The Two Gentlemen of Verona
2006 · book
The world's leading center for Shakespeare studies Each edition includes: * printed version of the play *Full explanatory notes conveniently placed on pages facing the text of the play *Scene-by-scene plot summaries *A key to famous lines and phrases *An introduction to reading Shakespeare's language *An essay by a leading Shakespeare scholar providing a modern perspective on the play *Illustrations from the Folger Shakespeare Library's vast holdings of rare books Essay by Jeffrey Masten The Two Gentlemen of Verona is commonly agreed to be Shakespeare's first comedy, and probably his first play. A comedy built around the confusions of doubling, cross-dressing, and identity, it is also a play about the ideal of male friendship and what happens to those friendships when men fall in love. William Carroll's engaging introduction focuses on the traditions and sources that stand behind the play and explores Shakespeare's unique and bold treatment of them. Carroll first explores the early modern discourse of male friendship and relates it to the play's unsettling ending. Special attention is given to the strong female figure of Julia and the controversial final scene. He goes on to discuss various other relevant topics: the influence of the Prodigal Son story on the play, the problem of using a boy in drag (for the first time in a Shakespearean comedy) to depict Julia, and Shakespeare's debt to Ovid and John Lyly in using the theme of metamorphosis. Next, the editor explores the use