research analyzes the connections between the reign of James II and the political atmosphere of that period with the narrative structure of the opera. Adopting qualitative research methods, this study is designed through discourse analysis and structured using thematic analysis techniques. The themes indicating political allegory, derived from the libretto, were classified through a conceptual diagram, and each theme was evaluated in detail. During this analysis, a total of eight sub-themes were identified under the headings "Allegories Based on Historical Figures" and "Allegories Based on Historical Events." The findings revealed that Dido and Aeneas is not merely a mythological narrative but also contains allegorical elements that indirectly represent the political transformations of 17th-century England. In this respect, the study enables a reinterpretation of Henry Purcell's work within its historical context and contributes to the rarely addressed field of allegorical analysis in the literature.