L’Aminta du Tasse a-t-elle inspiré Shakespeare ?

Abstract

Tasso’s name is rarely ever evoked in relation to Shakespeare’s sources and the well-known appraisal that he had « little Latin and less Greek » seems to have been extended to his having no Italian either. When Pastoral is studied, Ovid’s Metamorphoses seem to provide sources galore. Richard Cody seems to be one of the few critics to put Tasso and Shakespeare side by side in a study of Pastoralism and Platonic theory. It has seemed to me interesting therefore to probe deeper into the subject. My purpose in this article is to reveal how some words, situations or themes have somehow reached Shakespeare and how they have been gradually used and transformed by him. By so doing, one realises the extent to which Shakespeare’s plays have actually integrated the pastoral genre, which runs from one end of his work to the other. One is surprised to discover a great community of mind between some of them and Tasso’s Aminta, not only concerning their use of Neoplatonicism, but also in the playful irony that permeates their language. If no linguistic evidence has as yet been brought, one cannot deny the likeness of spirit and the dramatic liveliness of their characters. Shakespeare’s superior genius can be measured by the distance there is between his first immature attempt, The Two Gentlemen of Verona and the wonderful world of The Tempest. Surprisingly, Tasso’s influence is enlightening throughout.