''Caius Gracchus'' is a

tragedy Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy ...

by the Irish playwright

James Sheridan Knowles James Sheridan Knowles (12 May 1784 – 30 November 1862) was an Irish dramatist and actor. Biography Knowles was born in Cork. His father was the lexicographer James Knowles (1759–1840), cousin of Richard Brinsley Sheridan. The family mov ...

. It is based on the life of

Gaius Gracchus Gaius Sempronius Gracchus ( – 121 BC) was a reformist Roman politician in the 2nd century BC. He is most famous for his tribunate for the years 123 and 122 BC, in which he proposed a wide set of laws, including laws to establish ...

, a politician in

Ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 B ...

. The play premiered at the Belfast Theatre in 1815 and enjoyed a good reception. It debuted in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

's West End at the

Theatre Royal, Drury Lane The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) and backs onto Dr ...

on 18 November 1823, following the success of the author's '' Virginius''.Nicoll p.171-72 The London cast included

William Macready William Charles Macready (3 March 179327 April 1873) was an English actor. Life He was born in London the son of William Macready the elder, and actress Christina Ann Birch. Educated at Rugby School where he became headboy, and where now the ...

as Caius Gracchus, William Penley as Licinius,

Alexander Pope Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 O.S. – 30 May 1744) was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early 18th century. An exponent of Augustan literature, ...

as Drusus,

Daniel Terry Daniel Terry (1780?–1829) was an English actor and playwright, known also as a close associate of Sir Walter Scott. Life He was born in Bath about 1780, and was educated at the Bath grammar school and subsequently at a private school at Wingf ...

as Titus,

Charles Mayne Young Charles Mayne Young (10 January 1777 – 1856) was an English actor. He was born to a respected London surgeon (doctor). His first stage appearance was in Liverpool on 20 September 1798, where he played a Young Norval in Home's blank verse trag ...

as Vettius, George Yarnold as Fulvius Flaccus,

Thomas Archer Thomas Archer (1668–1743) was an English Baroque architect, whose work is somewhat overshadowed by that of his contemporaries Sir John Vanbrugh and Nicholas Hawksmoor. His buildings are important as the only ones by an English Baroque architec ...

as Opimius, Mrs. West as Licinia and Margaret Bunn as Cornelia.

References

Bibliography

* Burwick, Frederck Goslee, Nancy Moore & Hoeveler Diane Long . ''The Encyclopaedia of Romantic Literature''. John Wiley & Sons, 2012. * Nicoll, Allardyce. ''A History of Early Nineteenth Century Drama 1800-1850''. Cambridge University Press, 1930. 1815 plays West End plays British plays Irish plays Plays by James Sheridan Knowles Plays set in the Roman Republic {{19thC-play-stub