The Two Gentlemen Of Verona (Folger Shakespeare Library) [Mass Market Paperback]

William Shakespeare (Author), Dr. Barbara A. Mowat (Author), Paul Werstine (Author)

Book Description

Series: Folger Shakespeare Library | Publication Date: December 1, 1999

The play that scholars see as a forerunner of the less comedies that followed, The Two Gentlemen of Verona remains one of the early Shakespeare finest achievements. A romp between two Veronese friends of this title, this classic romantic parody leaps to life. In Antony and Cleopatra, a grand drama of love and war, Shakespeare presents one of his greatest female characters -- the beautiful and cunning Egyptian queen Cleopatra.

The New Folger Library editions feature introductions to Shakespeare's language, illustrations from the Folger collection, scene-by-scene plot summaries, and explanatory notes. Exhibiting a profound concern for stimulating a popular interest in the Elizabethan period, the esteemed and accessible Folger Library Shakespeare editions are favored by teachers, students, and scholars alike.

Editorial Reviews

Review

An early play in five acts by William Shakespeare, performed 1594-95 and published in the First Folio of 1623. The story of the play was taken from a translation of a long Spanish prose romance entitled Diana by Jorge de Montemayor. Shakespeare added new characters--including Valentine, one of the "Two Gentlemen," whose "ideal" friendship with Proteus is so developed that the plot seems to glorify friendship over romantic love. The abrupt last scene suggests that something has gone wrong with the text, and certainly Shakespeare was never again to use such preposterous motivation for the behavior of his lovers. But it is also clear that Shakespeare was developing a new kind of high comedy that was later to find expression in The Merchant of Venice and Twelfth Night. -- The Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of Literature --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Book Description

John Dover Wilson's New Shakespeare, published between 1921 and 1966, became the classic Cambridge edition of Shakespeare's plays and poems until the 1980s. The series, long since out-of-print, is now reissued. Each work contains a lengthy and lively introduction, main text, and substantial notes and glossary. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Washington Square Press (December 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671039547
• ISBN-13: 978-0671039547
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,660,876 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An Interesting Stepping Stone, April 3, 2000

By 

Sean Ares Hirsch - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Two Gentlemen Of Verona (Folger Shakespeare Library) (Mass Market Paperback)

Many people would like to say that Shakespeare did not write this play. But this is hardly fair. Even with the world's finest writers such as Marlowe and Dickens, not every single thing they write can be a masterpiece. But what makes "The Two Gentleman of Verona" worth reading? Well, Shakespeare presents us with a valid theme. (Conflicts often exist between romance and friendship.) There is also beautiful language. Launce and his dog offer some interesting comedy as well as a beautiful and memorable passage in 2.3. The scene where Valentine is accepted amonst the outlaws is memorable. This is Shakespeare's first play where a woman (Julia) disuises herself as man to do some investigating. It is also easy to see that several elements of this play were used in "Romeo and Juliet." To be sure, this is not a masterpiece like "The Comedy of Errors," "Richard III," or "King Lear." But it is still an good study that is worth some interest.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Archetype of Later Romantic Comedies, October 17, 2001

By 

Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 109,000 Helpful Votes Globally) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Two Gentlemen Of Verona (Folger Shakespeare Library) (Mass Market Paperback)

Although few would claim that Two Gentlemen of Verona is one of Shakespeare's greatest plays, it is well worth reading in order to serve as a reference for the best of his romantic comedies. In essence, Two Gentlemen of Verona gives you a measuring stick to see the brilliance in the best works.

The play has the first of Shakespeare's many brave, resourceful and cross-dressing heroines, Julia.

Shakespeare always used his fools and clowns well to make serious statements about life and love, and to expose the folly of the nobles. Two Gentlemen of Verona has two very fine comic scenes featuring Launce. In one, he lists the qualities of a milk maid he has fallen in love with and helps us to see that love is blind and relative. In another, he describes the difficulties he has delivering a pet dog to Silvia on his master, Proteus', behalf in a way that will keep you merry on many a cold winter's evening.

The story also has one of the fastest plot resolutions you will ever find in a play. Blink, and the play is over. This nifty sleight of hand is Shakespeare's way of showing that when you get noble emotions and character flowing together, things go smoothly and naturally.

The overall theme of the play develops around the relative conflicts that lust, love, friendship, and forgiveness can create and overcome. Proteus is a man who seems literally crazed by his attraction to Silvia so that he loses all of his finer qualities. Yet even he can be redeemed, after almost doing a most foul act. The play is very optimistic in that way.

I particularly enjoy the plot device of having Proteus and Julia (pretending to be a page) playing in the roles of false suitors for others to serve their own interests. Fans of Othello will enjoy these foreshadowings of Iago.

The words themselves can be a bit bare at times, requiring good direction and acting to bring out the full conflict and story. For that reason, I strongly urge you to see the play performed first. If that is not possible, do listen to an audio recording as you read along. That will help round out the full atmosphere that Shakespeare was developing here.

After you finish Two Gentlemen of Verona, think about where you would honor friendship above love, where equal to love, and where below love. Is friendship less important than love? Or is friendship merely less intense? Can you experience both with the same person?

Enjoy close ties of mutual commitment . . . with all those you feel close to!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favorite plays., January 2, 2000

By 

M. Mattson "Erik M." (Minnesota) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Two Gentlemen of Verona (Mass Market Paperback)

"The Two Gentlemen of Verona" is one of my favorite Shakespeare plays. Maybe that's because it's one of the only one's I understand. My youth Theatre did a wonderful production of this play. I was not in it, but I saw it twice. It was set in the 60's, peasant-shirted and bell-bottomed. I think it's a wonderful story, although a bit unrealistic because of all the forgiveness that happens at the end of the play. But I think that it's a play everyone should read. This edition of the play is, I think, a very good one. If you are planning to buy a copy of "The Two Gentlemen of Verona," I would advise you to buy the most current edidtion printed by the Folger Shakespeare Library. They have lots of information in the book, and many definitions of the more difficult Elizabethian words.