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Italian book, intitl'd-Il Pecorone: the author of which calls himfelf,-Ser Giovanni Fiorentino; and writ his book, as he tells you in fome humourous verses at the beginning of it, in 1378, three. years after the death of Boccace: it is divided into giornata's, and the ftory we are speaking of is in the first novel of the giornata quarta; edit. 1565, octavo, in Vinegia. This novel Shakspeare certainly read; either in the original, or (which I rather think) in fome tranflation that is not now to be met with, and form'd his play upon it. tranflated a-new, and made publick in 1755, in a fmall octavo pamphlet, printed for M. Cooper : and, at the end of it, a novel of Boccace: (the firft of day the tenth) which, as the tranflator rightly judges, might poffibly produce the fcene of the cafkets, fubftituted by the poet in place of one in the other novel, that was not proper for the ftage.

Merry Wives of Windfor.

It was

Queen Elizabeth," fays a writer of Shakspeare's life, was fo well pleas'd with that admirable character of Falstaff, in the two parts of Henry the Fourth, that fhe commanded him to continue it for one play more, and to shew him in love. This is faid to be the occafion of his writing The Merry Wives of Windfor." As there is no proof brought for the truth of this ftory, we may conclude that it is either fome playhouse tradition, or had its rife from Sir William D'Avenant, whofe authority the writer quotes for another fingular anecdote, relating to lord Southampton. Be this as it may; Shak

fpeare, in the conduct of Falstaff's love-adventures, made ufe of fome incidents in a book that has been mention'd before, call'd-Il Pecorone; they are in the fecond novel of that book. It is highly probable, that this novel likewife is in an old English drefs fomewhere or other; and from thence tranfplanted into a foolish book call'd—The fortunate. the deceiv'd, and the unfortunate Lovers; printed in 1685, octavo, for William Whittwood; where the reader may fee it at p. 1. Let me add too, that there is a like ftory in the "Piacevoli Notti, di Straparola, libro primo; at Notte quarta, Favola quarta; edit. 1567, octavo, in Vinegia.

Midfummer Night's Dream.

The hiftory of our old poets is so little known, and the firft editions of their works become fo very scarce, that it is hard pronouncing any thing certain about them: but, if that pretty fantastical poem of Drayton's, call'd-Nymphidia, or The Court of Fairy, be early enough in time, (as, I believe, it is; for I have feen an edition of that author's paftorals, printed in 1593, quarto,) it is not improbable, that Shakspeare took from thence the hint of his fairies: a line of that poem, "Thorough bush, thorough briar," occurs alfo in his play. The reft of the play is, doubtlefs, invention: the names only of Thefeus, Hippolita, and Thefeus' former loves, Antiopa and others, being hiftorical; and taken from the tranflated Plutarch, in the article-Thefeus.

Much Ado about Nothing.

"Timbree de Cardonne devient amoureux à Meffine de Fenicie Leonati, & des divers, & eftranges accidens qui advindrent avant qui'l l' efpoufaft."—is the title of another novel in the Hiftoires Tragiques of Belleforeft; Tom. 3, Hift. 18: it is taken from one of Bandello's, which you may fee in his first tome, at p. 150, of the London edition in quarto, a copy from that of Lucca in 1554. This French novel comes the neareft to the fable of Much Ado about

Nothing, of any thing that has yet been discovered, and is, (perhaps) the foundation of it. There is a story something like it in the fifth book of Orlando Furiofo: (v. Sir John Harrington's tranflation of it, edit. 1591, folio) and another in Spencer's Fairy Queen.

Othello."

Cinthio, the best of the Italian writers next to Boccace, has a novel thus intitl'd:-"Un Capitano Moro piglia per mogliera una cittadina venetiana, un fuo Alfiere l'accufa di adulterio al [read, il, with a colon after-adulterio] Marito, cerca, che l' Alfiere uccida colui, ch'egli, credea l'Adultero, il capitano uccide la Moglie, è accufato dallo Alfiere, non confeffa il Moro, ma effendovi chiari inditii, è bandito, E lo fcelerato Alfiere, credendo nuocere ad altri, procaccia à fe la morte miferamente.' Hecatommithi, Dec. 3, Nov. 7; edit. 1565, 2 tomes, octavo. If there was no tranflation of this novel, French or English; nor any thing built upon it, either in prose or verse, near

enough in time for Shakspeare to take his Othello from them; we muft, I think, conclude that he had it from the Italian; for the ftory (at least, in all it's main circumftances) is apparently the fame. Romeo and Juliet.

This very affecting story is likewise a true one; it made a great noife at the time it happen'd, and was foon taken up by poets and novel-writers. Bandello has one; it is the ninth of tome the fecond: and there is another, and much better, left us by fome anonymous writer; of which I have an edition, printed in 1553 at Venice, one year before Bandello, which yet was not the firft. Some fmall time after, Pierre Boifteau, a French writer, put out one upon the fame fubject, taken from thefe Italians, but much alter'd and enlarg'd: this novel, together with five others of Boifteau's penning, Belleforest took; and they now ftand at the beginning of his Hifloires Tragiques, edition beforemention'd. But it had fome prior edition; which falling into the hands of a countryman of ours, he converted it into a poem; altering, and adding many things to it of his own, and publifh'd it in 1562, without a name, in a small octavo volume, printed by Richard Tottill; and this poem, which is call'd -The Tragical Hiftorie of Romeus and Juliet, is the origin of Shakspeare's play: who not only follows it even minutely in the conduct of his fable, and that in those places where it differs from the other writers; but has alfo borrow'd from it fome few thoughts, and expreffions. At the end of a small poetical mifcellany, publifh'd by one George Tur

berville in 1570, there is a poem-"On the death of Maifter Arthur Brooke drownde in paffing to New-haven;" in which it appears, that this gentleman, (who, it is likely, was a military man,) was the writer of Romeus and Juliet. In the fecond tome of The Palace of Pleasure, (Nov. 25.) there is a profe tranflation of Boifteau's novel; but Shakspeare made no use of it.

Taming of the Shrew.

Nothing has yet been produc'd that is likely to have given the poet occafion for writing this play, neither has it (in truth) the air of a novel, so that we may reasonably suppose it a work of invention; that part of it, I mean, which gives it it's title. For one of it's underwalks, or plots-to wit, the ftory of Lucentio, in almoft all it's branches, (his love-affair, and the artificial conduct of it: the pleasant incident of the Pedant; and the characters. of Vincentio, Tranio, Gremio, and Biondello,) is form'd upon a comedy of George Gascoigne's, call'd-Suppofes, a tranflation from Ariofto's I fuppofiti: which comedy was acted by the gentlemen of Grey's-Inn in 1566; and may be seen in the tranflator's works, of which there are feveral old editions and the odd induction of this play is taken from Goulart's Hiftoires admirables de notre Temps; who relates it as a real fact practis'd upon a mean artisan at Bruffels by Philip the good, duke of Burgundy. Goulart was tranflated into English, by one Edw. Grimefton: the edition I have of it, was printed in 1607, quarto, by George Eld; where this ftory may be found at p. 587: but, for any thing that there appears to the contrary, the book might have been printed before.

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