How old was Juliet's nurse. Romeo and Juliet - a love story - who were the real Romeo and Juliet. Invented or borrowed

Today's schoolchildren get acquainted with Shakespeare's tragedy "Romeo and Juliet" in the eighth-ninth grade. Among the first questions of teenagers: how old were the heroes?

To find the answer to this question, we suggest that you get acquainted with the article of the philologist Konstantin Borisovich Vasiliev.

Konstantin Vasiliev

There are happy younger mothers...

(the article is given in abbreviation)

It happens, probably, for everyone: some words from a long-read work pop up in your memory and you rack your brains - what book are they from, who and where said them? If you can't remember, they obsessively spin in your head, they haunt you. And this is not necessarily a speech filled with great meaning, and not necessarily well-rhymed lines. As Osip Mandelstam once wrote: “Two or three random phrases haunt me ...”

This time it accidentally popped up in my memory: "There are happy younger mothers." True, I rather quickly connected the statement with Shakespeare's story of Romeo and Juliet. Why did you remember it once, why did it stick in your head? - without being significant and collapsible. Probably because, while reading Romeo and Juliet, I stumbled over this line. Somehow she puzzled me. I thought about the meaning of the translation. In the original, I stumbled at every step. I stopped at almost every line to delve into the text and familiarize myself with the footnotes and explanations. If we take today's carriers of English language, and they, even the most educated, cannot boast that they understand Shakespeare completely and in everything.

In my British edition of Romeo and Juliet, each act is preceded by its summary- in modern English, and each page has notes that sometimes take up to a third of the printed space. I also look at the translation - in any of the existing Russian translations. By the way, the reader has the opportunity to think, check with the dictionary, but the question is: how did the theatrical audience in Elizabethan times, at the end of the 16th century and the beginning of the 17th century, understand Shakespeare by ear? His texts are for a very prepared listener or reader. Sometimes it seems that in some of his works there are more figurative and double meanings, all kinds of word games than ordinary words and sentences.

In English, in that remark that was deposited in the memory and then remembered, there are no verbal tricks: “Younger than she are happy mothers made”. Here it is said that some girls are married off early and become happy mothers, being even younger than Juliet. The Russian translation I have given, firstly, sounds clumsy, and secondly, it does not accurately convey the meaning. Listen again: There are happy younger mothers.

Let us turn to the original: a young count named Paris (Paris) in a conversation with Signor Capulet (Capulet) expresses regret that the Montagues and Capuleti, noble people, have long been at enmity with each other: "And pity "tis you lived at odds so long." The abbreviation "tis corresponds to it" s (it is). Then Paris asks: "What say you to my suit?" He recalls his matchmaking.The English reader guesses: earlier, outside the text, Paris asked Capulet to give him Juliet as his wife, now he is waiting for an answer.

Of honorable reckoning are you both;

And pity "tis you lived at odds so long.

But now, my lord, what do you say to my suit?

In the translation of Anna Radlova, the appeal my lord is omitted, which conveys the respectful attitude of Paris towards a noble and older man.

Both of you are respected people

And it's a pity that you live in a long-standing quarrel.

What answer will you give me?

The Russian reader does not understand that Paris is wooing. An explanation arises: the young count asks the Capulets what is the reason for his long-standing quarrel with the Montagues? And let Capulet explain, let him answer.

Paris wants to know if Signor Capulet agrees to give him his daughter Juliet as a wife, and he thinks: Juliet is still young. He repeats what he said to Paris last time (outside the text): wait two years (two summers).

But saying o "er what I have said before:

My child is yet a stranger in the world;

She hasn't seen the change of fourteen years,

Let two more summers wither in their pride,

Ere we may think her ripe to be a bride.

Signor Capulet, a man far from young, married at one time, as we guess in the course of action, a girl even younger than Juliet. But he does not want to give his girl in marriage so early. What will be his answer? Just like last time.

Yes, the same one that I gave you before.

After all, my daughter does not yet know the world.

She is only in her fourteenth year.

Two summers will bloom and two will somle -

Then she will only ripen for the wedding.

Once upon a time, a lively discussion arose and continues: how old is Juliet and other characters in Shakespeare's play? Regarding her mother, the English, having made their calculations, say: she is twenty-eight years old, about twenty-eight. Some of our readers call the same age, while others say that Madame Capulet is two or even three years younger. Is Russian arithmetic different from English? No, different Russian readers read different Russian translations. Do not all translators know arithmetic? Not all translators understand English words in the same way.

A. Radlova's translation makes Juliet a little younger. In the original, look, Signor Capulet finds an excuse to deny that Juliet was not yet fourteen years old: "She hath not seen the change of fourteen years." Translation She is only in her fourteenth year, which makes one think that Juliet is only thirteen or something. A little later, in a conversation between Signora Capulet and Juliet's nurse, we find an exact indication of her age: the heroine will soon turn fourteen - literally in a couple of weeks. When transmitting one phrase, everything that relates to its content throughout the text of the work should be taken into account.

Paris considers Juliet quite ripe for marriage and gives his argument: some girls are married even earlier, they become happy mothers, or, in simple terms, give birth at an even earlier age: “Younger than she are happy mothers made”.

Count's objection, according to Radlova: "There are happy younger mothers." It seems to make sense. But somehow it's not quite clear. It can even be interpreted that Juliet has already given birth, she is a happy mother, but, in fact, there are younger happy mothers around.

Let us compare how Boris Pasternak conveyed in Russian the conversation between Paris and Signor Capulet. Paris starts:

Yes, it's weird. Two respectable elders -

And for some reason always on knives.

However, you did not give me an answer.

Wait, why is this strange, what's strange here? In an inaccurate translation, the speech of Paris is far from the original in meaning. In fact, Paris regrets the long-standing enmity of two noble people, remember: "And pity "tis you lived at odds so long", or, in modern English: "It" s a pity that you have been enemies for so long." In Pasternak, he is surprised, he suddenly, just suddenly, without connection with the general topic of the conversation, it seemed strange that two respectable elders were at enmity. Sorry, Shakespeare speaks of enmity in the original, but in the translation it is as if two quarrelsome neighbors in a communal apartment are always at knifepoint. Even the adverb for a long time (so long), changed for something into forever, reinforces this impression.

Shakespeare's Paris expresses himself exquisitely: "But now, my lord..." He is polite: "What will you tell me?" In translation - a rude demand: I am trying, but you, however, did not give me an answer! Excuse me, what is the answer? For some reason, Pasternak, like Radlova, did not consider it necessary to translate the suit (seeking of woman's hand in marriage), they deprived the Russian reader of a clue: the question was about matchmaking.

Pasternak's Capulet answers the young count with a significant simplification of the original. All difficult-to-translate verbal constructions have been released: a stranger in the world, the change of fourteen years, wither in their pride, ripe to be a bride. And the tone of the venerable old man is not literary-lofty, but simple-chastushushka: wait a little, little girl.

I'll repeat what I already said:

After all, my daughter is still a child,

She is not yet fourteen years old.

Wait two more years

And we will announce our daughter as a bride.

About the age of Juliet, Pasternak says, as in the original: she is not yet fourteen. This does not bother Paris (whereas in our time, matchmaking for a fourteen-year-old girl would embarrass both the groom and the father of the bride). We have already analyzed the objection of Paris: girls even younger than Juliet become happy mothers. Anna Radlova diligently preserved happy mothers for the Russian reader, and in T. L. Shchepkina-Kupernik’s translation we find something like this: “I knew happy mothers younger.”

AT English sentence with his grammar, it's not about the fact that there are happy younger mothers in the world, and not about what Paris knew - in the past? - such happy young mothers. In the sentence Younger than she are happy mothers made, using the passive voice, the form are made, it is reported: girls younger than Juliet are married, they are made, that is, become, happy mothers at an even younger age.

Pasternak says nothing about happy mothers, but in his translation, Paris's objection is closer to the meaning of the original: "They marry younger than she." True, - I continue to cling, - Pasternak attributed to young brides the freedom of choice, in his opinion, they themselves marry, while according to Shakespeare they are given in marriage.

Yes, in such cases, we again ask ourselves the question of a perfect translation: something was done well by one translator, but something he obviously did not succeed, and another translator coped with these difficult words, phrases or passages ... For comparison, let's throw a look at the translation of "Romeo and Juliet", made in our time, not so long ago, by O. P. Soroka.

Judging by its text, William Shakespeare is not such a great master of words, Verona grandees are not expressed as elegantly as in the original, verbal embellishments are omitted following the example of Pasternak, but there is courtship. Capulet believes that his daughter has not yet matured, but Paris speaks straightforwardly and clearly about early motherhood: at this age, children are already giving birth with might and main - sorry, they are giving birth.

Paris

You are both respected and noble,

And it's a pity that a long-standing dispute divided you.

But I am the answer to my matchmaking

I want to hear.

Capulet

I repeat again:

My daughter is still a child -

Only fourteen years incomplete.

Let it ripen. Two more years

Let's wait until the wedding.

Paris

At her age, children are already being born.

We have clarified the meaning of the phrase "There are mothers who are happy younger." We specified the age of Juliet: she is not yet fourteen years old, she will soon be fourteen. We know, having read the tragedy, that she will not live to see her fourteenth birthday... But in the course of the conversation, the question arose about Signora Capulet's age: is she twenty-eight or is she younger? The fact that she is much younger, Russian readers and interpreters, apparently, conclude by reading her reasoning about marriage and motherhood in the translation of T. L. Shchepkina-Kupernik. Let me remind you: the elder Capulet, referring to the younger Capulet, that is, to Juliet, speaks:

As for me - at your age for a long time already

I was your mother.

We estimate: Juliet is not yet fourteen, which means that her mother, at less than fourteen years old, was already married and her daughter had long since given birth. How long ago? If she, let's say, gave birth at thirteen, then, apparently, you need to add thirteen and fourteen, it will be twenty-seven years. If Signora Capulet had a daughter at twelve, then she is now twenty-six ... Or should I count differently? Well, not at the age of ten, the elderly Signor Capulet took her as his wife and immediately made her happy with motherhood? The careless statement of Signora Capulet, or rather the negligence of the translator, allows you to stretch the deadlines to unreasonable limits.

Signor Capulet believes that only two years later his daughter will be ripe for marriage, or, more precisely, her parents will consider her ripe in order to become a bride: “We may think her ripe to be a bride.” Unlike her husband, Signora Capulet sees no obstacles to marrying off her daughter: not only at fourteen, they get married even earlier, and her own early marriage is an example of this. For marriage, as we understand, in such cases only the will and consent of the parents matter. Signora Capulet, having learned about the offer of Paris, immediately undertakes to prepare her daughter for marriage - apparently considering her husband's opinion and his objections to be insignificant. In her efficiency, female logic is guessed: Paris is a good match, and if you pull, no matter how the groom changes his mind, and it’s better to give up his daughter earlier than to delay, you see, the girl will become overripe. However, we will not introduce our own reasoning, let us turn to the text, now taking the translation of D.L. Mikhalovsky, which was published back in 1888.

The mother informs her daughter about the matchmaking of Paris and, you see, shows some concern about the fact that her daughter is still a virgin.

Well, now think about marriage.

In Verona there are respectable gentlemen,

Mothers who are younger

You, Juliet; yes, myself

I have been a mother for a long time in those summers,

What girls are you in.

Here's the thing: young Count Paris

Wants your hand.

With Mikhalovsky, Madame Capulet was also a mother for a long time at less than fourteen years old, and we have to recognize the validity of the arguments of those Russian Shakespeare scholars and Shakespeare lovers who report their arithmetic calculations: the signora was twenty-six at the time of the events described, no more than twenty-six. Although this is approximate, but based on the translations given here, you cannot determine more precisely.

We heard a lot of suggestions why Shakespeare's characters are so young - they are just children, schoolchildren in modern terms. There are arguments about the age at which, according to the laws of that era, it was allowed to marry. But Romeo and Juliet do not just fall in love with each other, they just get married - without the permission of their parents, but the priest officially combines them with a marriage, albeit a secret one. They also had their wedding night: Romeo climbs a rope ladder through the window into Juliet's room. The explanations are as follows: firstly, the Middle Ages, and, secondly, it takes place in the south. Like, in the Middle Ages, girls were married from the age of twelve, boys married at fourteen. The city of Verona in Italy, this is the south - compared to England, and in the south, as you know, women mature earlier, they used to be taken as wives.

I am not sure that such reasoning answers the questions posed. In general, Shakespeare unfolds the action outside a certain historical time, and already critics correlate the events of the tragedy with some of the Middle Ages, some with the Renaissance. Shakespeare names Verona, a city in Italy, as the scene of action, but, in general, there are no Italian customs or Veronese signs in the tragedy, so is there any reason to invoke medieval Italian laws for explanation?

By the way, the Middle Ages is a loose concept, it stretches over several centuries. To talk about something common and unchanged for several centuries is more than naive, how childishly naive, for example, arguments that the darkness of ignorance reigned in the Middle Ages, churchmen burned heretics and witches at the stake, while knights in shining armor fought in tournaments for a smile beautiful ladies. To assert that in a certain historical period it was allowed to marry from such and such an age, can one who does not judge by Shakespeare's work, but has looked through the legislation of all European countries, at least in England and Italy, throughout the Middle Ages - within its not very clear boundaries. We do not immediately find confident answers about the newest time. Even today in one country, for example in America, the law is slightly different in different states, in the UK, not so long ago, the state and the church insisted on marriages no earlier than 21 years old, that is, as you reach the age of majority, today you can get married at 16 with parental consent, from the age of 18 without parental consent, and in northern (not southern) Scotland, it is legal to marry from 16 without asking your parents. By the way, in the Middle Ages, it was among the Scots, and not somewhere in the southern regions, that the age of marriage was 12 for women and 14 for men.

Someone will object at all: the events in Romeo and Juliet did not take place in the gloomy Middle Ages, everything takes place during the period of the radiant Renaissance! In the play there is the spirit of the Renaissance, and look at least at the illustrations for Shakespeare's creation, at the paintings of famous artists, how they depict Romeo and Juliet - everything breathes the Renaissance with its belief in the limitless possibilities of man! Since this worn-out opinion about limitless possibilities was voiced, I will note, in general, without regard to Shakespearean tragedy, that the burning of heretics and the witch hunt became a custom, spread and established themselves just with the onset of the Renaissance, so there is no need to idealize the Renaissance, as they do artists and art historians, and one can still argue which of the two periods mentioned is darker or more radiant than the other ...

When studying literary works, we will be based on what writers write and what translators translate for us.

To simplify the history of the issue somewhat, the first work about two lovers from Verona, about a young man and a girl from noble families separated by enmity, was written by Luigi da Porto (1485-1530). He connects the events with the reign of Bartolomeo della Scala, which, according to current calendar ideas, really belongs to the Middle Ages. Luigi da Porto also has information about the age of the main character. Juliet (Giulietta) mourns after a skirmish between Romeo and Tebaldo (Thebaldo): Tebaldo is killed, Romeo is forced to flee to Mantua. Her mother, Signora Cappelletti, worried that her daughter is killing herself too much, comes to the conclusion that Juliet is crying more not because of a murdered relative, but because she wants to get married! Indeed, this year, on the day of St. Euphemia, she turns eighteen years old (diciotto anni), and women over eighteen, as a rule, lose their beauty: “Che, ogni modo ella diciotto anni questa santa Euphemia forni,: e le donne, come questi anni di molto trappassano, perdono piu, tosto che no, della loro bellezza."

So, in the original Juliet is eighteen. And a kind mother worries: as if her daughter, in Russian speaking, did not stay too long in the girls, who will need an overripe bride! As we understand, Luigi da Porto has no connection either to the marriage legislation of that time or to the hot climate of southern Verona.

In England, the writer Peter Brooke (Peter Brooke) set out in poetic form tragic story of two Verona lovers, his "The Tragicall Historye of Romeus and Juliet" appeared in 1562. Although, according to the researchers, his translation is not based on the text of Luigi da Porto, we observe the same picture: after the ill-fated duel, Juliet sheds tears, and Signora Capuleti explains the reason for her grief in exactly the same way: the girl is very hurt, she is unpleasant to see that the majority peers (feres) are married (wedlock), only she, unmarried (unmarried), loses years.

Perhaps she doth disdain

To see in wedlock yoke the most part of her feres,

Whilst only she unmarri?d doth lose so many years.

The mother instructs her husband to find a worthy couple for her daughter. Signor Capulet objects: “Scarce saw she yet full sixteen years: too young to be a bride!” Peter Brook for some reason made the heroine two years younger: she had just turned sixteen. The father, grumbling, nevertheless begins to search for a groom - in order to bring his daughter out of a sad state, and, in general, in Peter Brook, Juliet's parents are less despotic than later in Shakespeare. Signor Capulet even asks his wife to find out (seek to learn) if Juliet has a heartfelt affection, he is ready to take into account her desire, because the choice of parents is based on the nobility and wealth (honor and wealth) of the groom, but he, the father, is more important than a quiet life and health daughters (quiet life and happy health):

The whilst seeking you to learn, if she in any part

Already hath, unware to us, fixe, d her friendly heart;

Lest we have more respect to honor and to wealth,

Than to our daughter's quiet life,

and to her happy health.

Romeo and Juliet as we know them are created by Shakespeare. He borrowed the story but told it differently, and among the changes is that Juliet is even younger compared to Peter Brook's poem, she's under fourteen. There are various suggestions why Shakespeare did this, there is an opinion that he attributed early marriages to the Verona, based on the customs of contemporary England ... One way or another, according to Signora Capulet, she was already a mother at less than fourteen years old. Now that the main events are unfolding, she must be about twenty-seven, a little over twenty-seven. Speculation that she is significantly younger is based on an inaccurate Russian translation.

Let's agree: Signora Capulet married when she was younger than Juliet. She gave birth to Juliet, most likely when she was fourteen years old. Can't be more precise. Actually, when parsing Romeo and Juliet, there is no great need to accurately determine dates, hours and minutes, numbers and distances. Shakespeare indicated exactly only the age of the main character. There are suggestions that he wanted to enhance the drama of the play: not young men, but children die because of the feuds of their unreasonable parents! But we do not find even a hint of Romeo's age, he is just young, young: young Romeo. And maybe he is not such a schoolboy and teenager, as we imagine today? Look at how he wields a sword: he kills Tybalt in a fight, which, according to Mercutio, does not allow the enemy to even breathe: one, two, and the third blow is already in your chest.

Romeo and Juliet is not a historical document or even historical novel. It is useless to approach the fiction of Shakespeare with a calendar, a chronometer and a ruler for measuring distances. In his literary work, he squeezed time and narrowed space: events go on in a continuous sequence, as if the actors are stepping on each other's heels when they enter the stage. Fleeing: a masquerade, love at first sight, a secret wedding, a duel, exile, preparations for the wedding in the evening, preparations for the funeral early in the morning ... The heroes do not have time to take a breath, falling out of the fire into the frying pan, fate separates them, barely connecting, death follows on their heels and breathes down their backs. They didn't live long, they were very happy for a while, and they died young on the same day.

Literature

Vasiliev K.B. There are happy younger mothers, or in what years Juliet gives birth to children // Sever. - 2016. - No. 3-4.

Two facts prompted me to write this note. The first - now appeared on the network latest translation"Romeo and Juliet" directed by Ivan Didenko, which I listened to with pleasure, and, I must say, this is the best thing that has happened to a Shakespearean tragedy in the last 100 years.

Secondly, by social networks the post about “how old we all are” began to walk again, where it is mentioned that Juliet’s mother was 28 years old, and this is absolutely not true. In the note - 12 quick facts about the tragedy "Romeo and Juliet", after reading which, I hope you will want to get acquainted with the new translation of the play, because it is incredibly good. So let's go!

1. First and most important. Shakespeare did not create a play about two unfortunate lovers from Verona from scratch. By the time the tragedy was staged at the Globe Theatre, the whole of Europe already knew this story. The first to take it into literary form was the Italian writer Luigi da Porto. In 1530, he published The Newly Found Story of Two Noble Lovers, but the novella was most famous in the interpretation of Matteo Bandello, another Italian writer who reworked da Porto's plot in his own way. By the way, Bandello is also the author of short stories, which later formed the basis of the plays "Much Ado About Nothing" and "Twelfth Night", so the researchers, not without reason, believe that Shakespeare was inspired by his version of the tragedy.

Romeo and Juliet by Franco Zeffirelli

2. If we talk about Luigi da Porto, then, according to many literary critics, the plot of "Romeo and Juliet" is based on the writer's autobiography. Luigi was in love with his cousin, 16-year-old Lucina Savornian from Italian city Udine, and it was she who became the prototype of Juliet. The lovers were involved in family feuds and as a result, Lucina married another. To this day, many Udine guides call this city the place where the plot of the well-known tragedy was born.

3. Another point on the map of Italy, associated with Romeo and Juliet, is the town of Montecchio Maggiore, located near Vicenza, where Luigi da Porto lived and worked. There are two castles on the neighboring hills - the former fortresses of the Scaligers, built for defensive purposes. Today, everyone calls them “the castles of Romeo and Juliet”, they say, Luigi da Porto, who described the confrontation between the two families, was inspired by just these fortresses. Besides, the title locality Montecchio is consonant with the name of Romeo Montecchi, which, of course, is no accident. Today, restaurants are open in the castles and, for obvious reasons, they are most often rented for weddings. In the courtyard of the “Castle of Juliet”, the current owners even installed a white statue of Romeo for some reason with an apple in his hands.

OUR VIDEO ABOUT "ROMEO AND JULIET" CASTLES

4. Juliet's surname "Capuleti" is a distorted version of the Italian surname "Cappelleti", which means "Shlyapnikova". So, in translation into Russian, the main character of Shakespeare's tragedy is simply called: "Julia Shlyapnikova."

5. The play takes place between 1301 and 1304. Where does such accurate information come from? It's simple: the text of Luigi da Porto indicates that at that time Bartolomeo I della Scala was Verona's underling, and he ruled the city from 1301 to 1304.

6. It is also possible to determine with relative accuracy the month when the tragic events took place. Most likely, they met, fell in love, got married and Romeo and Juliet died in late April - early May. Everything is also very simple here: during the wedding night, they hear the birds singing, and brother Lorenzo in the scene, when Romeo asks to marry him to Juliet, collects spring flowers and herbs for potions.

7. Juliet's mother is believed to be 28 years old. This is not so, most likely, she is only 25. Calculate for yourself: at the time of the tragedy, Juliet “is not yet fourteen years old”, while her mother mentions that she “had given birth to her before”, that is, at 12. By the way, this particular age was considered in the fourteenth century "the age of the first youth". 12 + 13 \u003d 25. Or 24 if Juliet's mother was not at all lucky.

8. The name "Juliet" indicates two aspects at once. Firstly, that the girl is very young, because in Italy this is a childish appeal to a female person named "Julia". At the same time, in the story of Luigi da Porto (the first version of this story), the main character is already 18 years old, but in Shakespeare she is only 13. Secondly, the name Juliet tells us that the girl was born in July. For the doubters: The Nurse mentions that Juliet will turn fourteen on Peter's Day - July 29th.

9. Apparently, Juliet's father and the Nurse had an intimate relationship in the past. The Nurse herself hints at this: in the scene of preparations for the wedding of Juliet and Paris, she calls Senor Capulet "an old debauchee." By the way, if we turn to the realities of Northern Italy of the XIV century, this is quite likely. The former “civil wives” of influential seniors often became breadwinners here, that is, mistresses from the bottom, who instructed young people of the upper class in art family life and love. Relations with them, as a rule, ceased after the marriage of the lord on the level. Then the girls got married, gave birth, and then moved into the category of nurses: you won’t trust your blood to an unfamiliar woman?

10. Everyone knows the famous scene on the balcony: when Romeo and Juliet first declare their love to each other and agree on marriage. In fact, neither Shakespeare nor other versions of the tragedy have any balcony at all. Juliet stands at the window, which is closed with shutters, then opens them, looks at the stars, and then Romeo, sighing under the window, makes himself felt, after which their famous dialogue begins.

This is especially noticeable if you read the text in the original. Not without reason, the balcony does not appear in the scene of the wedding night either: Romeo climbs in and climbs out through the window. Where did he come from? Here, the theatrical tradition is to blame for everything, which eventually took hold, and everyone began to associate the scene of a declaration of love with a balcony, on which Romeo, of course, must climb, risking his life, according to the laws of the genre.

In the photo: Juliet's balcony in Verona

11. If we talk about Shakespeare's text, then, you know, everything that we read today is just a pirated version of the play. Shakespeare's works were not published, just competitors who came to the Globe Theater recorded the action by ear, so the same Hamlet today exists in very different versions. Another important point: the play was written for the crowd, so it contains an unthinkable amount of all kinds of obscene and jokes below the belt of some Pavel Volya. But, starting from the 18th century, when the theater began to be perceived more as a sublime and noble art, directors began to systematically eradicate obscenities from the original text. In the classical Russian translations of the tragedy, there are no indecencies at all.

12. Filmmakers and directors theatrical performances most often they throw out the same scene from Shakespeare's play. It takes place in the cemetery, when Romeo, heading to the tomb of Juliet, meets Paris on his way, and a duel takes place between the young people. As a result, Romeo kills the groom of his beloved, after which he takes his body to the crypt. This episode is not in the classic Zeffirelli film, nor in the modernized adaptation of the tragedy with Leonardo DiCaprio, nor, of course, in the musical. Apparently, the directors are diligently getting rid of the ambiguity of the image of Romeo, and besides, they do not want to distract the audience's attention from the story of two lovers, which brings the play closer to pre-Shakespearean versions: texts by Luigi da Porto and Matteo Bandello.

Romeo and Juliet, Tragedy at Verona

The tragedy of William Shakespeare, which tells about the love of a young man and a girl from two ancient warring families - the Montagues and the Capulets. The work is usually dated to 1594-1595. The history of the Italian city of Verona has its roots in Roman times. But the most famous inhabitants of Verona are still the young Romeo and Juliet, whose love for each other was immortalized by the genius of William Shakespeare.

The great playwright William Shakespeare did not claim the historicity of his characters.

Did you think of it or borrow it?

In 1957, Shakespeare's play was published under the title "The Excellently Invented Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet." But Shakespeare was a little cunning, for the story of two lovers was popular long before he was composed. Images of “unfortunate lovers” are found already in the era of Antiquity, for example, in the Greek poem “Antia and Abrokom” by Xenophon of Aeneas (II century). Moreover, in 2007, Italian archaeologists, 40 kilometers from Verona, discovered a burial in which lay two skeletons hugging each other, male and female, more precisely, youthful and girlish, since they had perfectly healthy teeth. It turned out that the skeletons are more than 5 thousand years old. It cannot be ruled out that some unbearably sad event happened to young people during their lifetime, which killed them both.

The first about young lovers bearing the names of Romeo and Juliet, the offspring of the warring families of the Montagues and Capuleti, was spoken in 1531 by the Italians Luigi da Porto in his “The Story of Two Noble Lovers”. A quarter of a century later, another Italian, Matteo Bandello, freely outlined this plot in the Novels, where all the main characters tragedy. Here are the Montecchi and Capulet families, and the "good monk" Fra Lorenzo, and Tebaldo, "Juliet's cousin ... encouraging not to spare anyone from the Montagues", and Marcuccio, whom everyone "loved for his sharp tongue and all sorts of jokes", and Juliet's fiancé - “Rich and handsome” Count Paris.

Novellas by Bandello were translated into French, and from French to English, after which the poet Arthur Brooke outlined the same plot in the poem “The Tragic History of Romeus and Juliet” (1562). Many researchers believe that since Shakespeare's masterpiece contains a lot of parallels with Brooke's poem, it is quite clear that he borrowed the plot.

What do the documents say

The bloody feud of the ancient families of Verona, because of which the young lovers died, is not fiction. In the XII-XIV centuries, the city republics in Italy were torn apart by squabbles and the struggle for power between aristocratic families. The great Dante Alighieri in " Divine Comedy”, referring to this endless enmity, writes, referring to Emperor Albrecht:

“Come, infinite, just cast a glance: Monaldi, Filippeschi, Capulet, Montecchi,

- those in tears, and those trembling.

And yet, all attempts to find references in reliable sources to the existence of these families were in vain. But relatively recently, Cecil Cliff, a professor at the University of Liverpool, who studied archival documents related to the life of Luigi da Porto, brought a new version.

Luigi was born near Verona, in Vicenza, in 1485, into an aristocratic family. At the age of 26, he, with the rank of cavalry captain, went to serve in the province of Friuli (on the border with Austria), where the Savorgnan family was the most influential. Some of the members of this family had a weakness for the Austrian emperor Maximilian, others were adherents of the Venetian Republic. Their meetings often ended in quarrels, fights, duels and even murders.

One day, Luigi was invited to a party at the Savorgnan family estate. There he first saw Lucina, who had just turned 15 years old. Love at first sight broke out between young people. However, there was no question of matchmaking: Yes, Porto was a representative of the Austrian army, and Lucina's parents were ardent republicans. Secretly from them, the girl met with Luigi. They exchanged messages and gifts.

Over time, a real war broke out between Venice and Austria. Relations in the Savornyan family escalated sharply, and when one of the heirs of the family was killed, it was decided to reconcile the warring factions by marrying Lucina and her blacksmith Francesco. The girl protested, but her parents were adamant.

Upon learning of this, Luigi nearly committed suicide. He retired and took up literary work. His very first novel, The Story of Two Noble Lovers, brought him success. In it, he spoke about the warring families of the Capuleti and Montagues from Verona and the unhappy love of Romeo and Juliet, by whose name the author meant himself and Lucina.

Romeo and Juliet - love story - who were the real Romeo and Juliet updated: October 4, 2017 by: website

Juliet's birthday is celebrated on September 16 in Verona, Italy. But did this girl live in real life and did she really experience such feelings because of which one could die?

Love Letters

As you know, Shakespeare did not indicate any specific dates in his history. It is only known that Juliet was not even 14 years old. Historians have spent a lot of time and effort to compare all the events in the tragedy and calculate the exact date of her birth. It's believed that Juliet Capulet born September 16, 1284. On this day, the most romantic and loving people from all over the world come to Verona. Juliet's Club has existed in the city for 45 years. Girls from the club respond to letters that come to the heroine of the tragedy with questions about love, betrayal and requests to resolve some difficult situation. It is said that more than 5000 letters addressed to Juliet are sent to Verona every year. They are even emailed. And not a single message has gone unanswered.

ROMEO AND JULIET. MASS PRODUCED / WIKIPEDIA

Spanish tragedy

They say that in the XIII century in the Spanish city of Teruel lived two families, both of a noble family. Daughter grew up in one Isabel, to another son Diego. The children grew up together, and over time, their friendship grew into tender feelings. When they were 15 years old, they started talking about the wedding. But the Diego family was noticeably impoverished and experienced serious difficulties. It is not surprising that Isabella's father did not want to give his blood to a poor family.

And then the young man in love promised the man that he would leave Teruel for five years to get rich. And he asked, if successful, to give his daughter to marry him. Diego left. Her father tried to marry Isabella to someone else, more noble and rich, but the girl cheated: she asked the head of the family to give her a five-year deferment in order to learn how to manage the household and be a good wife.

When she was twenty, a worthy young man betrothed her. Played a wedding. And the next day, Diego appeared in Teruel. He kept his word and became a very rich and respected man by participating in crusades. Upon learning that his beloved did not wait for him, he entered the bedroom of the newlyweds at night. Diego begged Isabella to give him one last kiss. But the girl refused, because she did not want to betray her husband. And Diego died of anguish and grief near her bed.

Isabella woke up her husband, told him her sad story and asked for help to secretly bury Diego. She put on her wedding dress, and after kissing her beloved in the coffin, she immediately fell dead.

They say that this story happened for real, and it is these lovers who are considered the prototypes of Romeo and Juliet. There is an assumption that Shakespeare could have heard the story about Diego and Isabella, and later retold it in his tragedy. Moreover, in Teruel there is a mausoleum in which the mummified bodies of two lovers can be seen even now.

TERUEL IS THE CITY WHERE A TRAGEDY HAPPENED TO LOVERS MUCH BEFORE SHAKESPEARE'S ROMEO AND JULIET. DIEGO DELSO / WIKIPEDIA

The deceit that elevates us

In Verona itself, only 200 years ago they thought about the untwisted history. Yes, in early XIX century, the burial place of the young Juliet was officially established. More precisely, an empty sarcophagus was presented. It was not possible to establish who exactly belonged to the tomb made of red marble. It is believed that in the former Capuchin monastery it has been located since the time Caesars. But for two centuries now, Juliet's grave has become a place of pilgrimage for all lovers.

Juliet's house also appeared in Verona. Archaeologists paid attention to the structure at the beginning of the 20th century. It was an abandoned building, supposedly erected in the 13th century - the century when the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet took place. In addition, a coat of arms was found on the house, which belonged to a noble family. cappelo- a surname very similar to the Capulet.

And so Juliet's house appeared in Verona with the legendary balcony, on which the girl stood and suffered that she fell in love Romeo Montecchi. In the courtyard of the house there is a bronze statue of Juliet. Or rather, a copy of it.

According to legend, every lover, having visited the Capulet house, for good luck should touch Juliet's right breast. As a result, a crack appeared on the statue, and in 2014 it was removed indoors, and a remake was put on the street.

JULIET'S TOMB. THERE IS A SPECIAL LETTER BOX FOR A YOUNG LOVE. TESTUS / WIKIPEDIA

Eternal love

Probably, few works can compete in popularity with Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. But the English playwright was not the first to decide to tell a sad tale of eternal love.

Another ancient poet Ovid described the story of two Babylonian lovers pyrama and Thisbe. They fell in love, but their parents forbade them to see each other. And then the young people agreed to secretly meet outside the city walls. Thisbe came first, but she was frightened off by a lioness who had just hunted.

During the flight, the girl dropped her handkerchief, which was ruffled by the beast, staining the blood of the just eaten animal. When Pyramus came to the meeting place and saw a bloody cloth, he decided that a lioness had killed his beloved. Blaming himself for her death, he stabbed himself with a dagger. And thisbe, who returned, saw the dying Pyramus and also decided to kill herself.

For the first time in literature, lovers Romeo and Juliet appeared at the cavalry commander and writer Luigi da Porta. His novel "The Newly Found Story of Two Noble Lovers and Their Sad Death in Verona in the Time of the Signor Bartolomeo Della Scala he wrote in 1524. Luigi da Porta himself in his work said that he retold an ancient Verona legend that he heard in a conversation with a friend.

Then there was an Italian writer Matteo Bandello, a very popular novelist in the 16th century. He was born into a noble family and received an excellent education. His uncle was a general in a Catholic monastic order and Matteo accompanied him everywhere. The writer was well received in noble houses and even royal families. Bandello has a short story "Romeo and Juliet". It is believed that it was from her that Shakespeare took the plot for his tragedy.

But there was still Arthur Brook with his Tragic History of Romeus and Juliet, which was published two years before Shakespeare's birth in 1562. And some historians suggest that the Englishman could have taken the plot for his work from him. Be that as it may, it is William Shakespeare who makes you cry over the saddest "tale of Romeo and Juliet" for more than four centuries.

Konstantin VASILEV

St. Petersburg

There are happy younger mothers, or in what years Juliet gives birth to children

WATCHING OF PARIS

This time it accidentally popped up in my memory: "There are happy younger mothers." True, I rather quickly connected the statement with Shakespeare's story of Romeo and Juliet. Why did you remember it once, why did it stick in your head? - without being significant and collapsible. Probably because, while reading Romeo and Juliet, I stumbled over this line. Somehow she puzzled me. I thought about the meaning of the translation. In the original, I stumbled at every step. I stopped at almost every line to delve into the text and familiarize myself with the footnotes and explanations. If you take today's native speakers of English, and they, even the most educated, cannot boast that they understand Shakespeare completely and in everything.

In my British edition of Romeo and Juliet, each act is preceded by a summary of it in modern English, and each page has footnotes that sometimes take up to a third of the printed space. I also look at the translation - in any of the existing Russian translations. By the way, the reader has the opportunity to think, check with the dictionary, but the question is: how did the theatrical audience in Elizabethan times, at the end of the 16th century and the beginning of the 17th century, understand Shakespeare by ear? His texts are for a very prepared listener or reader. Sometimes it seems that in some of his works there are more figurative and double meanings, all kinds of word games than ordinary words and sentences.

Of honorable reckoning are you both;

And pity "tis you lived at odds so long.

But now, my lord, what do you say to my suit?

In the translation of Anna Radlova, the appeal my lord is omitted, which conveys the respectful attitude of Paris towards a noble and older man.

Both of you are respected people

And it's a pity that you live in a long-standing quarrel.

What answer will you give me?

But saying o "er what I have said before:

My child is yet a stranger in the world;

She hasn't seen the change of fourteen years,

Let two more summers wither in their pride,

Ere we may think her ripe to be a bride.

Yes, the same one that I gave you before.

After all, my daughter does not yet know the world.

She is only in her fourteenth year.

Two summers will bloom and two will somle -

Then she will only ripen for the wedding.

Let us compare how Boris Pasternak conveyed in Russian the conversation between Paris and Signor Capulet. Paris starts:

Yes, it's weird. Two respectable elders -

And for some reason always on knives.

However, you did not give me an answer.

Wait, why is this strange, what's strange here? In an inaccurate translation, the speech of Paris is far from the original in meaning. In fact, Paris regrets the long-standing enmity of two noble people, remember: "And pity "tis you lived at odds so long", or, in modern English: "It" s a pity that you have been enemies for so long ". In Pasternak, he is surprised, he suddenly, just suddenly, without connection with the general topic of the conversation, it seemed strange that two respectable elders were at enmity. Sorry, Shakespeare speaks of enmity in the original, but in the translation it is as if two quarrelsome neighbors in a communal apartment are always at knifepoint. Even the adverb for a long time (so long), changed for something into forever, reinforces this impression.

I'll repeat what I already said:

After all, my daughter is still a child,

She is not yet fourteen years old.

Wait two more years

And we will announce our daughter as a bride.

In an English sentence with its grammar, it's not about the fact that there are happy younger mothers in the world, and not about what Paris knew - in the past? - such happy young mothers. In the sentence Younger than she are happy mothers made, using the passive voice, the form are made, it is reported: girls younger than Juliet are married, they are made, that is, become, happy mothers at an even younger age.

You are both respected and noble,

And it's a pity that a long-standing dispute divided you.

But I am the answer to my matchmaking

I want to hear.

Capulet

I repeat again:

My daughter is still a child -

Only fourteen years incomplete.

Let it ripen. Two more years

Let's wait until the wedding.

At her age, children are already being born.

We have clarified the meaning of the phrase There are mothers who are happy younger. We specified the age of Juliet: she is not yet fourteen years old, she will soon be fourteen. We know, having read the tragedy, that she will not live to see her fourteenth birthday... But in the course of the conversation, the question arose about Signora Capulet's age: is she twenty-eight or is she younger? The fact that she is much younger, Russian readers and interpreters, apparently, conclude by reading her reasoning about marriage and motherhood in the translation of T. L. Shchepkina-Kupernik. Let me remind you: the elder Capulet, referring to the younger Capulet, that is, to Juliet, speaks:

I was your mother.

HISTORY AND LITERATURE

By the way, English king Richard II married a young girl in his second marriage. It is clear that the marriage was not for love, or at least falling in love: there was a political calculation. The French king Charles VI in 1396 gave his daughter Isabella (1389-1409) to Richard II when she was not seven years old. Does this mean that secular laws or the church allowed such early marriages? Does not mean. It's just that Jupiters are allowed what is not allowed for bulls and cows. It seems that Richard promised that it would come to the wedding bed only when the girl was twelve years old. He died in 1400, so, based on the arithmetic and his promise, Isabella, at the age of eleven, returned to France unblemished - at least without becoming a happy mother.

And at what age could one get married and get married in Verona, where the events of Shakespeare's tragedy unfold? Just as some draw bold conclusions from isolated cases like the marriage of Richard II, others confidently report the matrimonial laws of medieval Italy based on works of art like the tragedy "Romeo and Juliet" by an English writer.

SOUTHERN MIDDLE AGES,

IT IS THE LUMINOUS REVIVAL

The mother informs her daughter about the matchmaking of Paris and, you see, shows some concern about the fact that her daughter is still a virgin.

Well, now think about marriage.

In Verona there are respectable gentlemen,

Mothers who are younger

You, Juliet; yes, myself

I have been a mother for a long time in those summers,

What girls are you in.

Here's the thing: young Count Paris

Wants your hand.

By the way, the Middle Ages is a loose concept, it stretches over several centuries. To talk about something common and unchanged for several centuries is more than naive, how childishly naive, for example, arguments that the darkness of ignorance reigned in the Middle Ages, churchmen burned heretics and witches at the stake, while knights in shining armor fought in tournaments for the smile of beautiful ladies. To assert that in a certain historical period it was allowed to marry from such and such an age, can one who does not judge by Shakespeare's work, but has thoroughly looked through the legislation of all European countries, at least England and Italy, throughout the Middle Ages - in his not very clear boundaries. We do not immediately find confident answers about the newest time. Even today in one country, for example in America, the law is slightly different in different states, in the UK, not so long ago, the state and the church insisted on marriages no earlier than 21 years old, that is, as you reach the age of majority, today you can get married at 16 with parental consent, from the age of 18 without parental consent, and in northern (not southern) Scotland, it is legal to marry from 16 without asking your parents. By the way, in the Middle Ages, it was among the Scots, and not somewhere in the southern regions, that the age of marriage was 12 for women and 14 for men.

When studying literary works, we will be based on what writers write and what translators translate for us.

In England, the writer Peter Brooke recounted in verse the tragic story of two Veronese lovers, his The Tragicall Historye of Romeus and Juliet appeared in 1562. Although, according to the researchers, his translation is not based on the text of Luigi da Porto, we observe the same picture: after the ill-fated duel, Juliet sheds tears, and Signora Capuleti explains the reason for her grief in exactly the same way: the girl is very hurt, she is unpleasant to see that the majority peers (feres) are married (wedlock), only she, unmarried (unmarried), loses years.

Perhaps she doth disdain

To see in wedlock yoke the most part of her feres,

Whilst only she unmarri?d doth lose so many years.

The whilst seeking you to learn, if she in any part

Already hath, unware to us, fixe, d her friendly heart;

Lest we have more respect to honor and to wealth,

Than to our daughter's quiet life,

and to her happy health.

GRAMMATIC ERRORS GROWING INTO ARITHMETIC

History, which writers and poets before him stretched out for weeks and months, Shakespeare contained in a few days. On the very first day of our acquaintance with the main characters, in the first act of the play, Signora Capulet, through the nurse, calls Juliet to her for a conversation and asks her to think about marriage: think of marriage now. She bluntly reports on the matchmaking of Paris. Again, the argument with the adjective younger comes into play: Paris used to say that girls younger than Juliet are made happy by marriage, now Signora Capulet is stressing that in Verona ladies from noble families (ladies of esteem), younger than Juliet, become mothers. And she gave birth to Juliet when she was about the same age as her daughter is now.

Well, think of marriage now; younger than you

Here in Verona ladies of esteem

Are made already mothers: by my count,

I was your mother much upon these years

That you are now a maid. Thus then in brief:

The valiant Paris seeks you for his love.

Let's explain the phrase I was your mother much upon these years in modern English: I was your mother at just about the same age. That is, I repeat: Mrs. Capulet had a child somewhere at the same age as Juliet is now.

D. L. Mikhalovsky misunderstood the word much, he gave the phrase much upon these years the wrong meaning for a long time. This is exactly how T.L. was mistaken. Shchepkin-Kupernik, whose translation we read above:

As for me - at your age for a long time already

I was your mother.

When making your translation, you need to check with the previous ones - albeit not in full, but in some incomprehensible or controversial places. Or do not want to get acquainted with other options, so as not to fall under the influence of others? Or English much seemed such a simple and understandable word that neither Mikhalovsky nor Shchepkina-Kupernik looked into the dictionary and for the sake of such a simple phrase did not think to check with the translation of Apollon Grigoriev, which appeared back in 1864.

Signor - and beautiful ones - are in Verona,

who are even younger than you

And mothers of families; yes myself

Already your mother was in those years,

How are you still in the girls. In a word, here's what:

Handsome Paris is looking for your hand.

Boris Pasternak's translation, in addition to frequent abbreviations, simplifications and semantic inconsistencies, differs from Shakespeare's original in tone. For example, wanting to see her daughter to talk about the matchmaking of Paris, signora Capulet tells the nurse to find and bring Juliet. The nurse calls, Juliet responds, they exchange two insignificant phrases that do not carry any emotional load.

Juliet: How now? Who calls?

Nurse: Your mother.

Juliet: Well, what else?

Nurse: Your mother is calling you.

Let's pay attention to the following detail: in his text, Shakespeare uses in some cases the now almost obsolete pronoun thou (you), its forms thee (you, you), thy or thine (your). Lady Capulet says to the nurse you. The nurse often turns to Juliet on you, but now, in this scene, in the presence of the mistress of the house, the nurse answers Juliet's question Who calls (Who calls, who calls) does not answer your mother (your mother), but politely: (calls you) yours mother. Rude Your mother is calling you is not suitable here.

And how did Pasternak solve the age issue? In his opinion, at what age did Mrs. Capulet, or, as he writes, Lady Capulet, become a happy mother? Juliet admits that she has not yet thought about marriage, and Shakespeare's signora Capulet, referring to her daughter as you, advises: "Well, think of marriage now"; Pasternak's Lady Capulet sharply orders: "So think about it."

So think about it. younger than you

Become mothers in Verona

And I gave birth to you before.

So, while in a hurry and briefly:

Paris wooed us for you.

Here's how? Of the six Shakespearean lines, the translator made five shortened ones, which allows us to consider Pasternak's work as an abbreviated retelling or transcription of "Romeo and Juliet" from English into Russian. I note in brackets that it is this retelling that we consider the best translation"Romeo and Juliet", they even call it a classic. At least, it is reprinted more often than other existing translations. Without breaking his head over grammatical and semantic difficulties, the translator conveyed them in simple, even simple words and phrases, understandable to any publisher, editor, screenwriter, director, reader and viewer.

However, in the edition from which I took the passage, there is a footnote to the third line. Apparently, the simple And I gave birth to you before still puzzled the editor: before whom or before what did Signora Capulet give birth? And from the editors they gave an explanation: "Lady Capulet wants to say that she married, being younger than Juliet."

Romeo and Juliet is not a historical document or even a historical novel. It is useless to approach the fiction of Shakespeare with a calendar, a chronometer and a ruler for measuring distances. In his literary work, he squeezed time and narrowed space: events go on in a continuous sequence, as if the actors are stepping on each other's heels when they enter the stage. Fleeing: a masquerade, love at first sight, a secret wedding, a duel, exile, preparations for the wedding in the evening, preparations for the funeral early in the morning ... The heroes do not have time to take a breath, falling out of the fire into the frying pan, fate separates them, barely connecting, death follows on their heels and breathes down their backs. They didn't live long, they were very happy for a while, and they died young on the same day.