SCENE III. 1582. A sententious line. 1587, etc. Perhaps suggested by Tacitus' account of Nero's effusions over Agrippina, before his attempt to drown her at Baiæ (Annals, XIV, 4). See note following. 1593-1598. "Nam pluribus sermonibus, modo familiaritate juvenili Nero, et rursus adductus, quasi seria consociaret" (Annals, XIV, 4). 1607. See note for ll. 1619, etc. Notice the overflow verse. SCENE V. 1619, etc. From Tacitus. Britannicus was eating with other youths at a side table. He was offered too hot a drink, which was cooled by pouring poison into it. He fell back lifeless on drinking it, and his comrades ran away in terror. The courtiers looked intently at Nero, who without rising remarked that Britannicus had always been subject to such attacks, and would gradually revive. Agrippina could not control her face. Octavia was able to dissimulate. "Ita post breve silentium, repetita convivii laetitia" (Annals, XIII, 16). = 1630. efforts effets. Cf. note for Andromaque, 580. See also note for 1. 1395. 1647. In the first edition this line read: Le voici. Vous verrez si je suis sa complice. SCENE VI. The first edition had the following Scene VI: De vos pleurs j'approuve la justice. Mais, Madame, évitez ce spectacle odieux ; Il est mort. Tôt ou tard il faut qu'on vous l'avoue. Ainsi de nos desseins la fortune se joue. Quand nous nous rapprochons, le ciel nous désunit. JUNIE. J'aimais Britannicus, Seigneur ; je vous l'ai dit. NÉRON. Belle Junie, allez ; moi-même je vous suis. Je vais, par tous les soins que la tendresse inspire, SCENE VII. AGRIPPINE, NÉRON, BURRHUS, NARCISSE. AGRIPPINE. Arrêtez, Néron : j'ai deux mots à vous dire (1. 1648 etc.). See First Preface, p. 89, 1. 18 to p. 90, 1. 12. 1654. See l. 1183. 1667-1670. Notice the rich rimes on the same tonic vowel. 1676. On seeing Britannicus' death (see note for 11. 1619, etc.) Agrippina, "quippe sibi supremum auxilium ereptum, et parricidii exemplum intelligebat " (Annals, XIII, 16). 1677. The first two editions read: Tu te fatigueras d'entendre tes forfaits. SCENES VII, VIII. 1700. See note for 1. 893. Cf. ll. 1280, 1281. 1716. Burrus died several years later, in 63, probably of poison (Annals, XIV, 52). 1723, 1724. Racine forgot to suppress these lines, which refer to Scene VI of the first edition. See note for Scene VI. 1737-1742. See First Preface, p. 91, ll. 28–31. 1743. Ils. See note for 1. 1362. 1750. profane, because Junia, as Vestal, had come under the protection of the gods. Cf. infidèle, l. 1752. 1752. For Narcissus' death see note to First Preface, p. 88, 1. 26. REMARKS ON ATHALIE Athalie was written for the school of orphaned and indigent daughters of the nobility which Madame de Maintenon had founded at St. Cyr. The pupils were to perform it, as they had performed Esther in 1689. The play was so far advanced that Racine read portions of it before the Marquis de Chandenier, in November, 1690. Those who heard him were surprised at the beauty of the work and its religious tone. But when it came to be acted at St. Cyr, on January 5, 1691, the same effect was not produced. This failure to justify expectations may have been due to the simplicity of the performance, without costumes or staging. But more probably it was owing to the leading parts of Joad and Athalie, which must have been far above the capacity of the actors. At all events, succeeding performances before the school or at court did not correct the unfavorable impression, nor did the publication of the tragedy in March, 1691. And Louis Racine tells us, in his Memoirs, that his father, accepting the verdict, considered Athalie a failure, in spite of Boileau's assurance to the contrary. The opinion of the poet's contemporaries has not been the opinion of posterity. The first presentation of Athalie to the Parisian public, a generation later, on March 3, 1716, was a success, notwithstanding the omission of the choruses. The play held the stage for fourteen evenings and when taken off returned again in a few years. From that time on the tragedy has had its place in the regular repertory of the French theatre. Racine indicates the sources of his matter in the Preface. 2 Kings xi, and 2 Chronicles xxiii, suggested his plot, while many passages of Scripture are paraphrased in the lines. Other influences are found in Josephus' account of the same events, Bossuet's outline of them in his Discours sur l'Histoire universelle, and Euripides' tragedy of Ion (for the character of Joash). The shaping of the dramatic action also recalls Racine's own play of Britannicus. The subject in Athalie is much the same as in the older drama. It is the struggle for power between a woman and a man, and the victory of the man. The absence of the love plot of Britannicus from Athalie only intensifies the idea of the contest between the two leading characters. The re lation of Mattan to Athaliah and his attitude towards the world, recalls the bearing of Narcissus and his manner to Nero. Racine also takes liberty with Joash's age as he had done with Britannicus'. The main characters, Joad (Jehoiada) and Athalie (Athaliah), are strongly marked. Jehoiada, imbued with religious zeal, fearless, intolerant, overcomes at last by the boldness of his words and deeds. Athaliah, evil, haunted by visions of punishment, now utters threats, now offers compromises, has no fixed line of action and loses the fight by her feminine waverings. Josabet (Jehosheba), timorous, swayed by her husband's authority, yielding to her fears, would abandon the field entirely. Mathan (Mattan) is another Narcissus, Abner another Burrus, though, unlike Burrus, he never succeeds in placing himself firmly in any one position. Zechariah is his father's son. Joash, |