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    Bajazet
    Bajazet
    Bajazet
    Ebook91 pages52 minutes

    Bajazet

    By Jean Racine

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    About this ebook

    The 17th century dramatist Jean Racine was considered, along with Molière and Corneille, as one of the three great playwrights of his era. The quality of Racine's poetry has been described as possibly his most important contribution to French literature and his use of the alexandrine poetic line is one of the best examples of such use noted for its harmony, simplicity and elegance. While critics over the centuries have debated the worth of Jean Racine, at present, he is widely considered a literary genius of revolutionary proportions. In this volume of Racine's plays we find "Bajazet", the seventh of twelve plays by the author. A five act tragedy, "Bajazet" draws its subject from contemporary history, taking care to choose a far off location, the Ottoman Empire. Set in 1635, the Sultan Amurat has executed his brothers and potential rivals Bajazet and Orcan. A rich example of Racine's dramatic talent, "Bajazet" is a complex tragedy rich with romantic subplots.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDigireads.com Publishing
    Release dateJan 1, 2013
    ISBN9781420948936
    Bajazet
    Author

    Jean Racine

    Jean Racine, né le 22 décembre 1639 à La Ferté-Milon et mort le 21 avril 1699 à Paris, est un dramaturge et poète français. Issu d'une famille de petits notables de la Ferté-Milon et tôt orphelin, Racine reçoit auprès des « Solitaires » de Port-Royal une éducation littéraire et religieuse rare.

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      Book preview

      Bajazet - Jean Racine

      cover.jpg

      BAJAZET

      BY JEAN RACINE

      TRANSLATED BY ROBERT BRUCE BOSWELL

      eBook ISBN 13: 978-1-4209-4893-6

      ISBN 13: 978-1-4209-4892-9

      This edition copyright © 2013

      Please visit www.digireads.com

      CONTENTS

      INTRODUCTION TO BAJAZET.

      CHARACTERS.

      ACT I.

      ACT II.

      ACT III.

      ACT IV.

      ACT V.

      BAJAZET.

      1672.

      INTRODUCTION TO BAJAZET.

      The time to which this tragedy relates is much later than that of any other of Racine's historical plays. The capture of Babylon (or rather Bagdad) from the Persians by Sultan Amurath IV., on which the catastrophe of the plot depends, occurred only a year before the poet's birth, viz., 1638; and our author thought it desirable to justify himself for choosing a subject so recent by the precedent of Æschylus, whose Persae commemorated the abortive expedition of Xerxes against Greece, in which struggle he had himself taken an active part. The unfamiliar manners and customs of the distant East may compensate in some measure, he maintains, for proximity in point of time. Racine derived his information about the circumstances of Bajazet's death from the narrative of the Comte de Cézy, who was French ambassador at Constantinople at the time, and had some personal knowledge of the unfortunate prince.

      CHARACTERS.

      BAJAZET, Brother of Sultan Amurath.

      ROXANA, Sultana, the favourite of Sultan Amurath.

      ATALIDE, a Turkish Damsel of Royal Blood.

      ACHMET, the Grand Vizier.

      OSMAN, Friend of the Grand Vizier.

      FATIMA, a Slave of the Sultana.

      ZARA, a Slave of Atalide.

      Guards.

      The scene is laid at Constantinople, formerly called Byzantium, in the seraglio of the Sultan.

      BAJAZET.

      ACT I.

      SCENE I. ACHMET, OSMAN.

      ACHMET. Come, follow me. Here the Sultana comes

      Anon: meanwhile we may converse together.

      OSMAN. How long, my lord, has entrance been allow'd

      To these forbidden precincts, where so lately

      The eyes that dared to pry would soon have closed

      In death?

      ACHMET. When you have heard all that has pass'd,

      You will not be surprised that I am free

      To enter. But enough of that, dear Osman.

      How long to my impatience seem'd the time

      Of your return! How glad am I to see you

      Here in Stamboul! What secrets have you learn'd

      By travelling so far on my behalf?

      Tell me sincerely what your eyes have seen;

      Consider, Osman, that on your report

      The future fortune of the Crescent hangs.

      How fares it with the army and the Sultan?

      OSMAN. True to her prince, did Babylon, unmoved

      By terror, see our hosts her walls encompass;

      The muster'd Persians to her aid were marching,

      And daily nearer drew to Amurath's camp.

      He, weary with the tedious, fruitless siege,

      Seem'd willing to leave Babylon at rest,

      And, without making fresh assaults in vain,

      Was waiting for the Persians, to give battle.

      But, as you know, Sir, make what haste I might,

      Long is the journey hither from those parts;

      A thousand obstacles my course impeded,

      Nor can I tell all that has happened since.

      ACHMET. Our valiant janizaries—how did they

      Comport themselves ? Do they to Amurath yield

      Faithful allegiance ? Can you read men's hearts ?

      Enjoys the Sultan undisputed pow'r?

      OSMAN. If one may take his word, he is content,

      And seem'd full confident of victory.

      But his apparent calmness cannot cheat us,

      He knows not the repose that he assumes.

      In vain he masks habitual distrust,

      And grants his janizaries easy access;

      He cannot but remember how he wish'd

      To pare that gallant force of half its strength,

      And, as he said, to 'scape their tutelage.

      Oft have I heard them talk among themselves

      How Amurath fears them, and how they fear him;

      That sore still galls them, flatter as he may.

      They murmur at your absence, and regret

      The time so dear to their courageous hearts,

      When under you, sure of success, they fought.

      ACHMET. What! Think you, Osman, that my glory still

      In their remembrance lives and stirs their valour?

      That they would gladly follow me again,

      And hail the voice of their vizier with welcome?

      OSMAN. The fortune of the fight will rule their conduct:

      They must see Amurath's victory or defeat.

      Though loath, my lord, to march with him to lead them,

      They have to keep unstain'd their martial glory:

      They'll not betray honour so hardly won.

      But failure or success depends on fate.

      If, seconding their valour, Amurath's star

      Awards him victory

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