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This shows the moment when Valentine rescues Silvia from Proteus with 'Sebastian' (Julia) looking on. It was painted by Angelica Kauffman in 1789 and is in the public domain.
The Plot
The outlaws come in with captives: the Duke and Thurio. Thurio claims Silvia but when Valentine threatens to kill him, renounces Silvia. The Duke, unimpressed by Thurio’s cowardice, gives Silvia to Valentine and unexiles all the outlaws.
Selected quotes
Valentine and Proteus, the two gentlemen of Verona, are best mates, having grown up together. Valentine is about to travel to Milan and wants Proteus to come, but Proteus is in love with Julia (who, despite her protestations to the contrary, reciprocates his love) and he wants to stay in Verona. So they part.
In Milan, Valentine falls in love with the Duke's daughter, Silvia, and she with him, but her dad the Duke wants her to marry Thurio, who is richer. Meanwhile, back in Verona, Proteus is told to go to Milan by his father. Proteus and Julia say their fond farewells, exchanging kisses and rings and promising eternal fidelity.
When Proteus arrives in Milan he meets Silvia and falls in love with her. (His namesake, Proteus, was the 'Old Man of the Sea', a figure from Greek myth famed for his shape-shifting. It is from this that we get the word 'protean' meaning changeable.) So when Valentine tells Proteus of his plan to elope with Silvia, using a rope ladder to rescue her from the tower her father shuts her in at night, Proteus sees his opportunity to pinch his mate's girl. He betrays Valentine to the Duke, and Valentine is banished from Milan. In the countryside he is captured by a band of outlaws but they are impressed by his gentlemanly looks and his ability to speak more than one language and they make him their captain.
Meanwhile, back in Verona, Julia decides to travel to Milan in search of Proteus. To “prevent/ The loose encounters of lascivious men” she decides to disguise herself as a male page.
Proteus pretends to assist Thurio who serenades Silvia. Julia arrives and realises that Proteus is in love with Silvia. Silvia, who knows that Proteus has betrayed Valentine, berates Proteus: “Thou subtle, perjured, false, disloyal man”.
Sebastian employs pageboy 'Sebastian' (Julia in disguise) to take a present to Silvia: it is the ring Julia gave Proteus. Silvia refuses the ring.
Silvia flees Milan searching for Valentine. The Duke enrols Proteus and Thurio in a posse to capture the absconders.
Silvia has been captured by the bandits but Proteus frees her. He thinks she should be grateful but she still refuses him so he decides to rape her. At this point Valentine, who has been lurking in the undergrowth, steps forward. He's a bit cross with Proteus who begs forgiveness. Val grants this and says “All that was mine in Silvia I give thee”. Sebastian (Julia), who witnesses all this, swoons. Recovering she tells Proteus that she failed to deliver his ring to Julia and then gives him the ring that he gave to her. She reveals her identity. Proteus, still protean, realises he really loves her.
Silvia flees Milan searching for Valentine. The Duke enrols Proteus and Thurio in a posse to capture the absconders.
Silvia has been captured by the bandits but Proteus frees her. He thinks she should be grateful but she still refuses him so he decides to rape her. At this point Valentine, who has been lurking in the undergrowth, steps forward. He's a bit cross with Proteus who begs forgiveness. Val grants this and says “All that was mine in Silvia I give thee”. Sebastian (Julia), who witnesses all this, swoons. Recovering she tells Proteus that she failed to deliver his ring to Julia and then gives him the ring that he gave to her. She reveals her identity. Proteus, still protean, realises he really loves her.
The outlaws come in with captives: the Duke and Thurio. Thurio claims Silvia but when Valentine threatens to kill him, renounces Silvia. The Duke, unimpressed by Thurio’s cowardice, gives Silvia to Valentine and unexiles all the outlaws.
Added to this are two (three?) other key roles. The servants of Valentine and Proteus are Speed and Launce (who has a dog, Crab) respectively. Speaking usually in prose (often reserved by Shakespeare for lover-class characters) this pair comment on the action and have solo and paired comedy routines. But it's classed as a comedy because of the happy ending.
Shakespeare at his most misogynistic?
Modern sensibilities have difficulty with the scene in which Valentine, having prevented Proteus from raping Silvia, then appears to offer her to him as a gesture of friendship with the words: “All that was mine in Silvia I give thee”. This sounds utterly patriarchal. On the one hand there is love at first sight and on the other hand marriage as a dynastic partnership between two patriarchies. Silvia is a very strong women, refusing to marry the man her father has chosen for her, contracting a secret relationship with another man, running away to be with him when he is sent into exile; will she acquiesce to become a mere body gifted by Valentine to his inconstant mate? This is either Shakespeare at his most misogynistic or Shakespeare the tyro dramatist who hasn't yet realised that plot must follow character.
The sources Shakespeare may have used
Aspects of the Julia-Proteus courtship (the business with the letter and Julia’s annoyance with her maid in 1.2, Proteus being sent away by his father in 1.3, Julia, disguised as a boy, becoming the page of her lover and being used to carry messages to his new sweetheart in 4.4) are drawn from the story of 'Felix and Felismena' in Los Siete Libros de la Diana by Jorge de Montemayor originally published in Spanish in Valencia in 1542 but translated into English by Bartholomew Yong in 1598. 1598 is later than the normally accepted date for 2GoV but Yong claims in his preface to have finished his translation in 1582, so it is possible that Shakespeare saw a manuscript copy; alternatively he saw the French translation which was published in 1578. A third (and I think the likeliest) possibility is that he saw a play (by anon) called The History of Felix and Philomena which was performed at Greenwich Palace by the Queen's Men on 3 January 1585. This is likely to have starred Richard Tarlton, the best-known clown of the time, a leading player in the Queen’s Men (and possibly the original of Yorick), who was known for working with a dog; there are suggestions that Shakespeare wrote the part of Launce for Tarlton but that Tarlton never performed it because he died in 1588.
Another likely source was The Tragicall Historye of Romeus and Juliet, a narrative poem by Arthur Brooke, published in 1562, which contains a character called Friar Laurence and the device of a young man attempting to meet with his forbidden love using a rope ladder.
Another source is thought to be Arcadia by Philip Sidney published in 1590 which contains a woman dressed as a page who follows her betrothed and another character who becomes captain of an outlaw gang.
The friendship of Valentine and Proteus may have been inspired by the intimacy of Titus and Gisippus in The Boke Named the Governour by Thomas Elyot published in 1531 (which is based on a story in the Decameron but there are more verbal similarities between 2GoV and The Governour than the Decameron). In The Governour, Titus and Gisippus are inseparable until Gisippus falls in love with Sophronia. He introduces her to Titus, but Titus is overcome with jealousy and vows to seduce her. Upon hearing of Titus' plan, Gisippus arranges for them to change places on the wedding night, thus placing their friendship above his love.
Euphues: The Anatomy of Wit, a novel by John Lyly, published in 1578 also mentions two friends, inseparable until divided by a woman. Lyly (whose younger brothers went to school with Christopher Marlowe) was private secretary to the Earl of Oxford - thought by some fools to be the author of Shakespeare’s work - and leaseholder of the Blackfriars Playhouse where his boy-company performed plays, some of which he wrote, including Midas, performed in 1589 - 1590, which contains a scene similar to that between Launce and Speed discussing the pros and cons of a woman.
Date when Shakespeare wrote 2GoV
2GoV was mentioned in Palladis Tamia by Francis Meres which was published in 1598, so it predates this.
If we accept the theory that one of the sources was The History of Felix and Philomena then 2GoV must date to 1585 or later. If Richard Tarlton was the original player for Launce, 2GoV was written before 1588 when Tarlton died. But If Shakespeare also used the material from Lyly’s Midas the earliest date for 2GoV is 1589. So it may be that Shakespeare wrote the part for Tarlton but hadn't completed the play before Tarlton's death and maybe went back to it at a later date.
Many experts argue that 2GoV is one of the earliest plays Shakespeare wrote, possibly the first. There are a variety of flaws:
Aspects of the Julia-Proteus courtship (the business with the letter and Julia’s annoyance with her maid in 1.2, Proteus being sent away by his father in 1.3, Julia, disguised as a boy, becoming the page of her lover and being used to carry messages to his new sweetheart in 4.4) are drawn from the story of 'Felix and Felismena' in Los Siete Libros de la Diana by Jorge de Montemayor originally published in Spanish in Valencia in 1542 but translated into English by Bartholomew Yong in 1598. 1598 is later than the normally accepted date for 2GoV but Yong claims in his preface to have finished his translation in 1582, so it is possible that Shakespeare saw a manuscript copy; alternatively he saw the French translation which was published in 1578. A third (and I think the likeliest) possibility is that he saw a play (by anon) called The History of Felix and Philomena which was performed at Greenwich Palace by the Queen's Men on 3 January 1585. This is likely to have starred Richard Tarlton, the best-known clown of the time, a leading player in the Queen’s Men (and possibly the original of Yorick), who was known for working with a dog; there are suggestions that Shakespeare wrote the part of Launce for Tarlton but that Tarlton never performed it because he died in 1588.
Another likely source was The Tragicall Historye of Romeus and Juliet, a narrative poem by Arthur Brooke, published in 1562, which contains a character called Friar Laurence and the device of a young man attempting to meet with his forbidden love using a rope ladder.
Another source is thought to be Arcadia by Philip Sidney published in 1590 which contains a woman dressed as a page who follows her betrothed and another character who becomes captain of an outlaw gang.
The friendship of Valentine and Proteus may have been inspired by the intimacy of Titus and Gisippus in The Boke Named the Governour by Thomas Elyot published in 1531 (which is based on a story in the Decameron but there are more verbal similarities between 2GoV and The Governour than the Decameron). In The Governour, Titus and Gisippus are inseparable until Gisippus falls in love with Sophronia. He introduces her to Titus, but Titus is overcome with jealousy and vows to seduce her. Upon hearing of Titus' plan, Gisippus arranges for them to change places on the wedding night, thus placing their friendship above his love.
Euphues: The Anatomy of Wit, a novel by John Lyly, published in 1578 also mentions two friends, inseparable until divided by a woman. Lyly (whose younger brothers went to school with Christopher Marlowe) was private secretary to the Earl of Oxford - thought by some fools to be the author of Shakespeare’s work - and leaseholder of the Blackfriars Playhouse where his boy-company performed plays, some of which he wrote, including Midas, performed in 1589 - 1590, which contains a scene similar to that between Launce and Speed discussing the pros and cons of a woman.
Date when Shakespeare wrote 2GoV
2GoV was mentioned in Palladis Tamia by Francis Meres which was published in 1598, so it predates this.
If we accept the theory that one of the sources was The History of Felix and Philomena then 2GoV must date to 1585 or later. If Richard Tarlton was the original player for Launce, 2GoV was written before 1588 when Tarlton died. But If Shakespeare also used the material from Lyly’s Midas the earliest date for 2GoV is 1589. So it may be that Shakespeare wrote the part for Tarlton but hadn't completed the play before Tarlton's death and maybe went back to it at a later date.
Many experts argue that 2GoV is one of the earliest plays Shakespeare wrote, possibly the first. There are a variety of flaws:
- Whenever there are three participants in a dialogue, one tends to fall silent, making it a duologue. Shakespeare employs duologues, soliloquys and asides almost entirely.
- The conversation between the outlaws is less a conversation and more an arrangement of speeches.
- Proteus is not the only character to be inconstant: Valentine is the perfect romantic gentleman until he seems to hand Silvia to his rival; Silvia is a strong women until she fails to protest against being handed over; Sir Eglantine is reputed to be brave but is a coward at the first opportunities
Furthermore, much of the blank verse is end-stopped; in his later plays Shakespeare made much more use of enjambement and caesuras. He also is much stricter with his iambic pentameters in 2GoV than in his later verse.
All these things argue for an early date of composition. Shakespeare is thought to have arrived in London in about 1590 so 2GoV probably dates to around 1591 or 1592.
Flaws and errors
Some snobs refuse to believe that a lower middle-class oik like the son of a glover from Stratford could possibly write the wonderful poetry contained in the plays; instead they postulate that they must have been penned by an aristocrat. They suggest that Shakespeare's knowledge of Europe could only have come from somebody who had been on the Grand Tour.
Flaws and errors
Some snobs refuse to believe that a lower middle-class oik like the son of a glover from Stratford could possibly write the wonderful poetry contained in the plays; instead they postulate that they must have been penned by an aristocrat. They suggest that Shakespeare's knowledge of Europe could only have come from somebody who had been on the Grand Tour.
In 2GoV (Act 1, Scene 1) Valentine says his father seeks to see him “shipped” (1.1.54) from Verona to Milan and Proteus, near the end of the scene, tells Speed, Valentine’s servant, to “be gone, to save your ship from wreck” (1.1.145). But to travel from Verona to Milan by ship would be crazy. You’d need to go to Venice first (that's heading in the opposite direction from Milan) and then sail all the way around Italy, land at Genoa, and then travel overland to Milan. The overland section of the journey alone would be longer than the direct land route from Verona to Milan. Perhaps Valentine knew about the bandits and was trying to avoid them, and when he went into exile (travelling overland) he didn't much care about being caught. On the other hand, Julia, when she goes off in search of Proteus, travels overland. Perhaps she didn't know about the bandits which might explain why she didn't get caught.
Other geographical errors include the Duke of Milan, in Milan, who says he fancies a “lady in Verona here” (3.1.81) and Speed who welcomes Launce to "Padua" (2.5.1) when they are in Milan.
I, personally, love it when Shakespeare makes mistakes and when his plays are flawed. I don't want to think of him as the "immortal" bard. He isn't born a genius. To me he is a lad from Stratford who has a talent for writing plays and poetry. He reads voraciously and watches lots of rival plays and is a reasonable actor who specialises in the second-string roles. He has to learn his craft and his plays get better and better. He's quick at taking the ideas of others and improving them; in particular he learns blank verse from Kit Marlowe. He writes for the actors he knows and for the playhouses in which they perform; he writes for the audience and he becomes expert in knowing what will work on stage which is why he is so good at adapting the work of others. This is a portrait of a real writer rather than the impossible 'icon on a pedestal' fantasy so beloved by so many.
Selected quotes
- “For he was more than over shoes in love” (1.1.25)
- “I think him so because I think him so.” (1.2.24)
- “They do not love that do not show their love." (1.2.31)
- “Thus have I shunn'd the fire for fear of burning,
- And drench'd me in the sea, where I am drown'd.” (1.3.78-79
- “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! (1.3.84-87)
- “Ay, but hearken, sir; though the chameleon Love can feed on the air, I am one that am nourished by my victuals, and would fain have meat.” (2.1.164-7)
- “I'll be as patient as a gentle stream,
- And make a pastime of each weary step,
- Till the last step have brought me to my love,
- And there I'll rest, as after much turmoil,
- A blessed soul doth in Elysium." (2.7.34-38)
- “Wilt thou reach stars because they shine on thee?” (3.1.156)
- “For Orpheus' lute was strung with poets' sinews,
- Whose golden touch could soften steel and stones,
- Make tigers tame and huge leviathans
- Forsake unsounded deeps to dance on sands. (3.2.78-81)
- I wonder whether the ‘huge leviathans’ were inspired when Shakespeare read John Stow’s Summarie of Englyshe Chronicles ... Abridged which had multiple edition, including one in 1590 and which mentions on page 314 a “monstrous fish of the sea did shoot himself on shore, where for want of water beating himself on the sands he died” in 1574 at the Isle of Thanet.
August 2023
Other Shakespeare plays reviewed in this blog can be found here.
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