Alexander Boecker.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
| CHAPTER I | ||
| Introduction | [1] | |
| Purpose of Thesis—The Prologue of “Cesare”—Synopsis of its Plot—Its Senecan Characteristics—The Dramatis Personae—Persons Common 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 Pescetti—Appian, Pescetti’s Main Source—Pescetti the Source of the Historical Matter in “Julius Caesar” not traceable to Plutarch. | ||
| CHAPTER II | ||
| The Influence of Appian | [12] | |
| 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 the Murder. | ||
| CHAPTER III | ||
| The Handling of the Supernatural Element | [25] | |
| The Parallelism in General Treatment—The Use of Ghosts—The Portents and Prodigies—Parallels. | ||
| CHAPTER IV | ||
| The Brutus-Cassius Scenes | [41] | |
| 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—The Lena-Caesar Episode—The Parallel Use of Suspense. | ||
| CHAPTER V | ||
| The Character of Caesar | [57] | |
| Peculiarities of Shakespeare’s Delineation—The Influence of Medieval Conception of the Character—Pescetti’s Treatment—His Appreciation of Caesar’s Nobler Qualities—Their Submergence in the Action and his Emphasis of Caesar’s Weaknesses—Caesar’s Susceptibility to Flattery, his Pride, his Boastfulness, his Vacillation—Reasons for Pescetti’s Delineation—The Parallels in Shakespeare’s Treatment—Caesar’s Relative Inferiority in the Action—His Spiritual Domination of the Tragedy. | ||
| CHAPTER VI | ||
| The Character of Brutus | [76] | |
| The Moral Elevation of the Hero, and the Reason therefor—Parallel in Content in a Brutus-Cassius Scene—Brutus as a Leader—Pescetti’s Conception of the Character—Brutus’ Lack of Foresight—His Sense of the Justice of his Cause—Lack of Definite Causes of Resentment against Caesar—Parallelism to Shakespeare. | ||
| CHAPTER VII | ||
| The Other Characters | [96] | |
| Antony—Pescetti’s Conception—Parallels in Shakespeare—The Brutus-Portia Scenes—Their Historical and Critical Importance—Pescetti’s Delineation of Portia—Her Place in the Action—Details Common only to Pescetti and Shakespeare—Calpurnia—Striking Parallel between one of her Speeches and one by Cassius in Shakespeare—The Remaining Characters. | ||
| CHAPTER VIII | ||
| “Cesare” in England | [110] | |
| Pescetti’s Work known in England—Probable use by Sir William Alexander in the Composition of “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar”—The Evidence—Parallels between “Cesare” and Alexander’s Work—Shakespeare’s Knowledge of the Work—The Two Part Nature of “Julius Caesar”—Jonson’s assumed Collaboration—Shakespeare and Italian. | ||
| CHAPTER IX | ||
| Conclusion | [121] | |
| Pescetti’s Drama an Improvement on its Senecan Predecessors—Its Particular Value to the Literary Historian—Summary of the Argument—Conclusion. | ||
| BIBLIOGRAPHY | [126] | |
INTRODUCTION
I intend in this monograph to demonstrate the probability of Shakespeare’s indebtedness in the composition of the first three acts of his “Julius Caesar,” to the “Cesare” of Orlando Pescetti, an Italian tragedy on the same theme, first published at Verona in 1594.[[1]]
This connection has never yet been demonstrated. The work seems almost totally unknown to the English literary world.[[2]] Shakespearean criticism, eager to investigate the smallest matters in regard to the great poet, is silent on Pescetti. I know of no French or German[[3]] references. In Italy, Pescetti has received scant notice; few writers have so much as mentioned “Cesare,” while not one has made any suggestion as to a possible connection between this play and “Julius Caesar.”[[4]]
The inscription upon the title page of the 1594 edition is as follows:
Il Cesare
Tragedia
d’Orlando Pescetti