In this study, Dr. Iannaccone Marianna analyses the connection between John Florio and the poet and playwright John Webster. More specifically, Iannaccone explores a theme already examined by Webster scholars Boklund and Bradbrook, who identified in Florio's work A letter lately written from Rome, the source for the play The White Devil, proposing Florio as the intermediary and collaborator of Webster.
Iannaccone deepens these studies and examines Florio's work discovering other fundamental elements in the play that can be traced back to him. One of these is the meeting he had in 1601 with Virginio Orsini, second Duke of Bracciano, an event gloriously celebrated at court by Queen Elizabeth, that Florio mentioned in Webster's work The White Devil.
In this video Marianna Iannaccone explains the relationship between Giordano Bruno and William Shakespeare, analysing Bruno’s life and works he published at the French Embassy in London between 1583 and 1585, Shakespeare's work 'Hamlet', and the cryptic, intriguing poem he published in 1601, one year after Bruno’s death: “The Turtle and The Phoenix”. After many years in which Bruno’s name has sadly disappeared in Shakespeare critics books, it’s time to acknowledge his importance for Shakespeare’s works and life. Ultimately, John Florio, friend of both Giordano Bruno and William Shakespeare, is the name that links the English writer with the Italian philosopher, and the key that gave William Shakespeare the access to Giordano Bruno’s works.
Marianna Iannaccone
