Julius of Taranto

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Julius von Taranto is the title of the tragedy written by Johann Anton Leisewitz from 1774, in which the dispute between the brothers Julius and Guido von Taranto over the commoner Blanca leads to their two deaths.

content

characters

  • Constantin , Prince of Taranto and father of Julius and Guido
  • Julius , the Hereditary Prince of the Principality of Taranto
  • Guido , his younger brother
  • Archbishop of Taranto , brother of Constantine
  • Cäcilia Nigretti , Countess and niece of Constantine
  • Blanca , a commoner, mistress of Julius
  • Count Aspermonte , friend and confidante of Julius
  • Abbess of the Justinenkloster
  • doctor
  • Secondary characters

action

Based on a historical incident at the Medici court in Florence in the 16th century, the tragedy thematizes the rivalry between two brothers: The princes Julius and Guido of Taranto both desire the same woman. Blanca, a commoner, returns Julius' rapt love. This preference for his brother stirs up hatred against the heir to the throne in Guido. As different as the two brothers are, they both come to the same decision: to bind Blanca to themselves at all costs. This, however, joined the Justinenkloster on the orders of the prince. Although this measure was designed to bring Julius' attention back to his courtly duties, his passion for Blanca continues to guide all of his thinking. Guido, in turn, despises the older brother for his love for philosophy and his sensitivity. He himself, tried out as a military leader, sees the beautiful Blanca as a natural price for his own bravery. While Julius' confidante Aspermonte tries to dampen his friend's passions and remind him of his obligations to the aging father and the principality, the prince himself forges a concrete plan.

Worried about the conflict between his sons and the future of Taranto, he sees the solution to his dilemma in his niece, Cecilia. The connection he hoped for between Julius and Cäcilia would on the one hand be helpful for the state of the prince and the welfare of Taranto, and on the other hand would placate Guido's jealousy and thus also remove his interest in Blanca. Constantin does not know, however, that Julius has already visited Blanca in the monastery and, in an affect, has revealed his plan to her: he wants to kidnap her and flee Taranto with her and Aspermonte. However, Guido thwarts this plan by ambushing Julius and his gunmen on the way to the monastery. He stabs his brother. When Blanca learns of the crime and sees the body of her lover in the palace, she goes mad with grief. Constantin, who invokes his duty as a prince, reveals to Guido that he must die for what he did. After Guido has made confession in an adjoining room, Constantin stabs him to death after a hug in the gallery in which Julius is laid out. In the pain of desperation, the prince revealed to his brother, the archbishop, the decision to hand over the rule of Taranto to the king of Naples and to go to the Carthusians himself .

shape

The organization of the piece follows the traditional rule of three units. So it shows only one act in which all the people appearing are intertwined. This takes place in one place, in Taranto. The act takes place within 24 hours, on the Prince's 76th birthday.

1st act

  • Exposure
  • 1st scene : Conversation between Julius and Aspermonte, naming the conflict between individual wishes and professional duties
  • 2nd scene : Guido enters, declares his right to Blanca, Julius leaves
  • 3rd scene : Attack of Aspermontes by Guido, fencing fight, Guido is defeated
  • 4th scene : Conversation with the archbishop, Guido declares his ideal of life as a hero
  • Scene 5 : Guido's monologue, decision to conquer Blanca
  • Scene 6 : Conversation between the archbishop and the prince, the prince complains about the dispute between his sons
  • 7th scene : Cecilia's initiation into the prince's plan, shocked reaction on her part

2nd act

  • Rising action
  • 1st scene : Conversation between the Hereditary Prince and the Abbess
  • 2nd scene : Blanca's entrance, Julius reveals his plan to save her love, Blanca's faint, Julius leaves
  • 3rd scene : Blancas awakening, despair over the hopelessness of their love
  • 4th scene : Conversation between Cäcilia and a lady-in-waiting, Cäcilia wants to prevent the prince's plan
  • Scene 5 : Conversation between Julius and Aspermonte, Aspermonte implores the prince to postpone the kidnapping for a month
  • Scene 6 : Conversation with Cäcilie, she tells Julius about his father's plan
  • 7th scene : monologue of the Hereditary Prince, insight into his irrefutable love for Blanca

3rd act

  • Peripetia
  • 1st scene : Meeting for the Prince's birthday
  • 2nd scene : Constantine's conversation with his two sons, attempt at arbitration fails
  • 3rd scene : Conversation between Guido and Julius, the two separate in anger
  • 4th scene : Guido's monologue, decision to fight his brother bitterly
  • 5th scene : Conversation between Julius and Aspermonte, Julius persuades Aspermonte to implement the escape plan that evening
  • Scene 6 : Blanca alone in her cell in the monastery, desperation about her situation
  • 7th scene : appearance of the abbot, attempted reassurance of Blancas fails

4th act

  • Retarding moment
  • 1st scene : Monologue Julius, farewell to Taranto
  • Scene 2 : Aspermontes enters, his attempts to persuade him to postpone the plan are not well received
  • 3rd scene : the Prince enters, he blesses Julius as his firstborn, Julius flees away
  • 4th scene : The archbishop's entrance, common memory and wine drinking
  • 5th scene : Guido and a servant are left on the street
  • Scene 6 : Enter Julius, Aspermonte and armed men, also lost. Guido ambushes her and stabs Julius

5th act

  • catastrophe
  • Scene 1 : Constantin and a doctor in the palace, Julius' body is laid out
  • 2nd scene : monologue of the prince, oath of vengeance, departure
  • Scene 3 : Blancas enters, she cries and kisses the corpse, blaming herself for his death
  • Scene 4 : Enter Cäcilia, she tries to get Blanca to leave and is frightened by her madness, the two of them leave
  • 5th scene : Conversation between the prince and his brother, Constantin has Guido called
  • 6th scene : Guido enters, the son confronts his guilt for the death of his brother, Guidos leaves to the father
  • 7th scene : monologue of the prince, despair over his fate
  • 8th scene : Guido returns, the prince forgives him and then kills him with the dagger that Guido used to murder Julius
  • 9th scene : the archbishop enters, recognizes the prince and seals Tarent's fall

Origin and reception

Johann Anton Leisewitz was born on May 9, 1752 in Hanover. While studying law in Göttingen, he made the plan to write a great story of the Thirty Years' War. In July 1774 he was admitted to the Göttingen Hainbund for history . The tragedy "Julius von Tarent" was written between July 24th and September 12th, 1774. In February 1775, Sophie Charlotte Ackermann and Friedrich Ludwig Schröder wrote a price of 20 old Louis d'or for a funeral or comedy of three or five Files out. Leisewitz sent in his piece, the jury praised it, but he didn't get the fee. Instead, the award went to Friedrich Maximilian Klinger's drama “ The Twins ”. The jurors justified their choice in the first volume of the "Hamburg Theater" as follows:

“Julius von Tarent, full of action, beautiful dialogues, full of verve and spirit; everything discovers the connoisseur of passion, the thinking head, the speaker of the heart, and in short - the poet of talents; it was definitely worth the price until the third, "the twins", won the price because it had the mighty, immense mainspring of the undecided firstborn. "Probably Klinger's twins are - through a visit by Johann Martin Miller to Klinger in Wetzlar - inspired by "Julius von Tarent".

Assignment to the epoch of Sturm und Drang

The presence of numerous traditional traits and elements make it questionable whether the drama belongs to the epoch of Sturm und Drang and a settlement in the classicism of the 18th century seems obvious. In addition to the organization according to the three units and the classical structure, it is the language of the characters, the location of the play and the representation of society and customs that give the drama a classicistic character marked by the baroque. Reaches Ines Kolg to the following conclusion: "In this tragedy [...] the key to consciousness historical currents of the bourgeoisie in 1770, are education , sensitivity and Sturm und Drang removed in a process of mutual illumination and criticism." The spiritual closeness to the dramas of Lessing , the is mentioned again and again, but at least as far as the characters deal with reason, it is refuted. Because Julius and Guido have abdicated their minds. They act under impulses of instantaneous volition, Julius in particular is at the mercy of the movements of his affects. His reason can neither control his feelings nor work with them; his decisions are determined by his constantly changing moods. So the hasty kidnapping attempt of his beloved Blanca completes his misfortune. Guido is also a victim of his affects. Aspermonte's assumption that a bandit might be hiding behind his larva causes Guido to become so stunned that he immediately stabs his brother. He acts strong, but in the end he is helplessly exposed to his emotions. Thus, behind the facade of the regularly built classical drama, shaped by Lessing's successor, lies a rejection of reason and thus a work that corresponds to the spirit of Sturm und Drang. Organizing one's own life in a sensible and principled manner becomes impossible; fate and chance are the directors. In this tragedy, the catastrophe is not only brought about by error and chance, but rather by human nature. Principles are overwhelmed, competing affects are the ultimate motive for action.

Secondary literature

  • Walther Kühlhorn: JA Leisewitzens Julius von Tarent. Explanation and literary historical appreciation. Walluf 1973. See also online Diss. Halle 1911.
  • Dramas of Sturm und Drang. Reclam 1997.
  • Stefanie Wenzel: The motif of the hostile brothers in the drama of Sturm und Drang. Frankfurt 1993.
  • Ines Kolb: Office of rulers and affect control. Johann Anton Leisewitz '"Julius von Tarent" in the context of Staats- u. Moral Philosophy of the Enlightenment. Frankfurt 1983
  • Johann Anton Leisewitz: Julius von Tarent and the dramatic fragments. Heilbronn 1889

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Stefanie Wenzel: The motif of the hostile brothers in the drama of the storm and stress. Frankfurt 1993.
  2. ↑ Dramas of Sturm und Drang. Reclam 1997.
  3. ↑ Dramas of Sturm und Drang. Reclam 1997.
  4. ^ Walther Kühlhorn: JA Leisewitzens Julius von Tarent. Explanation and literary historical appreciation. Walluf 1973.
  5. ↑ Dramas of Sturm und Drang. Reclam 1997.