Cato, a Tragedy - Joseph Addison

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Résumé :
Joseph Addison wrote the play Cato, a Tragedy in 1712, and it was shown for the first time on April 14, 1713. It is based on the events of Marcus Porcius Cato Uticensis, often known as Cato the Younger, who lived from 95 to 46 BC and was a Stoic whose actions, speeches, and resistance to Julius Caesar's dictatorship made him an image of republicanism, virtue, and liberty. Themes covered in Addison's play include individual liberty vs tyranny by the government, republicanism versus monarchy, reason versus passion, and Cato's internal fight to uphold his principles in the face of death. Alexander Pope wrote the play's prologue, and Samuel Garth wrote the epilogue. The original cast included Barton Booth as Cato, Theophilus Keene as Lucius, John Mills as Sempronius, Robert Wilks as Juba, Colley Cibber as Syphax, George Powell as Portius, Lacy Ryan as Marcus, John Bowman as Decius, Anne Oldfield as Marcia, and Mary Porter as Lucia. For numerous generations, the play's appeal grew, particularly in the American colonies. Indeed, since many of the Founding Fathers were familiar with it, it was very certainly a literary inspiration for the American Revolution.

Biographie:
Addison was born in Milston, Wiltshire, but shortly after his birth, his father, Lancelot Addison, was appointed Dean of Lichfield, and the family relocated to the cathedral grounds. His father was an erudite English clergyman. Joseph was educated at Charterhouse School in London, where he met Richard Steele, and at The Queen's College, Oxford. He excelled in classics, particularly in Neo-Latin verse, and was appointed a fellow of Magdalen College. In 1693, he wrote a poem for John Dryden, and his first major work, a book about the lives of English poets, was published in 1694. His translation of Virgil's Georgics was released the following year. The Spectator was a daily periodical in England published by Joseph Addison and Richard Steele that ran from 1711-1712. Each paper or number was around 2,500 words long, with the first run consisting of 555 numbers commencing on March 1, 1711. These were gathered in seven volumes. The periodical was relaunched without Steele's involvement in 1714, appearing three times a week for six months, and these papers were compiled into the eighth book. The publication also included contributions by Addison's cousin, Eustace Budgell, and poet John Hughes....

Sommaire:
Joseph Addison wrote the play Cato, a Tragedy in 1712, and it was shown for the first time on April 14, 1713. It is based on the events of Marcus Porcius Cato Uticensis, often known as Cato the Younger, who lived from 95 to 46 BC and was a Stoic whose actions, speeches, and resistance to Julius Caesar's dictatorship made him an image of republicanism, virtue, and liberty. Themes covered in Addison's play include individual liberty vs tyranny by the government, republicanism versus monarchy, reason versus passion, and Cato's internal fight to uphold his principles in the face of death. Alexander Pope wrote the play's prologue, and Samuel Garth wrote the epilogue. The original cast included Barton Booth as Cato, Theophilus Keene as Lucius, John Mills as Sempronius, Robert Wilks as Juba, Colley Cibber as Syphax, George Powell as Portius, Lacy Ryan as Marcus, John Bowman as Decius, Anne Oldfield as Marcia, and Mary Porter as Lucia. For numerous generations, the play's appeal grew, particularly in the American colonies. Indeed, since many of the Founding Fathers were familiar with it, it was very certainly a literary inspiration for the American Revolution....