speed.

they say.

Zu A. 2. Sc. 6.
Enter Romeo, Frier.

Rom. My Juliet welcome. As doo waking

eyes Rom. Now father Laurence, in thy holy

(Cloasd in nights mysts) attend the frolicke day, grant

So Romeo hath expected Juliet, Consists the good of me and Juliet.

And thou art come.
Fr. Without more words I will doo all

Jul. I am (if I be day)
I may,

Come to my sunne: shine foorth, and make To make you happie if in me it lye.

me faire. Rom. This morning here she pointed we

Rom. All beauteous fairnes dwelleth in should meet,

thine eyes. And consumate those neuer parting bands,

Jul. Romeo from thine all brightnes doth arise. Witnes of our harts loue by ioyning hands,

Fr. Come wantons, come, the stealing And come she will.

houres do passe 17. I gesse she will indeed,

Defer imbracements till some fitter time, Youths loue is quicke, swifler than swiftest

Part for a while, you shall not be alone,

Till holy church haue ioynd ye both in one. Enter Juliet somewhat fast, and em

Rom. Lead holy father, all delay seemes long. braceth Romeo.

Jul. Make hast, make hast, this lingring See where she comes.

doth vs wrong. So light of foote nere hurts the troden flower: Fr. 0, soft and faire makes sweetest worke of boue and joy, see see the soueraigne power. Jul. Romeo.

| Hast is a common hindrer in crosse way.

Zu A. 3. Sc. 1. Pry. Speake Benuolio who began this fray? | While they were enterchanging thrusts and Ben. Tibalt heere slaine whom Romeos

blows, hand did slay. Vnder yong Romeos laboring arme to part, Romeo who spake him fayre bid him bethinke The furious Tybalt cast an enuious thrust, How nice the quarrell was.

That rid the life of stout Mercutio. But Tibalt still persisting in his wrong, With that he fied, but presently return’d, The stout Mercutio drewe to calme the storme, And with his rapier braued Romeo: Which Romeo seeing cald stay gentlemen, That had but newly entertain'd reuenge. And on me cry'd, who drew to part their strife, And ere I could draw forth my rapyer And with his agill arme young Romeo,

To part their furie, downe did Tybalt fall, As fast as tung cryde peace, sought peace to make. And this way Romeo fled.

Zu A. 3. Sc. 5.

Moth. Why how now Juliet?
Enter Nurse hastely.

Jul. Madam, I am not well.
Nur, Madame beware, take heed the day

Moth. What euermore weeping for your is broke,

cosens death: Your mother's comming to your chamber, make

I thinke thoult wash him from his graue with all sure.

teares. She goeth downe from the window.

Jul. I cannot chuse, hauing so great a losse. Enter Juliet's mother, Nurse.

Moth. I cannot blame thee. Moth. Where are you daughter ?

But it greeues thee more that villaine liues. Nur. What ladie, lambe, what Juliet ?

Jul. What villaine madame ? Jul How now, who calls ?

Moth. That villaine Romeo. Nur. It is your mother.

Jul. Villaine and he are manie miles a sunder

Moth. Content thee girle, if I could finde | And one who pittying thy needfull state, атап

Hath found thee out a happie day of ioy. I soone would send to Mantua where he is, Jul. What day is that I pray you ? That should bestow on him so sure a draught, Moth. Marry my childe, As he should soone beare Tybalt companie. The gallant, yong and youthfull gentleman, Jul. Finde you the meanes, and Ne finde The countie Paris at saint Peters church, such a man:

Early next Thursday morning must prouide, For whilest he lives, my heart shall nere be light To make you there a glad and ioyfull bride. Till I behold him, dead is my poore heart. Jul. Now by saint Peters church and Peter too, Thus for a kinsman vext?

He shall not there make mee a ioyfull bride. Moth. Well let that passe. I come to bring Are these the newes you had to tell me of? thee ioyfull newes?

Marrie here are newes indeed. Madame I will Jul. And ioy comes well in such a needfull

not marrie yet. time.

And when I doo, it shal be rather Romeo Moth. Well then, thou hast a carefull fa

whom I hate, ther girle,

Than countie Paris that I cannot loue.

Zu A. 4. Sc. 3. Jul. Farewell, God knowes when wee shall I will not entertaine so bad a thought. meete againe.

What if I should be stifled in the toomb ? Ah, I doo take a fearfull thing in hand. Awake an houre before the appointed time: What if this potion should not worke at all, Ah then I feare I shall be lunaticke: Must 1 of force be married to the countie? And playing with my dead forefathers bones, This shall forbid it. Knife, lye thou there. Dash out my franticke braines. Me thinkes I see What if the frier should giue me this drinke My cosin Tybalt weltring in his bloud, To poyson mee, for feare I should disclose Seeking for Romeo: stay Tybalt stay. Our former marriage? Ah, I wrong him much, Romeo I come, this doe I drinke to thee. He is a holy and religious man:

She fals vpon her bed within the curtaines.

Zu A. 5. Sc. 1.
Well Juliet, I will lye with thee to night. As will dispatch the wearie takers life,
Lets see for meanes. As I doo remember As suddenly as powder being fierd
Here dwells a pothecarie whom oft I noted From forth a cannons mouth.
As I past by, whose needie shop is stufft

Apo. Such drugs I haue I must of force With beggerly accounts of emptie boxes :

confesse, And in the same an Aligarta hangs,

But yet the law is death to those that sell Olde endes of packthred, and cakes of roses,

them. Are thinly strewed to make up a show.

Rom. Art thou so bare and full of pouertie, Him as I noted, thus with my selfe I thought: And doost thou feare to violate the law ? And if a man should need a poyson now, The law is not thy frend, nor the lawes frend, (Whose present sale is death in Mantua) And therefore make no conscience of the law: Here he might buy it. This thought of mine Vpon thy backe hangs ragged miserie, Did but forerunne my need: and here about And starued famine dwelleth in thy cheekes. he dwels.

Apo. My pouertie but not my will consents. Being holiday the beggers shop is shut.

Rom. I pay thy pouertie, but not thy will. What ho apothecarie, come forth I say.

Apo. Hold take you this, and put it in Enter Apothecarie.

anie liquid thing you will, and it will serue Apo. Who calls, what would you sir ? had you the liues of twenty men. Rom. Heeres twentie duckates,

Rom. Hold, take this gold, worse poyson Giue me a dram of some such speeding geere,

to mens soules

Than this which thou hast giuen me. Goe hye Come cordiall and not poyson, goe with mee thee hence,

To Juliets graue: for there must I vse thee. Go buy the cloathes, and get thee into flesh.

Zu A. 5. Sc. 3. Paris strewes the tomb with flowers. The perfect modell of eternitie: Par. Sweet flower, with flowers I strew Faire Juliet that with angells dost remaine,

thy bridale bed: Accept this latest fauour at my hands, Suecte tombe that in thy circuite dost con That liuing honourd thee, and being dead

taine,

| With funerall praises doo adorne thy tombe. Trotz der Verschiedenheit der beiden Texte, die es nicht verstattet, wie doch manche Herausgg. versucht haben, ganze Verse aus Q. A. an die Stelle anderer Verse der zweiten Recension zu setzen oder gar solche mitten in den verbesserten Text einzuschieben, ist doch eine Benutzung der Q. A. für die Verbesserung mancher Druckfehler, die aus einer späteren Q. in die andere und endlich in die Folio übergegangen sind, von besonderem Gewicht. Die Noten unter unserm Texte liefern zahlreiche Beweise dafür, wie oft in Q. A. allein die wahre Lesart des Dichters zu finden ist.

Nimmt man eine doppelte Bearbeitung des Dramas an - und selbst Collier, der die Q. A. in anderm Lichte betrachtet, *) räumt die Möglichkeit von Aenderungen und Verbesserungen ein, welche Sh., nachdem er das Drama auf die Bühne gebracht, damit vorgenommen haben möge --80 wird auch die chronologische Frage nach der Entstehung von Romeo and Juliet eine zwiefache. Wenn Tyrwhitt’s Vermuthung richtig ist, dass in der Rede der Amme (A. I. Sc. 3. Vgl. dazu Anm. 6) eine Anspielung auf ein Erdbeben in England im Jahre 1580 liege, so musste, da diese Anspielung schon in Q. A. sich findet, die erste Bearbeitung in das Jahr 1591 fallen. Und als eine Jugendarbeit des Dichters, also dieser Zeitperiode, wenn auch nicht gerade diesem Jahre angehörig, charakterisiren auch der Styl und Versbau das Drama. Diese Eigenschaften hat der Dichter auch nicht verwischt bei der zweiten Bearbeitung, welche immerhin einige Jahre später, vielleicht 1596, wohin Malone und Collier die Abfassung des Dramas überhaupt setzen, vorgenommen sein mag. Nur kann der Umstand, den Malone für diese Zeitbestimmung anführt, dass „Lord Hunsdons Servants“ welche nach dem Titel von Q. A. das Schauspiel darstellten, diesen Namen

nur vom Juli 1596 bis zum April 1597 geführt, nachher und vorher aber the Lord Chamberlain's Servants geheissen hätten, nichts weiter beweisen, als dass in dieser Zwischenzeit Q. A. gedruckt wurde, nicht aber, dass das Drama damals erst auf die Bühne gekommen sei. Das Titelblatt von Q. A. bezeichnet eben die betreffende Schauspielergesellschaft so, wie sie zu der Zeit hiess, als das Buch erschien.

Als Quellen benutzte Sh. zwei Werke, die, obgleich in verschiedener Form abgefasst, doch wiederum ihren Stoff einer gemeinsamen Quelle, einer italienischen Novelle des Bandello, entlehnt hatten: ein im Jahre 1562 erschienenes episches Gedicht von Arthur Brooke: The Tragicall Historye of Romeus and Juliet, written first in Italian by Bandell, and nowe in Englishe by Ar. Br., und eine Novelle in der von Shakspere mehrfach benutzten Sammlung The Palace of Pleasure von Paynter: The goodly history of the true and constant love betweene Rhomeo and Julietta. Paynter verdankte diesen Stoff nicht unmittelbar dem italienischen Original, sondern einer französischen Bearbeitung in Boisteau's Histoires Tragiques. — Shakspere hat sich näher dem Gedicht A. Brooke's angeschlossen, als der Novelle Paynter's, obwohl kein Zweifel sein kann, dass auch diese ihm vorlag. In welchem Masse er aber das Erstere benutzt hat, ergiebt sich am besten aus einigen Auszügen, die wir mit Verweisung auf die betreffenden Acte und Scenen hier folgen lassen. – Schon das von Brooke vorangeschickte Argument zeigt in Umrissen, wie genau Sh. seinem epischen Vorgänger gefolgt ist. Es lautet folgendermassen:

Love hath inflamed twayne by sodayn sight,
And both do graunt the thing that both desyre ;
They wed in shrift by counsell of a frier;
Yong Romeus clymes fayre Juliets bower by night.
Three monthes he doth enioy his cheefe delight:
By Tybalt's rage, provoked unto yre,
He payeth death to Tybalt for his hyre.
A banisht man, he scapes by secret flight:
New mariage is offred to his wyfe:
She drinkes a drinke that seemnes to reve her breath;
They bury her, that sleping yet hath lyfe.
Her husband heares the tydinges of her death;
He drinkes his bane ; and she, with Romeus knyfe,

When she awakes, her selfe (alas) she sleath.
Das erste Zusammentreffen der Liebenden erzählt Brooke so:

The wery winter nightes restore the Christmas games,
And now the season doth invite to banquet townish dames.
And fyrst in Capels house, the chiefe of all the kyn
Sparth for no cost, the wonted use of banquets to begyn.
No Lady fayre or fowle was in Verona towne,
No knight or gentleman of high or lowe renowne ;

But Capilet himselfe hath byd unto his feast,
Or by his name in paper sent, appoynted as a geast.
Yong damsels thether flocke, of bachelers a rowte,
Not so much for the banquets sake, as beuties to searche out.
But not a Montagew would enter at his gate,
For as you heard, the Capilets, and they were at debate.
Save Romeus, and he, in maske with hydden face:
The supper done, with other five did prease into the place.
When they had maskd a while, with dames in courtly wise,
Au did unmaske, the rest did shew them to theyr ladies eyes ;
But bashfull Romeus with shamefast face forsooke
The open prease, and him withdrew into the chambers nooke.

At length he saw a mayd, right fayre of perfecte shape,
Which Theseus or Paris would have chosen to their rape.
Whom erst he never sawe, of all she pleasde him most;
Within himselfe he sayd to her, thou justly mayst thee boste
Of perfit shapes renoune, and beauties sounding prayse,
Whose like ne hath, ne shalbe seene, ne liveth in our dayes.
And whilset he fird on her his partiall perced eye,
His former love, for which of late he ready was to dye ,
Is noue as quite forgotte, as it had never been:
The proverbe saith, unminded oft are they that are unscene,
And as out of a planke a nayle a nayle doth drive,
So novell love out of the minde the auncient love doth rive.
This sodain kindled fyre in time is uox so great,
That onely death and both theyr blouds might quench the fiery heate.
When Romeus saw himselfe in this new tempest tost,
Where both was hope of pleasant port, and daunger to be lost:
He doubtefull, skasely knew what countenance to keepe;
In Lethies floud his wonted flames were quenchd and drenched deepe.

When thus in both theyr harts had ('upide made his breache:
And eche of them had sought the meane to end the warre by speache,
Dame Fortune did assent theyr purpose to advaunce:
With torche in hand a comly knight did fetch her foorth to daunce;
She quit herselfe so well, and with so trim a grace,
That she the cheefe prayse wan that night from all Verona rice.
The whilst our Romeus a place had warely wonne,
Nye to the seate where she must sit, the daunce once beyng donne.
Fayre Juliet tourned to her chayre with pleasant cheere,
And glad she was her Romeus approched was so neere.
At thone syde of her chayre her lover Romeo ,
And on the other syde there sat one cald Mercutio ;
A courtier that eche where was highly had in pryce,
For he was coorteous of his speche, and pleasant of devise.
Even as a lyon would emong the lambes be bolde,
Such was emong the bashfull maydes, Mercutio to beholde.