The Two Gentlemen of Verona is a comedy by William Shakespeare,
believed to have been written between 1589 and 1592. It is
considered by some to be Shakespeare's first play, and is often
seen as showing his first tentative steps in laying out some of the
themes and motifs with which he would later deal in more detail;
for example, it is the first of his plays in which a heroine
dresses as a boy. The play deals with the themes of friendship and
infidelity, the conflict between friendship and love, and the
foolish behaviour of people in love. The highlight of the play is
considered by some to be Launce, the clownish servant of Proteus,
and his dog Crab, to whom "the most scene-stealing non-speaking
role in the canon" has been attributed. As the play begins,
Valentine is preparing to leave Verona for Milan so as to broaden
his horizons. He begs his best friend, Proteus, to come with him,
but Proteus is in love with Julia, and refuses to leave.
Disappointed, Valentine bids Proteus farewell and goes on alone.
Meanwhile, Julia is discussing Proteus with her maid, Lucetta, who
tells Julia that she thinks Proteus is fond of her. Julia, however,
acts coyly, embarrassed to admit that she likes him. Lucetta then
produces a letter; she will not say who gave it to her, but teases
Julia that it was Valentine's servant, Speed, who brought it from
Proteus. Julia, still unwilling to reveal her love in front of
Lucetta, angrily tears up the letter. She sends Lucetta away, but
then, realising her own rashness, she picks up the fragments of
letter and kisses them, trying to piece them back together.
Meanwhile, Proteus' father has decided that Proteus should travel
to Milan and join Valentine. He orders that Proteus must leave the
next day, prompting a tearful farewell with Julia, to whom Proteus
swears eternal love. The two exchange rings and vows and Proteus
promises to return as soon as he can. In Milan, Proteus finds
Valentine in love with the Duke's daughter Silvia. Despite Julia's
love, Proteus falls instantly in love with Silvia and vows to win
her. Unaware of Proteus' feelings, Valentine tells him that the
Duke wants Silvia to marry the foppish but wealthy Thurio, against
her wishes. Because the Duke suspects that his daughter and
Valentine are in love, he locks her nightly in a tower, to which he
keeps the only key. However, Valentine tells Proteus that he plans
to free her by means of a corded ladder, and together, they will
elope. Proteus immediately informs the Duke, who subsequently
captures and banishes Valentine. While wandering outside Milan,
Valentine runs afoul of a band of outlaws, who claim they are also
exiled gentlemen. Valentine lies, saying he was banished for
killing a man in a fair fight, and the outlaws elect him their
leader. Valentine Rescuing Silvia from Proteus by William Holman
Hunt (1851) Meanwhile, in Verona, Julia decides to join her lover
in Milan. She convinces Lucetta to dress her in boy's clothes and
help her fix her hair so she will not be harmed on the journey.
Once in Milan, Julia quickly discovers Proteus' love for Silvia,
watching him attempt to serenade her. She contrives to become his
page-boy - a youth named Sebastian - until she can decide upon a
course of action. Proteus sends Sebastian to Silvia with a gift of
the same ring that Julia gave to him before he left Verona, but
Julia discovers that Silvia scorns Proteus' affections and is
disgusted that he would forget about his love back home, i.e. Julia
herself. Silvia deeply mourns the loss of Valentine, who Proteus
has told her is rumoured dead.
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