The Two Noble Kinsmen (Folger Shakespeare Library) - Softcover

Shakespeare, William; Fletcher, John

3.38

2,203 ratings by Goodreads

9780671722968: The Two Noble Kinsmen (Folger Shakespeare Library)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0671722964 ISBN 13: 9780671722968

Publisher: Washington Square Pr, 2010

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Written by Shakespeare and John Fletcher, this play tells the familiar story of a love triangle. Here, though, it seems distant and strange. The play is based on "The Knight's Tale" in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. Chaucer's tale comes from an Italian poem by Boccaccio. Thus in The Two Noble Kinsmen we have a late medieval narrative transformed into a seventeenth-century play.

Initially, the Theban knights Arcite and Palamon are devoted kinsmen, both serving their king, Creaon, who is defeated by Theseus, Duke of Athens. After they are imprisoned in Athens, they see Emilia, sister of the Duchess of Athens, through a window. They become rivals for her love, eager to fight each other to the death, even though she does not know they exist.

After Arcite is released and banished, and Palamon escapes, they begin their would-be fight to the death with chivalric ceremony. Theseus, happening on them, decrees that they must compete for her in a tournament, after which the loser will be executed.

Emilia is no willing bride; as a girl, she loved Flavina, who has died. Still, she tries to avert the tournament by choosing between Arcite and Palamon, only to find she cannot. The jailer's daughter, a character added by the playwrights, is infatuated with Palamon and helps him escape. But the social gulf between her and Palamon is unimaginably wide. Only the gods can bring the play to resolution.

The authoritative edition of The Two Noble Kinsmen from The Folger Shakespeare Library, the trusted and widely used Shakespeare series for students and general readers, includes:

-Freshly edited text based on the best early 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 the play's 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
-Fresh images from the Folger Shakespeare Library's vast holdings of rare books
-An annotated guide to further reading

Essay by Dieter Mehl

The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC, is home to the world's largest collection of Shakespeare's printed works, and a magnet for Shakespeare scholars from around the globe. In addition to exhibitions open to the public throughout the year, the Folger offers a full calendar of performances and programs. For more information, visit Folger.edu.

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Review:

Shakespeare's last dramatic work, Two Noble Kinsmen has often been marginalised by editors who believe that Shakespeare was just one of its many writers. This does a disservice to what is a fascinating and haunting play. The two noble kinsmen of the play's title are Palamon and his cousin Arcite, Thebans who have sworn a vow of friendship until death, claiming, "Is there record of any two that loved/Better than we do?" King Theseus of Athens leads an invasion against Thebes, and returns to Athens with the two cousins, who both fall in love with Princess Emilia, Theseus' sister-in-law. Both become rivals for Emilia's hand, incurring the wrath of Theseus. The action moves to the forest, where Palamon and Arcite prepare to duel over Emilia, only to be interrupted by Theseus, who delays the duel for one month, commanding that whoever wins the duel will marry Emilia, whilst the loser will be executed. On the day Arcite defeats Palamon, but is then crushed under his own horse. As he dies he bequeaths Emilia's hand to his cousin. The play ends with their wedding ceremony. Two Noble Kinsmen concludes with a note of resignation, as Theseus says "Let us be thankful/For that which is, and with you leave dispute/That are above our question", but as always, it is dangerous to see this as Shakespeare pronouncing on life itself, or simply another character in one of his plays voicing a particularly elegiac viewpoint on the sad events portrayed. -- Jerry Brotton

Review:

...the Malone Society continues to espouse hardcore bibliography...immaculate detail of compositorial analysis. The volume provides wonderful grist: now the critical mill can begin to turn. ( Emma Smith, TLS)

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