On March 29, 1591, Thomas North purchased a used, 1582-edition of his Dial of Princes for 5 shillings, signing the back and dating the purchase—a copy now kept at the Cambridge University Library.[1] Then he began rereading or skimming certain sections, skipping from here to there, underscoring certain lines and passages, and adding various notesContinue reading “North’s Marginal Notes (His Personal Workbook for Early 1590s Plays)”
Author Archives: Dennis McCarthy
In 1592, North Underlined and Wrote Out the Subtitle to “Arden of Faversham” (1592)
North’s note-writing begins early in this copy of Dial of Princes, even in the prologue and table of contents. Importantly, out of 13 pages in the table of contents listing 177 chapters, North only adds notes to three of those listed chapter titles. All three chapters and their titles are relevant to his plays–and twoContinue reading “In 1592, North Underlined and Wrote Out the Subtitle to “Arden of Faversham” (1592)”
Gosson’s 1579 Reference to the original “The Merchant of Venice”
The source play for The Merchant of Venice, which was originally titled, The Jew of Venice, is relatively easy to date: 1578. We know this because we can confine its date between a known source, Richard Robinson’s English translation of the Gesta Romanorum (1577), and a known allusion to the drama in Stephen Gosson’s SchoolContinue reading “Gosson’s 1579 Reference to the original “The Merchant of Venice””
Did Shakespeare Really Adapt Old Plays? (YES! And No-One Denies This!)
As all Shakespeare source-scholars agree, and as umpteen pre-Shakespeare allusions to these earlier plays confirm, and as the first title pages of Shakespeare’s plays make clear, and as Shakespeare’s contemporaries frequently complained: Shakespeare remade old plays. This is not controversial. Yet while this is a fact that few experts deny, it still appears to beContinue reading “Did Shakespeare Really Adapt Old Plays? (YES! And No-One Denies This!)”
Borrowed Lines and Phrases
For the last 35 entries, we have posted detailed examples of Shakespearean speeches and exchanges that derive from passages originally written by North. But some prefer to just compare the borrowed lines and phrases together — one after the other –with no further explanation. They find this more compelling. So every day this week, weContinue reading “Borrowed Lines and Phrases”
Joan Pucelle’s and Henry VI’s Ironic Allusions to North’s Disastrous Stories about Caesar
As we have seen, many characters in the Shakespeare canon like to cite various stories from North’s translations–often using them to highlight parallels to their own situation. This especially occurs in the early English histories, with various characters referencing North’s chapters on Julius Caesar in North’s Plutarch’s Lives. This includes Joan Purcelle and Henry VI,Continue reading “Joan Pucelle’s and Henry VI’s Ironic Allusions to North’s Disastrous Stories about Caesar”
What About The Title Pages? (They Also Prove Shakespeare Adapted The Plays!)
When Shakespeare died in 1616, the majority of his plays still remained unpublished –and many of the plays that had been published while he was alive and with his name on the title pages are today considered either apocryphal (e.g., Sir John Oldcastle, The London Prodigal, A Yorkshire Tragedy) or a “bad quarto” (i.e. aContinue reading “What About The Title Pages? (They Also Prove Shakespeare Adapted The Plays!)”
Hamlet as Brutus, Polonius as Caesar, & a Burial in Hugger-Mugger
The full title of Thomas North’s Plutarch’s Lives begins: “The Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans Compared Together…” And sometimes this is abbreviated to Plutarch’s Parallel Lives, referring to the correspondences that Plutarch drew between Greek and Roman rulers. North then used this same framework for his histories and tragedies, drawing parallels between theContinue reading “Hamlet as Brutus, Polonius as Caesar, & a Burial in Hugger-Mugger”
Lysimachus, Antiochus, Tyre, Tarsus, Miletum, and the Wise Man Who Wished To Know None of the King’s Secrets
When Thaliard enters in act 1, scene 3 of Pericles, he mentions a story about a wise philosopher who wanted just one thing from a King. As shown, the story comes from “The “The Life of Demetrius” in North’s Plutarch’s Lives. North’s Plutarch Shakespeare’s Pericles and Twelfth Night but he was much more to beContinue reading “Lysimachus, Antiochus, Tyre, Tarsus, Miletum, and the Wise Man Who Wished To Know None of the King’s Secrets”
Edgar as the Impoverished, Unperfumed Learned-Theban, Who Stands in Esperance and Knows the Cause of Thunder.
Numerous scholars have discussed King Lear’s unswerving focus on the virtues of poverty and charity –especially in contrast to the corruption of wealth. Throughout the tragedy, many of the characters are forced into destitution and misery–especially Edgar (Poor Tom) and King Lear – only to end up embracing the impoverished and natural state of theContinue reading “Edgar as the Impoverished, Unperfumed Learned-Theban, Who Stands in Esperance and Knows the Cause of Thunder.”