Like Thomas Middleton's The Witch (written ?1615-16), Sir Thomas Overbury, A Tragedy (performed 1723) by Richard Savage presents us with a drama about the crime leading to the death of the title character, a courtier during the reign of King James I. Although the Savage expert Clarence Tracy does not refer to The Witch, we can surmise that Savage read it and was not a little influenced by it. Based upon this assumption, I will attempt to analyse Savage's work in the context of its historical background and Middleton's play.    The topic of black magic, which was practiced in the Stuart Age and formed the backdrop to The Witch, is avoided completely in Sir Thomas Overbury. Savage created seven main characters, two of whom - Isabella and Cleora - are not based on people who actually existed.    Act I features several diversions from the facts of the incident as presented in historical records. In the play, Frances becomes angry because Overbury rejects her advance. In reality, however, she cherished a lasting dislike of him as a result of his attempts to dissuade the Earl of Somerset, his patron and friend, from marrying her.    Both Middleton and Savage make use of the Biblical teaching onmarriage: `What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder.' (Matthew, 19: 6). In The Witch, Hecate says, `We cannot disjoin wedlocks; 'Tis of heaven's fasting.' (I, ii, 170-71) when Sebastian asks her to sever the relationship between Isabella and Antonio. However, the Earl of Northampton applies the words in a more self-righteous manner to the situation of Somerset, who has married Frances and does not want Overbury to disrupt his new life. In fact, we could well say that Somerset's downfall is inevitable once he marries Frances, a woman who `is put away from her husband.' (Luke, 16: 18)    In Act II, Cleora functions as something of a right-hand woman for Frances, reminiscent of Mrs Turner, whose assistance Frances required in plotting against the Earl of Essex and Overbury. In it, however, Cleora is a sympathetic character who helps Isabella to overcome various difficulties.    Both Francisca in The Witch and Frances in Savage's play invent lies in order to cause harm to such virtuous characters as Isabella and Overbury, and to present their own ignominious acts in the best possible light.    In Act III, Overbury is arrested and is told that he will be conveyed to the Tower of London on the charge of insulting the King by rejecting an appointment to the position of Ambassador to Russia - an appointment that had been engineered by Northampton, who was anxious to remove him from the country. According to historical documents, the position may actually have been Ambassador to France, but it is certainly true that he was jailed for disobeying the King's orders.    The events depicted in Act IV are entirely the product of Savage's imagination. Frances desires the release of Overbury and, accompanied by Cleora, visits him in the Tower with the intention of doing her utmost to seduce him. Somerset, her husband, discovers her in the Tower and the truth emerges that the whole debacle was of her own devising. Mistaking him forOverbury, Northampton draws his sword upon Somerset and makes an abortive attempt to kill him.    The greater part of Act V, which is also not based on actual events, depicts Somerset's repentance for his part in Overbury's suffering and his reconciliation with him. In the final moments of the play, Isabella informs Overbury of the special pardon granted him by the King, but he meets his death after drinking the poisoned wine sent to him by Frances.    Middleton's The Witch commences with the marriage of Antonio, a character based on the Earl of Essex, and Isabella, who is partly modeled on Frances. It ends with the wedding of Sebastian, reminiscent of Somerset, and Isabella. On the other hand, Savage's play begins with the marriage of Somerset and Frances just after her divorce from the Earl of Essex. It depicts Overbury's imprisonment subsequent to his quarrel with Somerset, culminating in his murder in the final scene. It is evident that Savage has provided us with a sequel to the story Middleton dramatized about a crime of the Jacobean era previously.    It is most noteworthy that both playwrights have contrived frequently to put the word `wrong' or its variant forms in the mouths of the characters. Moreover, in both works the name 'Isabella' is used, the character playing an important role as a heroine in both. In addition, we can detect a number of scenes where Savage echoes Middleton, who employs artistic license for effect in changing the historical facts drastically.    The difference between the two plays is that Middleton presents us with a satirical picture of the society of his age in which there are no characters we can identify with, whereas Savage creates an emotional drama of love and friendship in which we sympathize with such sympathetic characters as Overbury and Isabella.