Shakespeare's Fools - Launce and Speed in The Two Gentlemen of Verona Shakespeare's Fools: Launce and Speed in The Two Gentlemen of Verona From The Fools of Shakespeare by Frederick Warde. London: McBride, Nast & company. There seems to be little doubt but that the comedy of "The Two Gentlemen of Verona" was one of the earliest of the poet's dramatic works. There is no authentic record of its first presentation, but it is the general impression among the commentators that it occurred in 1591 or 1592. Sidney Lee, probably the most accurate and reliable authority on Shakespeareana, places it second in order of production. It was not printed in the author's lifetime, nor was it published till it was included in the First Folio edition of collected plays that appeared in 1623, seven years after the poet's death. There is a crude conventionality in the construction of the plot, inexperience in the development of the characters, and immaturity in its deductive philosophy. These conditions confirm the view-point taken above, and are entirely consistent with the known facts.

Shakespeare was at this time but twenty-seven years of age, had been in London but six or seven years, and though study and observation had given him some idea of dramatic composition, it was on conventional lines only; experience had not yet developed his powers or given him any marked individuality. Mrs. Cowden Clarke goes so far as to suggest that the comedy was probably one of the MSS. that Shakespeare took with him to London. This is disproved, I think, by his references in the play to historical and mythological characters, with which he would hardly be familiar before his advent into the metropolis. I doubt if Shakespeare did any literary work of a dramatic character before he went to London. It was his association with a company of professional actors, in a varied repertory of plays, with the environment of a regularly equipped theater, that revealed to him the possibilities of the drama, inspired his ambition, and developed his genius. There is no originality in the story of "The Two Gentlemen of Verona," nor in any of the incidents of the comedy. The characters are but prototypes of those which appear, elaborated and completed, in his later plays, after experience had matured his powers and given him a deeper insight into human nature.

This is particularly true of Launce and Speed, the two clownish servants in the comedy, who are reproduced as the two Dromios, in "The Comedy of Errors"; as Peter, in "Romeo and Juliet," and as Launcelot Gobbo, in "The Merchant of Venice"; but with far more consistency of purpose and detail of character. Launce and Speed are servants: born to serve, contented to serve, with little or no ambition beyond it. They are personal attendants on Valentine and Proteus, two young noblemen, and accompany their respective masters on their travels, obeying their orders without question, accepting their wages with satisfaction, and submitting upon occasion to personal chastisement without resentment. They are young, full of humor, and fond of mischief. Their humor they exercise upon their masters, when they can do so with safety, and indulge in their mischief between themselves. Both are shrewd and keenly observant, particularly of the foibles and weaknesses of their masters.

Speed is at times exuberant; Launce, who is apparently the elder, is more thoughtful and sententious, and with the egotism of a little learning patronizes and reproves the youth and ignorance of his comrade. Launce has some sentimentality in his nature which is shown in his affection for his dog. Crab, and his grief (not wholly unaffected) at the parting from his family. Launce does not, however, permit that sentimentality to affect his material interests at any time, or even influence his considerations in the selection of a wife. Both have the punning habit to an abnormal degree, and vie with each other in amphibolous repartee. Of the two, Launce has the keener wit and deeper philosophy. He is also more resourceful when occasion demands; witness, his prompt acceptance of the punishment that had been imposed on his "ungentlemanlike" dog. Crab, which would have ended the career of that canine; and the substitution of the same ill-bred cur for the "little jewel" he was commissioned to carry to Mistress Sylvia, which had been stolen from him by the boys in the market-place.

Speed is the first of these two worthies to appear in the play. It is in the first scene of the first act, and in his second speech he begins a corruption of words in a succession of the most atrocious puns and ingenious transliterations, that positively appall by their audacity: and he continues it throughout the scene. The play on the words.

Ship and sheep, pound and pinfold, and the evolution from a nod of the head, and the exclamation "ay" to the word "Noddy," fully justifies the term Proteus applies to it, "silly." In fact, there is but one bit of repartee in the entire dialogue worthy of note: Proteus exclaims with obvious sarcasm: "Beshrew me, but you have a quick wit," to which Speed, who has been unable to extract a gratuity from him, replies: "And yet it cannot overtake your slow purse." The dialogue in Act 2, Scene 1, between Speed and Sir Valentine, is in the same vein as in the first act; but Speed seems to have some advantage in it, for travel appears to have sharpened the wit of the servant, while love has dulled the spirit of the master. In Speed there is evidence of more observation both of incidents and circumstances; a clearer and brighter expression of ideas, combined with a shrewdness that approaches wisdom, - especially in his reflections on Sir Vallentine's love-lorn condition; while there is a dimness of comprehension that amounts almost to density in the lack of understanding displayed by his master.

Speed's critical philosophy, however, never permits him to lose sight of the demands of his stomach, or the perquisites of his position. This scene is so admirable in its commingling of humor and satire, that I quote it at length: Val. Why, how know you that I am in love? Speed. Marry, by these special marks. First, you have learn'd, like Sir Proteus, to wreath your arms, like a malcontent; to relish a love-song, like a robin redbreast; to walk alone, like one that had the pestilence; to sigh, like a schoolboy that had lost his A B C; to weep, like a young wench that had buried her grandam; to fast, like one that takes diet; to watch, like one that fears robbing; to speak puling, like a beggar at Hallowmas.

You were wont, when you laugh'd, to crow like a cock; when you walk'd, to walk like one of the lions; when you fasted, it was presently after dinner; when you look'd sadly, it was for want of money; and now you are metamorphosed with a mistress, that, when I look on you, I can hardly think you are my master. Val. Are all these things perceived in me? Speed. They are all perceived without ye. ... These follies are within you, and shine through you like the water ... that not an eye that sees you, but is a physician to comment on your malady. Later, in the same scene the dialogue is noteworthy, and again illustrates the shrewd observance of Speed, and the privilege of speech permitted him by his master. Speed. You never saw her since she was deform'd. Val. How long hath she been deform'd? Speed. Ever since you loved her. Val. I have loved her ever since I saw her, and still I see her beautiful. Speed. If you love her, you cannot see her. Val. Why? Speed. Because Love is blind. O!

that you had mine eyes; or your own eyes had the lights they were wont to have, when you chid at Sir Proteus for going ungartered! Val. What should I see then? Speed. Your own present folly, and her passing deformity; for he, being in love, could not see to garter his hose; and you, being in love, cannot see to put on your hose. Sir Valentine, probably realizing the truth of Speed's remarks, and finding no adequate reply, attempts a reproof, which, however, does not faze his irrepressible follower: Val. Belike, boy, then you are in love; for last morning you could not see to wipe my shoes. Speed. True, sir; I was in love with my bed. I thank you, you swinged me for my love, which makes me the bolder to chide you for yours. Mistress Sylvia, the lady of Sir Valentine's love, now comes upon the scene, and Speed is a most attentive observer and listener to the interview between the lover and the lady.

Sylvia has apparently commissioned Sir Valentine to write some appropriate lines for her to ''one she loves," a "secret nameless friend." Sir Valentine, having written the lines, in the form of a letter, now delivers it to the lady, who thereupon returns it to the writer, pointedly exclaiming: "They are for you." Sir Valentine, however, does not appreciate her meaning, looks bewildered and stands in great perplexity ; and the lady, disappointed at his lack of comprehension, abruptly takes her leave with considerable show of anger. Sir Valentine stands in speechless astonishment, but Speed, who has realized the full significance of the lady's device, exclaims: O jest unseen, inscrutable, invisible. As a nose on a man's face, or a weathercock on a steeple! Sir Valentine, still oblivious to the lady's design, and Speed's meaning, declares: Val. Why, she hath not writ to me? Speed. What need she when she hath made you write to yourself? Why, do you not perceive the jest? Val. No, believe me. Speed. Why, she hath given you a letter. Val. That's the letter I writ to her friend. Speed.

And that letter hath she deliver'd, and there an end. Val. I would it were no worse! Speed. I'll warrant you, 'tis as well: For often have you writ to her, and she, in modesty. Or else for want of idle time, could not again reply; Or fearing else some messenger, that might her mind discover. Herself hath taught her love himself to write unto her lover. Sir Valentine is still perplexed, he cannot see the jest, so Speed, seeing it impossible to make the matter clear, suggests: "'Tis dinner time." Sir Valentine replies: "I have dined," but Speed requires a more substantial diet than love, and concludes the scene with the following most earnestly delivered protest: "Ay, but hearken, sir: Though the chameleon Love can feed on air, I am one that am nourish' d by my victuals, and would fain have meat.

O I be not like your mistress: be moved, be moved." Launce does not appear till the third scene of the second act, when he introduces himself, his sentiments, and his dog Crab, by whom he is accompanied, with much humor and, as with all of Shakespeare's characters, his mental, sentimental and social status is at once established; while the domestic drama played with a pair of old shoes, a hat, and a staff as representatives of the family of the Launces, gives us an introduction to them as effectively as if we had met them all in person. One can easily understand that Crab's failure to appreciate the importance of the journey, and the pathos of parting with such a family is a source of great disappointment to his master. The episode is described with so much delightful originality of expression and humorous detail, that the reader must be dull indeed who cannot see the scene enacted before his eyes: the weeping women, the wailing father, the howling maid, and the "perplexed" household; while the dog, unmoved, stolidly watches the entire proceedings with a bored expression of canine indifference.

Nay, 'twill be this hour ere I have done weeping: all the kind of the Launces have this very fault. I have received my proportion, like the prodigious son, and am going with Sir Proteus to the imperial's court. I think Crab my dog be the sourest-natured dog that lives: my mother weeping, my father wailing, my sister crying, our maid howling, our cat wringing her hands, and all our house in great perplexity, yet did not this cruel-hearted cur shed one tear: he is a stone, a very pebble-stone, and has no more pity in him than a dog: a Jew would have wept to have seen our parting: why, my grandam, having no eyes, look you, wept herself blind at my parting. Nay, show you the manner of it: This shoe is my father; - no, this left shoe is my father; no, no, this left shoe is my mother: - that cannot be so neither: yes, it is so, it is so; it hath the worser sole. This shoe with a hole in it, is my mother, and this my father.

A vengeance on't: there 't is : now, sir, this staff is my sister; for, look you, she is as white as a lily, and as small as a wand: this hat is Nan, our maid; I am the dog: - no, the dog is himself, and I am the dog, - O, the dog is me, and I am myself; ay, so, so. Now come I to my father; Father, your blessing; now should not the shoe speak a word for weeping; now should I kiss my father; well, he weeps on: - now come I to my mother, (O, that she could speak now, like a wood woman.) - well, I kiss her; why, there't is; here's my mother's breath up and down; now come I to my sister; mark the moan she makes: now the dog all this while sheds not a tear, nor speaks a word; but see how I lay the dust with my tears.

The misuse of the words "prodigious" and "perplexity" has a most familiar sound, and may be readily recognized as a favorite comedy device of the poet, to provide humor for his clowns and serving-men. In an interesting work by Dr. A. O. Kellogg, of the State Lunatic Asylum, at Utica, New York, entitled "Shakespeare's Delineations of Insanity, Imbecility, and Suicide," that distinguished alienist places Launce among the imbeciles, and by way of preface to an able analysis of the character, in which is included Crab, the constant companion of the boy, he makes the following concrete summary: Another shade of mental obtuseness and imbecility has been exhibited by the poet in the character of Launce, the clown par excellence, in "The Two Gentlemen of Verona." Launce is not a character manufactured by the playwright, one of "Nature's journey-men," to serve a particular purpose, but is a product of Nature's own handiwork, and if not the most cunning, still none the less genuine. The close companionship which exists between him and his interesting dog.

Crab, is evidently one based upon a moral and intellectual fitness in the characters of the two. The clown is such by natural organization, and no education or change of circumstances or condition could make him otherwise. So the dog Crab, is ... the cur that nature made him; and we can scarcely conceive that even the cultivation of three generations ... would suffice to make either a courtier of the one, or "a gentleman-like dog" of the other. ... The spirits of the two are so "married in conjunction" by mutual intercourse, that the one has come to conduct himself in all companies, as a currish clown, and the other as a clownish cur. As I have stated in the preface, I do not presume to differentiate between folly and imbecility. I quote the foregoing as the indorsement of a scientist to the accuracy of the poet's conception and treatment of the character. In reference to the habit of punning, which is one of the characteristics of Launce, to which I have before alluded in this article, as well as to the same practice by similar characters in previous chapters, I again quote Dr.

Kellogg: His humorous punning and play upon words is also quite characteristic, and shows that this faculty may be possessed in quite an eminent degree by those of very inferior mental caliber, like Launce. How completely Shakespeare realized this condition is evidenced, not only by the countrymen and clowns in his comedies, but also by the characters of inferior rank and humble station in his tragedies: notably, Peter, in "Romeo and Juliet"; the Citizens, in "Julius Caesar"; the Grave-diggers, in "Hamlet"; and the drunker Porter, in "Macbeth." "The Two Gentlemen of Verona" is unfortunately seldom presented on the stage, but Mr. Augustin Daly made a production of the comedy in his series of Shakespearean revivals at Daly's Theater, New York, some years ago. Mr. James Lewis played Launce, and while I cannot recall the entire performance in detail, I distinctly remember his first appearance on the scene. He came upon the stage slowly, with an expression of extreme disgust on his face, leading his dog Crab by a cord.

The property man who had procured the dog for the production had been most fortunate in his selection, for a more complete specimen of a "low-down cur" I never saw. It would have puzzled the most experienced dog fancier to name his breed or trace his ancestry. Most animals, when they appear upon the stage, become frightened by the glare of the footlights, and startled by any applause that may come from the audience, but this dog that played Crab was absolutely oblivious to his surroundings. Crab received even a more cordial greeting than his popular master, but while the latter acknowledged the compliment gracefully, the dog looked on with complete indifference as if the entire proceedings bored him. Launce began his first speech, which included a mild reproach of Crab's lack of sympathy, but it made no impression on the cur: he then led the dog to the base of a statue, or fountain on the scene, seated himself on the steps, the cur by his side, and enacted the domestic scene described in the text with a droll humor that the audience found irresistible, but it had no effect on Crab, who sat upon his haunches, looked at Mr.

Lewis' manipulation of the shoes, and listened to his detailed description of the parting of the family of the Launces as if, like Baron Grog, in "The Grand Duchess," he had always been taught "to observe an impassive countenance." I regret that I cannot remember more of the performance of Mr. Lewis, for everything he did was worthy of memory: but the picture of the dog. Crab, is indelibly impressed on my mind, and the memory of that frowsy cur that was such an appropriate companion to his master, tempts me again to quote Dr. Kellogg: Next to the human associates whom a man takes into his confidence, nothing seems to furnish a more correct index to his character than the species of the canine race which he selects as his companions. The grim-looking, fighting bulldog is found at the heels of the bully and prize-fighter. The dignified mastiff and gentlemanly Newfoundland, guard ... the stately banker. The gaunt hound is found in the train of the active, vigorous, fox-hunting squire. The poodle or spaniel ...

is the combed, washed, and petted companion of my lady, but the cur, who seems to be a combination of the evil qualities of all these, your "yaller dog," is found at the heels of the clown, and the nature of the relationship is nowhere so admirably depicted as by the poet in his delineations of Launce and his dog Crab. The play upon the words "tide" and "tied" in the brief dialogue with Panthino, that concludes the scene is another capital illustration of the quality of wit possessed by Launce. It is amusing, harmless and characteristic. Pan. You'll lose the tide, if you tarry any longer. Launce. It is no matter if the tied were lost; for it is the unkindest tied that ever any man tied. Pan. What's the unkindest tide? Launce. Why, he that's tied here. Crab, my dog. Scene 5, of Act 2, is entirely occupied by a dialogue between Launce and Speed. The scene does not advance the plot or develop the characters, but is marked by the same quality of wit to which I have before referred; a brief example of which will suffice. Speed.

I understand thee not. Launce. What a block art thou, that thou canst not. My staff understands me. Speed. What thou sayest? Launce. Ay, and what I do too: look thee, I'll but lean, and my staff understands me. Speed. It stands under thee, indeed. Launce. Why, stand-under and under-stand is all one. In the first scene of act third a new phase of the character of Launce is developed. He is in love. We have his own admission of the fact, with the addenda: "But a team of horse shall not pluck that from me; not who 'tis I love, and yet 'tis a woman: but what woman, I will not tell myself; and yet 'tis a milkmaid." Launce does not give us his reasons for the secrecy that he so ingeniously negatives, and we might attribute it to the bashful modesty of a lover, but this is again negatived by his subsequent interview with Speed.

The name of the lady is withheld, but we are frankly informed of "The cate-log of her conditions." Launce is a man of method and has carefully collated both the virtues and vices of the lady, and set them down in a sort of debtor and creditor arrangement, which he not only carefully considers himself, but on a convenient opportunity submits to the judgment of his friend Speed, reserving, however, the privilege of making the final decision himself. The merits of the lady are set down somewhat as follows: She can fetch and carry. She can milk.

Two Gentlemen of Verona by William Shakespeare: Character Summary Silvia: Valentine’s beloved who rebuffs Proteus' and Thurio's advances Launce: Proteus’ clownish servant who harbors a deep affection for his dog Crab Thurio: Valentine’s rival to Silvia’s love Duke of Milan: Silvia’s father who is partial to Sir Thurio marrying his daughter Outlaws: three outlaws who recruit Valentine to act as their leader Host: the man whose establishment in Milan Julia lodges in, and the man who leads Julia, who is disguised as Sebastian, to Proteus Eglamour: a gentleman and Silvia’s friend who agrees to help her abscond to Mantua where she believes Valentine to be residing Two Gentlemen Climax . The climax of a play or another literary work, such as a short story or a novel, can be defined as (1) the turning point at which the conflict begins to resolve itself for better or worse, or as (2) the final and most exciting event in a series of events.

The climax of The Two Gentlemen of Verona occurs, according to the first definition, in Act 5, when Valentine defends Silvia against the advances of Proteus, shames him, and causes him to repent his untoward behavior, both to Silvia and to Julia. Consequently, Valentine is reunited with Silvia and Proteus with Julia. According to the second definition, the climax occurs later in the same act and scene when Valentine faces down Thurio, saying: Thurio, give back, or else embrace thy death; Come not within the measure of my wrath; Do not name Silvia thine . . . . (5.4.137-139) When Thurio backs off, the Dukeï¿½impressed with Valentineï¿½s bold defense of his daughterï¿½has a change of heart: I do applaud thy spirit, Valentine, And think thee worthy of an empressï¿½ love: Know then, I here forget all former griefs , 7 The following passage spoken unwittingly by Proteus foreshadows the conflict between him and Valentine.

O, how this spring of love resembleth The uncertain glory of an April day, Which now shows all the beauty of the sun, And by and by a cloud takes all away! Themes . Love vs Infatuation Valentine and Silvia never waver in their love for one another. Nor does Julia in her love for Proteus. But Proteus, who is infatuated with Silvia, hardly blinks when he abandons his suit for her to return to Julia. Disloyalty Proteus (whose very nameï¿½that of a Greek god who could change his appearance at willï¿½symbolizes caprice and inconstancy) betrays both Valentine and Julia when he woos Silvia on a whim. But he discovers his flighty, immature behavior is no match for true fidelity. Lovers' Irrational, Unpredictable, or Silly Behavior Proteus first loves Julia, then Silvia, then Julia. Julia wears a disguise to be close to Proteus. Silvia dictates loves letters to Valentine, pretending they are for someone else when they are really for Valentine.

Father Does Not Always Know Best Silvia's father, the Duke of Milan, attempts to force her to marry Thurio, a haughty buffoon. Silvia refusesï¿½and rightly soï¿½for her heart and soul are with Valentine. Nature Heals Notice that everyone who enters the forest becomes better for the experience. Shakespeare used the "nature heals" theme in other plays as well, including A Midsummer Night's Dream, Love's Labour's Lost, As You Like It, and The Tempest. But nature does not always behave well in Shakespeare. King Lear found that out during a raging storm, and Macbeth fell victim to the trees of Birnham Wood. Forgive and Forget Valentine and Julia forgive Proteus for his reprehensible behavior, and the Duke of Milan pardons the outlaws. . Use of Disguises . Time and again, Shakespeare disguises women as men to further a plot. For example, In All's Well That Ends Well, Helena wears the attire of a pilgrim to get close to Bertram. In Cymbeline, Imogen becomes a page boy to win back Posthumous.

Julia also becomes a page boy in The Two Gentlemen of Verona, as does Viola in Twelfth Night. In The Merchant of Venice, Portia disguises herself as a male judge to save the friend of her lover in a court of law. Rosalind, in As You Like It, dons the garb of a man to become a shepherd as she seeks out her love, Orlando. In each of these plays, the women disguised as men eventually reveal their true female identities All of this could have been quite confusing to playgoers in Shakespeare's day, for only men played women's roles. Thus, in the above-mentioned plays, men played women disguised as men who at some point doffed their male identities to reveal themselves as females. . Characterization Blunder? Shakespeare appears to commit a serious characterization blunder in the fourth scene of Act 5, when Valentine confronts Proteus after the latter attempts to force himself on Silvia. Valentine first declares that he will never again trust Proteus, a declaration that is entirely understandable. A moment later, he forgives Proteus his transgressions after Proteus expresses remorse. That change of heart, too, is understandable.

After all, Proteus had been his best friend. Moreover, Proteus's contrition seems genuine, and it may signal a rejection of his fickle ways and the beginning of his maturation. What is not understandable, however, is that Valentineï¿½in reconciling with Proteusï¿½actually offers him Silvia as a goodwill token. Here is the dialogue that takes place: . 't here; I do as truly suffer As e'er I did commit. VALENTINE: Then I am paid; And once again I do receive thee honest. Who by repentance is not satisfied Is nor of heaven nor earth, for these are pleased. By penitence the Eternal's wrath's appeased: And, that my love may appear plain and free, All that was mine in Silvia I give thee. (5. 4. 80-91) Here, Shakespeare seems to go too far in asking his audience to believe this surprising reversal. Would Valentineï¿½deeply in love with Silvia and, just moments before, ready to cancel his friendship with Proteusï¿½really surrender her to Proteus as a kind of peace offering? Common sense says no.

However, at least one Shakespeare scholar says Valentine's gesture is not at all surprising: "It was a common belief in Shakespeare's time that the love of a man for his friend, especially his 'sworn brother,' was stronger and nobler than the love of man for woman" (Harrison, G.B., ed. Shakespeare: The Complete Works. New York: Harcourt, 1952, Page 366). Other scholars maintain that the last line of the passageï¿½All that was mine in Silvia I give theeï¿½actually means this: I love you as a friend in the same way that I love Sylvia as my future wife. . Verbal Razzle-Dazzle .. Shakespeare wrote The Two Gentlemen of Verona very early in his career, about 1592 or 1593, when he was still in his twenties and his writing was in its formative stage. In this period of his development, he relied primarily on the flash and panache of clever wordplayï¿½rather than character growth and subtle languageï¿½to impress audiences and critics.

Consequently, The Two Gentlemen of Verona contains many puns, quips, and other forms of verbal razzle-dazzle. The following exchange in the second scene of Act 1, between Julia and her servant, Lucetta, is an example of the repartee in the dialogue. Here is the context: When Julia asks which gentleman of Verona would be best for her, Lucetta selects Proteus. JULIA: And wouldst thou have me cast my love on him? LUCETTA: Ay, if you thought your love not cast away. JULIA: Why he, of all the rest, hath never moved me. LUCETTA: .Yet he, of all the rest, I think, best loves ye. JULIA: .His little speaking shows his love but small. LUCETTA:..Fire that's closest kept burns most of all. JULIA: They do not love that do not show their love. LUCETTA: .O, they love least that let men know their love.

(1.2.27-34) Epigrams In the dialogue of The Two Gentlemen of Verona and other Shakespeare plays, characters sometimes speak wise or witty sayings couched in memorable figurative language. Although these sayings are brief, they often express a profound universal truth or make a thought-provoking observation. Such sayings are called epigrams or aphorisms. Because many of Shakespeareï¿½s epigrams are so memorable, writers and speakers use them again and again. Many of Shakespeare's epigrams have become part of our everyday language; often we use them without realizing that it was Shakespeare who coined them.

Examples of phrases Shakespeare originated in his plays include ï¿½allï¿½s well that ends well,ï¿½ ï¿½[every] dog will have its day,ï¿½ ï¿½give the devil his due,ï¿½ ï¿½green-eyed monster,ï¿½ ï¿½my own flesh and blood,ï¿½ ï¿½neither rhyme nor reason,ï¿½ ï¿½one fell swoop,ï¿½ ï¿½primrose path,ï¿½ ï¿½spotless reputation,ï¿½ and ï¿½too much of a good thing.ï¿½ Among some of the more memorable sayings in The Two Gentlemen of Verona are the following: Home-keeping youth have ever homely wits. (1.1.4) Valentine, eager to leave home and see the world, uses a play on words (home-keeping, homely) and alliteration (home, have, and homely) to express a truth: confining oneself to the same environment day in and day out dulls the wits (intelligence, perception, ability to think). O!

they love least that let men know their love. (1.2.34) Paradox and alliteration help make this line memorable. The paradox occurs when Lucetta tells Julia that the women who love least are the women who express their love. Alliteration occurs in love, least, let, and love. O! how this spring of love resembleth The uncertain glory of an April day, Which now shows all the beauty of the sun, And by and by a cloud takes all away! (1.3.88-91) In a metaphor, Proteus compares love to an April day--sunny one moment, cloudy the next. His years but young, but his experience old; His head unmellowï¿½d, but his judgment ripe. (2.4.60-61) Valentine praises Proteus to the Duke of Milan, using antithesis and paradox to make his point. How use doth breed a habit in a man. (5.4.3) Valentine observes that repeated use ofï¿½or exposure toï¿½anything can result in a habit. He speaks these words when he becomes used to living in the peace and solitude of the forest.

He realizes, however, that he needs to break his ï¿½habitï¿½ and rejoin the company of peopleï¿½in particular Silviaï¿½who can fill a void within him. Figures of Speech Following are examples of figures of speech in addition to those presented under Epigrams . (For definitions of figures of speech, see Literary Terms .) Alliteration How wayward is this foolish love That, like a testy babe, will scratch the nurse. (1.2.60-61) Comparison of love to a baby These follies are within you and shine through you like the water in an urinal, that not an eye that sees you but is a physician to comment on your malady. (2.1.24) Speed compares Valentine's symptoms of lovesickness to the reflection of water in a urinal. (Physicians examined urine to look for signs of illness.) Iï¿½ll be as patient as a gentle stream And make a pastime of each weary step.

(2.7.36-37) Julia compares her patience to that of a "gentle stream." Yet hath Sir Proteus,ï¿½for thatï¿½s his name,ï¿½ Made use and fair advantage of his days: His years but young, but his experience old; His head unmellowï¿½d, but his judgment ripe; (2.4.58-61) What's in a Name? The name Valentine comes from a Latin word, valentia, meaning worth, capacity, or value. The name Proteus comes from Greek mythology. Proteus was a minor sea god who could change his shape at will. Obviously, the behavior of these characters reflects the meaning of their names. Symptoms of Love . What does it feel like to be in love? Speed, Valentine's servant, observes that Valentine is in love with Silvia. When Valentine asks Speed how he came to that conclusion, Speed uses a series of similes to describe the symptoms of love (all of which afflict Valentine).

Here is what Speed tells Valentine: The Two Gentlemen of Verona - Act 2, Scene 1 The Two Gentlemen of Verona Please see the bottom of this page for notes and related resources. ACT II SCENE I Not mine; my gloves are on. SPEED Why, then, this may be yours, for this is but one. VALENTINE Ha! let me see: ay, give it me, it's mine: Sweet ornament that decks a thing divine! Ah, Silvia, Silvia! She is not within hearing, sir. VALENTINE Why, sir, who bade you call her? SPEED Your worship, sir; or else I mistook. 10 Well, you'll still be too forward. SPEED And yet I was last chidden for being too slow. VALENTINE Go to, sir: tell me, do you know Madam Silvia? SPEED She that your worship loves? VALENTINE Why, how know you that I am in love?

SPEED Marry, by these special marks: first, you have learned, like Sir Proteus, to wreathe your arms, like a malecontent; to relish a love-song, like a robin-redbreast; to walk alone, like one that had 20 the pestilence; to sigh, like a school-boy that had lost his A B C; to weep, like a young wench that had buried her grandam; to fast, like one that takes diet; to watch like one that fears robbing; to speak puling, like a beggar at Hallowmas. You were wont, when you laughed, to crow like a cock; when you walked, to walk like one of the lions; when you fasted, it was presently after dinner; when you looked sadly, it was for want of money: and now you 30 are metamorphosed with a mistress, that, when I look on you, I can hardly think you my master. VALENTINE Are all these things perceived in me? SPEED They are all perceived without ye. VALENTINE Without you?

nay, that's certain, for, without you were so simple, none else would: but you are so without these follies, that these follies are within you and shine through you like the water in an urinal, that not an eye that sees you but is a 40 physician to comment on your malady. VALENTINE But tell me, dost thou know my lady Silvia? SPEED She that you gaze on so as she sits at supper? VALENTINE Hast thou observed that? even she, I mean. SPEED Why, sir, I know her not. VALENTINE Dost thou know her by my gazing on her, and yet knowest her not? Is she not hard-favoured, sir? VALENTINE Not so fair, boy, as well-favoured. 50 Sir, I know that well enough. VALENTINE That she is not so fair as, of you, well-favoured. VALENTINE I mean that her beauty is exquisite, but her favour infinite. SPEED That's because the one is painted and the other out of all count. How painted? and how out of count?

SPEED Marry, sir, so painted, to make her fair, that no man counts of her beauty. 60 How esteemest thou me? I account of her beauty. SPEED You never saw her since she was deformed. VALENTINE How long hath she been deformed? SPEED Ever since you loved her. VALENTINE I have loved her ever since I saw her; and still I see her beautiful. If you love her, you cannot see her. VALENTINE Because Love is blind. O, that you had mine eyes; 70 or your own eyes had the lights they were wont to have when you chid at Sir Proteus for going ungartered! What should I see then? SPEED Your own present folly and her passing deformity: for he, being in love, could not see to garter his hose, and you, being in love, cannot see to put on your hose. VALENTINE Belike, boy, then, you are in love; for last morning you could not see to wipe my shoes.

80 True, sir; I was in love with my bed: I thank you, you swinged me for my love, which makes me the bolder to chide you for yours. VALENTINE In conclusion, I stand affected to her. SPEED I would you were set, so your affection would cease. VALENTINE Last night she enjoined me to write some lines to one she loves. Are they not lamely writ? VALENTINE No, boy, but as well as I can do them. Peace! here she comes. [Aside] O excellent motion! O exceeding puppet! Now will he interpret to her. [Enter SILVIA] Madam and mistress, a thousand good-morrows. SPEED [Aside] O, give ye good even! here's a million of manners. SILVIA Sir Valentine and servant, to you two thousand. SPEED [Aside] He should give her interest and she gives it him. 100 As you enjoin'd me, I have writ your letter Unto the secret nameless friend of yours; Which I was much unwilling to proceed in But for my duty to your ladyship.

SILVIA I thank you gentle servant: 'tis very clerkly done. VALENTINE Now trust me, madam, it came hardly off; For being ignorant to whom it goes I writ at random, very doubtfully. SILVIA Perchance you think too much of so much pains? 110 No, madam; so it stead you, I will write Please you command, a thousand times as much; And yet-- SILVIA A pretty period! Well, I guess the sequel; And yet I will not name it; and yet I care not; And yet take this again; and yet I thank you, Meaning henceforth to trouble you no more. SPEED [Aside] And yet you will; and yet another 'yet.' VALENTINE What means your ladyship? do you not like it? SILVIA Yes, yes; the lines are very quaintly writ; 120 But since unwillingly, take them again. Nay, take them. Madam, they are for you.

SILVIA Ay, ay: you writ them, sir, at my request; But I will none of them; they are for you; I would have had them writ more movingly. VALENTINE Please you, I'll write your ladyship another. SILVIA And when it's writ, for my sake read it over, And if it please you, so; if not, why, so. VALENTINE If it please me, madam, what then? 130 Why, if it please you, take it for your labour: And so, good morrow, servant. [Exit] O jest unseen, inscrutable, invisible, As a nose on a man's face, or a weathercock on a steeple! My master sues to her, and she hath taught her suitor, He being her pupil, to become her tutor. O excellent device! was there ever heard a better, That my master, being scribe, to himself should write the letter? How now, sir? what are you reasoning with yourself? 140 Nay, I was rhyming: 'tis you that have the reason. VALENTINE To be a spokesman for Madam Silvia.

VALENTINE To yourself: why, she wooes you by a figure. VALENTINE By a letter, I should say. VALENTINE Why, she hath not writ to me? SPEED What need she, when she hath made you write to 150 yourself? Why, do you not perceive the jest? VALENTINE No believing you, indeed, sir. But did you perceive her earnest? She gave me none, except an angry word. SPEED Why, she hath given you a letter. VALENTINE That's the letter I writ to her friend. SPEED And that letter hath she delivered, and there an end. VALENTINE I would it were no worse. 160 I'll warrant you, 'tis as well: For often have you writ to her, and she, in modesty, Or else for want of idle time, could not again reply; Or fearing else some messenger that might her mind discover, Herself hath taught her love himself to write unto her lover. All this I speak in print, for in print I found it. Why muse you, sir? 'tis dinner-time.

VALENTINE Ay, but hearken, sir; though the chameleon Love can 170 feed on the air, I am one that am nourished by my victuals, and would fain have meat. O, be not like your mistress; be moved, be moved. [Exeunt] Explanatory notes for Act 2, Scene 1 From The Two Gentlemen of Verona. Ed. Israel Gollancz. New York: University Society. 2. one: - On and one were sometimes pronounced alike, and also written so; this is but a quibble based on such identity of pronunciation. 24. takes diet: - To take diet is to be under a regimen for a disease. 26. Hallowmas: - The feast of All-hallows, or All Saints, at which time the poor in some places went from parish to parish a-souling, as they called it; that is, begging and puling (or singing small, as Bailey's Dictionary explains puling), for soul-cakes, and singing what they called the souler's song.

These terms point out the condition of this benevolence, which was, that the beggars should pray for the souls of the giver's departed friends. 27. none else would; i.e. 'no one else would perceive them.' 73. going ungartered: - This is mentioned by Rosalind (As You Like It, III. iii.) as one of the undoubted marks of love: "Then your hose should be ungartered, your bonnet unhanded," etc. 78. to put on your hose, various suggestions have been made for the emendation of these words: - 'to beyond your nose,' 'to put spectacles on your nose,' 'to put on your shoes,' 'to button your hose.' It is not certain that a rhyming couplet was intended. Probably 'unable to see to put on one's hose' was a proverbial expression meaning 'unable to tell which leg to put into one's hose first,' i.e. 'not to have one's wits about one.' 85. Set for seated, in opposition to stand in the preceding line.

It appears, however, to be used metaphorically in the sense applied to the sun when it sinks below the horizon. 94. As motion signified a puppet-show, whereat the showman was called the interpreter, Speed means, "What a fine puppet show shall we have now! Here is the principal puppet to whom my master will act as showman." 99. Sir Valentine and servant: - "Here," says Sir J. Hawkins, "Silvia calls her lover servant, and again her gentle servant. This was the common language of ladies to their lovers, at the time when Shakespeare wrote." Henry James Pye, in his Comments on the Commentators, observes that, "in the Noble Gentlemen of Beaumont and Fletcher, the lady's gallant has no other name in the dramatis personae than servant," and that "mistress and servant are always used for lovers in Dryden's plays." Knight, however, believes "that Shakespeare here uses the words in a much more general sense than that which expresses the relations between two lovers.

At the very moment that Valentine calls Silvia mistress he says that he has written for her a letter - 'some lines to one she loves' - unto a 'secret nameless friend'; and what is still stronger evidence that the word 'servant' had not the full meaning of lover, but meant a much more general admirer, Valentine, introducing Proteus to Silvia, says, 'Sweet lady, entertain him To be my fellow-servant to your ladyship;' and Silvia, consenting, says to Proteus, 'Servant, you are welcome to a worthless mistress.' "Now, when Silvia says this, which, according to the meaning which has been attached to the words servant and mistress, would be a speech of endearment, she had accepted Valentine really as her betrothed lover, and she had been told by Valentine that Proteus 'Had come along with me, but that his mistress Did hold his eyes lock'd in her crystal looks.' "It appears, therefore, that we must receive these words in a very vague sense, and regard them as titles of courtesy, derived, perhaps, from the chivalric times, when many a harnessed knight and sportive troubadour described the lady whom they had g

azed upon in the tiltyard as their 'mistress,' and the same lady looked upon each of the gallant train as a 'servant' dedicated to the defence of her honour, or the praise of her beauty." 166.

for in print I found it. Probably these lines are quoted from some old ballad or play, though their source has not yet been found. One cannot help thinking that Shakespeare is quoting from some play of the 'Two Italian Gentleman' type; the reprinted extracts contain passages strongly reminding one of these lines. ________ How to cite the explanatory notes: Shakespeare, William. The Two Gentlemen of Verona. Ed. Israel Gollancz. New York: University Society, 1901. Shakespeare Online. 10 Aug. 2010. (date when you accessed the information) < >. _________ Theater Review: “The Two Gentlemen of Verona” at Shakespeare Theatre | Washingtonian Theater Review: “The Two Gentlemen of Verona” at Shakespeare Theatre Shakespeare’s earliest romantic comedy gets a millennial makeover in this edgy production. Tweet Share Adam Green as Speed and Euan Morton as Launce in the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s production of The Two Gentlemen of Verona. Photograph by Scott Suchman. Long before the time of MTV2’s reality lineup and Stephanie Meyer, a more erudite source had some fun exposing the folly of hormonal teenagers’ impulsive decisions.

In what was likely his earliest foray into romantic comedy, Shakespeare turned his keen eye for human antics toward the tangles of lovesick adolescents when he wrote The Two Gentlemen of Verona at the end of the 16th century. Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Two Gentlemen, now playing at the Lansburgh Theatre, supplants Verona for wealthy teenage suburbia where, firmly in the idle hands of Generation ME, the story’s evergreen lessons telegraph as loudly as its iPod playlist. Director PJ Paparelli’s production plunges into the privileged teenage psyche well before any actors step onto the stage. Heineken, Trojan, and Apple logos plastered across a forest of dented aluminum set pieces bring to mind the trash can overflowing with crumpled beer cans after a house party. So introducing the play’s characters ripping late-night shots of Jack Daniels in an empty parking lot seems about right. With Ben Folds’s piano blasting and set designer Walt Spangler’s nifty electronic message board tweeting snarky exposition overhead, we meet Valentine and his best friend, Proteus.

The young men have reached that bittersweet point of impending adulthood, and Proteus ( Nick Dillenburg), in the grips of young love, has opted to stay in Verona with sweetheart Julia ( Miriam Silverman), while cynical Valentine ( Andrew Veenstra) is bidding his buddy farewell in favor of big-city living in Milan. When Proteus’s father orders him to join his friend in Milan, he and Julia vow, during a tearful goodbye, to love each other forever. But upon his arrival in the city, Proteus quickly learns what generations of lovelorn young people have inevitably discovered in their own first journeys away from home: There are plenty of other fish in the sea. Only this particular fish—the beautiful Silvia (a glowing Natalie Mitchell)—just happens to be his best friend’s girl. This being Shakespeare and all, plotting, deceit, disguise, misunderstanding, sassy servant sidekicks, and climactic conflicts follow suit.

Directors have a penchant for treating Shakespearean works as something of a blank slate, a canvas for whoever can paint the most inventive “theme.” Paparelli, who served as the company’s associate director from 1998 through 2004, carefully navigates that trap here, creating an unexpected environment that edges toward the gimmicky. Modern musical choices from Beyonce to U2 amp up the Four Loko–esque energy, though sporadic impromptu a capella harmonies and karaoke interludes occasionally feel out of place. The actors who play the four lovers have been tasked with a difficult challenge in tackling a story critics have chastised for centuries for its dramatically fluctuating action and too-tidy conclusion. Making the characters’ choices believable requires emotional range these principals fall just short of. Even selfish, rash teenagers would demonstrate some initial sense of regret and trepidation for betraying a friend or lover (in fact, they’d probably be emo-posting about it all over their Facebook pages), and though all four actors are enjoyable to watch, that depth doesn’t always come across in this production.

Supporting players, such as Brent Harris’s commanding Duke of Milan, and servants Speed (Adam Green) and Launce (the well-pedigreed Euan Morton) offer some needed nuance. And as anyone familiar with this lesser-known classic could tell you, another cast member has a particular talent for scene-stealing—a shaggy, four-legged cast member. Crab, servant Launce’s canine companion, played with the precious, oblivious abandon one would expect from a live dog (Oliver, a sandy-coated terrier), kept up the joke Shakespeare knowingly included in his script—namely that audiences are delighted by the comic relief of live animals and their unpredictability. Ultimately, it’s that same handle on human predictability (particularly when it comes to teenage passion and recklessness) that makes Two Gentlemen, like so many other Shakespeare plays, endure. The script marks the playwright’s first attempts at so many of the dramatic and comedic devices we know today: young lovers escaping under the cloak of night; servants providing the sagest wisdom; heroines in drag. He would do it better in his later shows, but that doesn’t mean Two Gentlemen should be overlooked.

The Two Gentlemen of Verona is at the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Lansburgh Theatre through March 4. Tickets ($39 to $90) are available through Shakespeare Theatre’s website . SparkNotes: The Two Gentlemen of Verona: Summary The Two Gentlemen of Verona William Shakespeare Context Characters Bosom buddies Valentine and Proteus bid a tearful farewell on a street in Verona. Valentine is off to improve himself, venturing out to see the world, while Proteus stays home in Verona, tied by his love for Julia. After Valentine departs, his servant, Speed, enters. Proteus inquires whether or not Speed delivered a letter to Julia, to which Speed replies affirmatively. Julia, meanwhile, asks her maid, Lucetta, with which man she should fall in love, and Lucetta recommends Proteus. Lucetta admits that she has a letter for Julia from Proteus. After much bickering, Julia tears up the letter, only to regret this act an instant later. Antonio decides to send Proteus, his son, to the Duke's court in Milan, a decision with which neither Proteus nor Julia is particularly happy. They exchange rings and promises to keep loving each other.

Meanwhile, Valentine has fallen in love with the Duke's feisty daughter, Silvia. When Proteus arrives at court, he too falls in love with Silvia, and vows to do anything he can to win her away from Valentine. When Valentine confesses that he and Silvia plan to elope, Proteus notifies the Duke of their plans, gaining favor for himself and effecting Valentine's banishment from court. Back in Verona, Julia has hatched a plan to disguise herself as a man so that she can journey to Milan to be reunited with Proteus. Upon arriving at court, she witnesses Proteus and Thurio wooing Silvia. The banished Valentine, while traveling to Mantua, is apprehended by a group of outlaws. The outlaws, all of whom are banished gentlemen as well, demand Valentine to become their king. Since they threaten to kill him if he refuses, Valentine accepts. Silvia and Julia, who is disguised as the page Sebastian, meet when Julia delivers the ring Proteus had given her to Silvia on behalf of Proteus. Julia does not reveal her identity.

Silvia calls on her friend Sir Eglamour to help her escape her father's oppressive will (he wants her to marry Thurio) and to find Valentine. However, while traveling through the forest, she and Eglamour are overtaken by a band of outlaws. Eglamour runs away, leaving Silvia to fend for herself against the outlaws. By this time, the Duke, Proteus, and Thurio, with Sebastian/Julia in tow, have organized a search party for Silvia. Proteus wrests Silvia away from the outlaws. Valentine watches the interaction unseen. Proteus demands that Silvia give him some sign of her favor for freeing her, but she refuses. He tries to rape her for her resistance, but Valentine jumps out and stops him. Proteus immediately apologizes, and Valentine offers to give him Silvia as a token of their friendship. At this moment, Sebastian faints and his true identity becomes clear. Proteus decides that he really loves Julia better than Silvia, and takes her instead. The Duke realizes that Thurio is a thug and says that Valentine is far nobler and can marry Silvia.

Valentine asks for clemency for the outlaws, and suggests that his marriage to Silvia and Proteus' marriage to Julia should take place on the same day. More Help SparkNotes: The Two Gentlemen of Verona: Act II, scenes iii-iv The Two Gentlemen of Verona William Shakespeare Act II, scenes v-vi Summary Proteus' servant Launce, dragging his dog, Crab, and dilly-dallying en route to his master's departing ship, complains that Crab is the surliest dog that ever lived. He laments that his family cried bitterly when he bade them farewell upon his departure for the emperor's court, while the dog has continued neither to speak a word of sorrow nor to shed a tear of sympathy. Launce enacts the entire farewell scene with his shoes and apparel: the shoe with the hole in the toe stands in for his mother, and the shoe without the hole for his father; his staff stands in for his sister, and his hat for the family's maid. Confusion ensues as Launce debates whether he or Crab should play Launce. Panthino arrives to fetch Launce, interrupting his production.

Valentine and Thurio, a boorish admirer of Silvia's, show off in front of Silvia. Speed stands by, trying to start a fight between the rivals by encouraging Valentine to punch Thurio. Silvia commends the men for their witty dialogue as the Duke enters. The Duke marvels at the number of admirers clustering around Silvia, and asks Valentine about his friend Proteus. Valentine praises Proteus, calling him a perfect gentleman. The Duke announces that Proteus will arrive momentarily. When Proteus arrives, Valentine introduces him to Silvia. Silvia and Thurio exit promptly. Valentine admits to Proteus that he has fallen in love, despite his past criticism of Proteus for succumbing to a woman's sweet ways. Valentine presses his friend to admit that Silvia's beauty is divine and exceeds that of any living woman, but Proteus refuses to concede. Valentine confesses that he and Silvia are betrothed and that they plan to elope that night; he has a ladder made of cords and plans to climb to Silvia's window and ferry her away. Valentine asks Proteus to advise him about the plan, but Proteus weakly invents some pressing business.

After Valentine exits, Proteus admits that he, too, has fallen in love with Silvia, having all but forgotten Julia in the face of this more beautiful competitor. Proteus ominously says that because he loves Silvia so much, he cannot love Valentine at all. Commentary The difference in style of speech between Launce and Proteus reflects the opposite social statuses of the two. Launce, a rudimentary precursor to the witty, amoral Falstaff (see Henry IV Part I , Henry IV Part II , and The Merry Wives of Windsor ), speaks entirely in prose. The inferiority of Launce's diction, in addition to the rather unpoetic quality of his speeches, illustrates the "low" nature of his character: he is a member of the serving class rather than the nobility. Proteus, on the other hand, ends his soliloquy with the flourish of a rhyming couplet, exemplifying his refined, gentlemanly nature (compare II.iv.206-207 to II.iii.26-28). Launce's departure from home parallels Proteus' arrival at the Duke's court.

The juxtaposition of Launce's melodramatic laments concerning his farewell, despite their seeming irrelevance, and Proteus' hungry musings on love establishes Launce as a foil for Proteus. Launce provides an honest emotional commentary, his departure being a source of great sadness; Proteus, however, whose namesake is a sea god in Greek mythology capable of appearing in various forms, supplants his love for Julia with a love for Silvia, putting the sincerity and depth of his emotions in question. The contrast between these two scenes demonstrates that nobleness of birth does not necessarily equate with nobleness of character. Further, it suggests that the stylized and romanticized loves for which both Valentine and Proteus suffer contain neither the depth nor the endurance of Launce's relations: though his reenactment with ratty shoes is foolish, Launce proves himself more warm and caring than Proteus.

One can pair this soliloquy of Launce's with his later one, both of which are seemingly silly commentaries about his relationship to his dog, and read them as Shakespeare's own comments on life as a playwright, with the dog representing a fickle public or an elusive muse (II.iii.1-28, IV.iv.1-33). In the humorous naming of a dog "Crab," Shakespeare comments on the ephemeral nature of language, and, since language is the chief means by which humans communicate, the difficulty in connecting to others (the failure of Proteus' letter to reach Julia directly can be seen as a literalization of this difficulty). One can interpret Shakespeare's exploration of the flexibility of language as a frustration at language's inability to fully explain true friendship and affection, or as the manifestation of a pessimistic belief that the possibility of true friendship and affection (Proteus claims to be a trustworthy friend and lover) is as ridiculous as someone naming a dog Crab. More Help

Question: In Shakespeare's 'Two Gentlemen Of Verona', which character hasa servant called 'Speed'?
Answer: 'VALENTINE'