The Two Noble Kinsmen (Folger Shakespeare Library)
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The Two Noble Kinsmen (Folger Shakespeare Library) Details
About the Author William Shakespeare was born in April 1564 in the town of Stratford-upon-Avon, on England's Avon River. When he was eighteen, he married Anne Hathaway. The couple had three children--an older daughter Susanna and twins, Judith and Hamnet. Hamnet, Shakespeare's only son, died in childhood. The bulk of Shakespeare's working life was spent in the theater world of London, where he established himself professionally by the early 1590s. He enjoyed success not only as a playwright and poet, but also as an actor and shareholder in an acting company. Although some think that sometime between 1610 and 1613 Shakespeare retired from the theater and returned home to Stratford, where he died in 1616, others believe that he may have continued to work in London until close to his death. Barbara A. Mowat is Director of Research emerita at the Folger Shakespeare Library, Consulting Editor of Shakespeare Quarterly, and author of The Dramaturgy of Shakespeare's Romances and of essays on Shakespeare's plays and their editing.Paul Werstine is Professor of English at the Graduate School and at King's University College at Western University. He is a general editor of the New Variorum Shakespeare and author of Early Modern Playhouse Manuscripts and the Editing of Shakespeare and of many papers and articles on the printing and editing of Shakespeare's plays. Read more
Reviews
Though not published in the First Folio of 1623, the play, a romance derived from Chaucer’s “Knight’s Tale,” has for the past fifty hears been included in practically all major editions of the Bard’s work. The play was first published in 1634, with a title page stating it was “written by Mr. John Fletcher and Mr. William Shakespeare.” Apparently, Shakespeare wrote Act I, the first scenes of Acts II and III, and most of Act V; Fletcher wrote the rest. The theme of the play is obsessive love.Synopsis: At a wedding celebration for Theseus, Duke of Athens, and his bride Hippolyta, three mourning queens urge Theseus to attack Creon, the King of Thebes, who slew their husbands and won’t grant the simple dignity of having their bodies interred. Theseus grants their request and a battle ensues. Fighting for Thebes are two bothers, a.k.a, “The Two Noble Kinsmen,” and identical twins at that, named Palamon and Arcite (pronounced “Ar-sight”). Valiant though they are, the brothers are soon captured by Theseus. From their prison window (Act II), they see Emilia, sister of Hippolyta; both are immediately and irrevocably smitten by her beauty. Arcite is released but banished from Athens. Lovesick, he risks death by remaining in Athens. He disguises himself and goes into service for Emilia. Meanwhile, the jailer’s daughter has fallen head-over-in-heels in love with Palamon and, risking death to herself and that of her father, helps him escape, only to go mad after losing him (Act III). The two noble kinsmen, driven to obsession over their love of Emilia, fight one another to determine who should have her. Emilia, on the other hand, cannot decide which of the two she truly loves. In fact, she cannot tell them apart. The fight is stopped by Theseus who orders the brothers to return in a month and fight again, with the winner getting Emilia and the loser getting death. To restore the jailer’s daughter’s sanity (Act IV), someone else disguised as Palamon begins to woo her. The month passes. In Act V, hoping for success, Arcite prays to Mars while Palamon prays to Venus, and Emilia prays at Diana’s altar. Arcite wins the fight only to die later after falling from his horse. With his last dying breath he gives Emilia to Palamon, who has been saved from execution. The jailer’s daughter is miraculously cured (by sex) and prepares to marry her new lover. Harmony returns to Athens.Final note: the subplot of the jailer’s daughter is thought to be the work of Fletcher. Faults include the characterization of Emilia, who has been in love before and has no desire of marriage. At the altar of Diana, she prays to remain a virgin. Some prize. The play is seldom performed; the few revivals have strengthened the belief in its theatrical power. The verse by Shakespeare is exalted, while the verse by Fletcher holds its own. The main problem is Shakespeare is a better story-teller. The play falters when Fletcher is telling the story. The Folger Shakespeare Library edition is well-annotated and includes a summary plus an essay by Professor Dieter Mehl of the University of Bonn.
