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, auch von Brooke benutzten, französischen Bearbeitung in Boisteau's Histoires Tragiques. Der zweite Band des Palace of Pleasure erschien im Jahre 1567 und die 25. Novelle desselben hat folgende Ueberschrift: The goodly hystory of the true and constant love betweene Rhomeo and Julietta, the one of whom died of poyson, and the other of sorrow, and hevinesse: wherein be comprysed many adventures of love and other devises touchinge the same. 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 Maasse 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 seemes 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 (A. 1. Sc. 5.) 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 route,

Not so much for the banquets sake, as bewties 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,
All 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 fixd on her his partiall perced eye,
His former love, for which of late he ready was to dye,
Is nowe as quite forgotte, as it had never been:
The proverbe saith, unminded oft are they that are unseene.

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 wox 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 Cupide 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 comely 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 race.

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.

Juliet's Worte an Romeo in A. 2. Sc. 2. erinnern an folgende Worte, die sie bei Brooke spricht:

For if you doe intende my honor to defile,

In error shall you wander still, as you have done this whyle:
But if your thought be chaste, and have on vertue ground,

If wedlocke be the ende and marke which your desire hath found,
Obedience set aside, unto my parentes dewe,

The quarell eke that long agoe betwene our housholdes grewe,

Both me and myne I will all whole to you betake,

And following you where so you goe, my fathers house forsake.
But if by wanton love and by unlawfull sute

You thinke in ripest yeres to plucke my maydenhods dainty frute,
You are begylde; and now your Juliet you beseekes

To cease your sute, and suffer her to live emong her likes.

Romeo's Antwort führt den Mönch zuerst ein:

Since, lady, that you like to honor me so much

As to accept me for your spouse, I yeld my selfe for such.

In true witnes wherof, because I must depart,

Till that my deede do prove my woord, I leave in pawne my hart.

Tomorrow eke bestimes, before the sunne arise,

To Fryer Lawrence will I wende, to learne his sage advise.

He is my gostly syre, and oft he hath me taught

What I should doe in things of wayght, when I his ayde have sought.

And at this selfe same houre, I plyte you here my fayth,

I will be here (if you think good) to tell you what he sayth.

She was contented well; els favour found he none

That night, at lady Juliets hand, save pleasant woordes alone.

This barefoote fryer gyrt with cord his grayish weede,

For he of Frauncis order was, a fryer as I reede.

Not as the most was he, a grosse unlearned foole,

But doctor of divinitie proceded he in schoole.

By magiks arte most men supposd that he could wonders woorke.

Auch im Gedicht schreibt Juliet's Mutter die Thränen der Tochter dem

Schmerz um Tybalt zu. (Vgl. A. 3. Sc. 5.)

In absence of her knight the lady no way could

Kepe trewse betwene her greefes and her, though nere so faine she would;

And though with greater payne she cloked sorowes smart.

Yet did her paled face disclose the passions of her hart.

Her sighing every howre, her weping every where,

Her recheles heede of meate, of slepe, and wearing of her geare,

The carefull mother markes; then of her helth afrayde;

Because the greefes increased still, thus to her child she sayde:

Dere daughter, if you shoulde long languishe in this sort,
I stand in doute that over soone your sorowes will make short
Your loving fathers"life and myne, that love you more
Than our owne propre breth and lyfe. Brydel henceforth therfore
Your greefe and payne, yourselfe on joy your thought to set,
For time it is that now you should our Tybalts death forget.
Of whom since God hath claymd the lyfe that was but lent,
He is in blisse, ne is there cause why you should thus lament?
You can not call him backe with teares and shrikinges shrill:
It is a falt thus still to grudge at Gods appoynted will.

Der Rath des Mönches (A. 4. Sc. 1.) lautet bei Brooke so:
Receive this vyoll small and keepe it as thine eye;

And on the mariage day, before the sunne doe cleare the skye,

Fill it with water full up to the very brim,

Then drinke it of, and thou shalt feele throughout eche vayne and lim

A pleasant slumber slide, and quite dispred at length

On all thy partes, from every part reve all thy kindly strength;

Withouten moving thus thy ydle parts shall rest,

No pulse shall goe, ne hart once beate within thy hollow brest,

But thou shalt lye as she that dyeth in a traunce:

Thy kinsmen and thy trusty frendes shall wayle the sodain chaunce:

The corps then will they bring to grave in this churchyarde,

Where thy forefathers long agoe a costly tombe preparde,

Both for himselfe and eke for those that should come after,

Both deepe it is, and long and large, where thou shall rest, my daughter

Till I to Mantua sende for Romeus, thy knight;

Out of the tombe both he and I will take thee forth that night.

And when out of thy slepe thou shalt awake agayne,

Then mayst thou goe with him from hence.

Endlich folge hier, was dem Monologe Juliet's (A. 4. Sc. 3) entspricht:

I must devoure the mixed drinke that by me here I have,
Whose woorking and whose force as yet I doe not know.
And of this piteous plaint began another doute to growe:
What doe I knowe (quoth she) if that this powder shall
Sooner or later then it should or els not woorke at all?
And then my craft descride as open as the day,

The peoples tale and laughing stocke shall I remayn for aye.
And what know I (quoth she) if serpentes odious,

And other beastes and wormes that are of nature venomous,

That wonted are to lurke in darke caves under grounde,

And commonly, as I have heard, in dead mens tombes are found,
Shall harme me, yea or nay, where I shall lye as ded?

Or how shall I that alway have in so freshe ayre been bred,
Endure the loathsome stinke of such an heaped store

Of carkases, not yet consumde, and bones that long before

Intombed were, where I my sleping place shall have,

Where all my auncesters doe rest, my kindreds common grave?

Shall not the fryer and my Romeus, when they come,
Fynd me (if I awake before) ystifled in the tombe?

And whilst she in these thoughtes doth dwell somwhat to long,
The force of her ymagining anon dyd waxe so strong,
That she surmysde she saw, out of the hollow vaulte,
(Agriesly thing to looke upon) the carkas of Tybalt;
Right in the selfe same sort that she few dayes before

Had seene him in his blood embrewde, to death eke wounded sore.
And then when she agayne within her selfe had wayde

That quicke she should be buried there, and by his side be layde,
All comfortles, for she shall living feere have none,

But many a rotten carkas, and full many a naked bone;

Her dainty tender partes gan shever all for dred,

Her golden heares did stand upright upon her chillish hed.

Then pressed with the feare that she there lived in,

A sweat as colde as mountaine yse pearst through her slender skin,

That with the moysture hath wet every part of hers:

And more besides, she vainely thinkes, whilst vainly thus she feares,

A thousand bodies dead have compast her about,

And lest they will dismember her she greatly standes in dout.

But when she felt her strength began to weare away,

By little and little, and in her hart her feare increased ay,
Dreading that weakenes might, or foolish cowardise,

Hinder the execution of the purposde enterprise,

As she had frantike been, in hast the glasse she cought,

And up she dranke the mixture quite, withouten farther thought.

Then on her brest she crost her armes long und small,

And so, her senses fayling her, into a traunce did fall.

Die entsprechende Stelle bei Paynter lautet, um doch auch eine Probe seines Styls zu geben, so:

Julietta beinge within hir chambre having an eawer ful of water standing uppon the table filled the viole which the frier gave her: and after she had made the mixture, she set it by hir bed side, and went to bed. And being layde, new thoughtes began to assaile hir, with a conceipt of grievous death, which brought hir into sutch case as she could not tell what to doe, but playning incessantly sayd: „Am not I the most unhappy and desperat creature, that ever was borne of woman? For mee there is nothyng left in this wretched worlde but mishap, misery, and mortall woe, my distresse hath brought me to sutch extremity, as to save mine honor and conscience, I am forced to devoure the drynke whereof I know not the vertue: but what know I (sayd she) whether the operatyon of thys pouder will be to soone or to late, or not correspondent to the due tyme, and that my fault being discovered, I shall remayne a fable to the people? What know I moreover, if the serpents and other venomous and crauling wormes, which commonly frequent the graves and pittes of the earth wyll hurt me, thynkyng that I am deade. But howe shall I indure the stynche of so many carions and bones of myne auncestors whych rest in the grave, yf by fortune 1 do awake before Rhomeo and fryer Laurence doe come to help me?" And as shee was thus plunged in the deepe contemplatyon of thynges, she thought that she saw a certayn vision or fansie of her cousin Thibault, in the very same sort as shee sawe him wounded and imbrued wyth