Synopses & Reviews
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. Special attention is given to the strong female figure of Julia and the controversial final scene.
Synopsis
The Arden Shakespeare has long been acclaimed as the established scholarly edition of Shakespeare's work. Now being totally re-edited for the third time, Arden editions offer the very best in contemporary scholarship. Each volume provides a clear and authoritative text, edited to the highest standards; detailed textual notes and commentary on the same page of the text; full contextual, illustrated introduction, including an in-depth survey of critical and performance approach to the play; and selected bibliography.
Table of Contents
List of illustrations General Editors preface Preface Introduction - The Play - Cease to persuade - The Early Modern Discourse of Male Friendship - Titus and Gisippus and the Offer - The Rape and the Offer - Friendship Discourse After Two Gentlemen - The Prodigious Son - Who is Julia? Romance and the Boy Actor - Metamorphosis: Ovid and Lyly - Pox of your love letters - Who is Crab? - Verona - Milan - Mantua - Padua - Dramaturgy - The Afterlife - The Theatrical Tradition - The Critical Tradition - Text and Date THE TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA Appendix: Casting chart Abbreviations and References Index