A PROBABLE ITALIAN SOURCE OF SHAKESPEARE'S "JULIUS CÆSAR” BY ALEXANDER BOECKER, PH.D. INSTRUCTOR IN THE MANUAL TRAINING HIGH SCHOOL, BROOKLYN, NEW YORK SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF NEW YORK UNIVERSITY IN THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY PRINCETON N NEW YORK 1913 PREFACE This monograph was submitted to the Faculty of New York University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, and was accepted by them in May, 1912. Its composition was prompted chiefly by a desire to call attention to the long forgotten work of Orlando Pescetti, because it is at least an open question whether Shakespeare derived from the "Cesare" of the Italian dramatist many hints which he later used in his own "Julius Caesar." Pescetti's drama seems to have been entirely overlooked as a possible source, although the many striking similarities to Shakespeare's tragedy render it well worth investigating. I believe that the present work is the first attempt to demonstrate the possible relation between the two dramas. "Cesare" seems to be the only play on the subject which has not been exhaustively examined. The only notices in English with which I am acquainted appeared in letters published in the Nation, June 2 and 9, 1910, while this work was in process of preparation. The first, by Miss Lisi Cipriano, called attention to some marked similarities in expression and treatment between the two dramas. In reply, two letters appeared the following week: one from Professor Harry Morgan Ayres of Columbia University, the other from Professor Henry N. McCracken of Yale. Neither seemed to regard the parallels cited by Miss Cipriano as indicative of direct borrowing on the part of Shakespeare. Professor Ayres had previously in the June, 1910, number of the "American Modern Language Association Publications' been the first to make any mention of Pescetti in relation to Shakespeare. In his article, "Shakespeare's Julius Caesar in the Light of Some other Versions," he called attention to some parallels, without, however, attaching to them any particular significance. The above writers seem, however, to have missed the really vital points of contact between the two dramas. These, I trust, will become sufficiently evident in the following pages. SET 3925 .585 (RECAP) iii JAN 211915 324768 Pescetti has been no more fortunate in his Continental critics. The mere mention of his name from Tiraboschi on is all one finds till Emilio Bertana, in his "La tragedia" (1904), gives a brief analysis and critique of the play. Ferdinando Neri, in his “La tragedia italiana nel Cinquecento" (1904) has a brief mention, but none of his countrymen have ever discussed Pescetti's drama as a possible Shakespearean source. It seems unknown to French and German critics. Owing to the absence in America of material bearing upon Pescetti, I was compelled to base my study upon a very carefully executed transcript of the 1594 edition of "Cesare" now in the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale of Florence. Through the courtesy of Professor Ayres, I have been enabled carefully to check all quotations by reference to his own copy of the 1594 edition. The references to "Julius Caesar" are to the Globe Edition. The copy of Lydgate referred to is in the Library of Columbia University, while the quotations from Ovid are taken from Golding's 1575 translation in the Yale University Library. To the latter I am also indebted for the extracts from the 1578 translation of Appian. The references to Plutarch are to Professor Skeats' edition. To Mr. Emilio Bruschi of Florence I am indebted for his careful transcriptions of documents, and to Professor Salomone Morpurgo, the head librarian of the Biblioteca Nazionale, for his courtesy in putting the available material contained therein at my disposal. To Professor Harry Morgan Ayres I wish to express my thanks for permitting me to use his copy of "Cesare." To Professor Theodore F. Jones and Mr. Arthur H. Nason of New York University I owe many valuable suggestions regarding the arrangement of subject matter. My many obligations to Professor M. W. MacCallum's "Shakespeare's Roman Plays and their Background," and to Professor F. H. Sykes' edition of "Julius Caesar" are in evidence throughout. I am above all indebted to my colleague, Dr. Edoardo San Giovanni, for his kind help and encouragement, without which this work would probably never have been consummated. ALEXANDER BOECKER. TABLE OF CONTENTS Purpose of Thesis-The Prologue of "Cesare"-Synopsis of its Plot -Its Senecan Characteristics-The Dramatis Personae-Persons Com- mon to both "Cesare" and "Julius Caesar"-The Relation of "Cesare" to its Predecessors-Contemporary Notice by Beni-The Material derived from Classical Sources used by both Shakespeare and Pes- cetti-Appian, Pescetti's Main Source-Pescetti the Source of the Historical Matter in "Julius Caesar" not traceable to Plutarch. Passages in Shakespeare traceable to Appian-The Parallel Passages in Pescetti-The Speech of Brutus and the Oration of Antony with the Parallels in the Fifth Act of Pescetti-The Exclamations of the Mob in both Dramas-The Behavior of the Conspirators immediately after CHAPTER IV The Brutus-Cassius Scenes-The Debate Concerning Antony-Details peculiar to both Pescetti and Shakespeare-Comparison with Muretus and Grévin Similarity in the Sequence of Scenes following the Debate CHAPTER V |