The Two Noble Kinsmen

XXXXX "If this play do not keep A little dull time from us, we perceive Our losses fall so thick we must needs leave [that is, give up acting]." The above is the last sentence found in the prologue of this extraordinary play (written and first performed circa 1613), rarely performed on stage. For centuries it has been the victim of constant speculation about its authorship. It was initially thought that this play was the result of a collaboration between dramatist Francis Beaumont (1584 to 1616) and playwright John Fletcher (1579 to 1625). However, it was much later recognized that it was actually the result of a collaboration between William Shakespeare (1564 to 1616) and Fletcher. (Fletcher also collaborated with Shakespeare on the play "Henry VIII" and the lost play "Cardenio.") If you were to classify this play using the traditional classification scheme, it's a comedy. However, after reading it, I found that it's actually a "romantic tragicomedy." The plot is primarily based on Geoffrey Chaucer's (1343 to 1400) "The Knight's Tale" (the first tale in Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales"). Briefly, two kinsmen and warriors, men of deep personal honor, are taken prisoner of war. From their prison window they see walking in a garden a beautiful and an astonishing women whom they both fall in love with. The play traces the tragic consequences of this moment and the destruction of their sacred friendship. Also, the subplot presents the story of the poor jailer's daughter who is driven mad by her infatuation with one of the kinsmen. This play consists of 23 scenes with a brief prologue and an even briefer epilogue. It is thought that the five scenes of act one and the four scenes of act 5 (excluding scene 2) as well as some lines in other scenes were written by Shakespeare with the rest being written by Fletcher. Crunching the numbers, I found that about 40% of the play is due to Shakespeare and 60% is due to Fletcher. No doubt in the future these percentages will change. What I found fascinating about this play is that it has strong elements of Shakespearean plays written before it. Especially prominent were elements of both "Hamlet" and "A Midsummer Night's Dream." As well, you will notice the difference in writing styles between Shakespeare and Fletcher. The reader will see that Shakespeare was a "supreme" writer while Fletcher was a writer "at least major in his time." The Oxford World's Classics edition of this play (published by Oxford University Press in 2002) has illustrations along with an excellent, helpful introduction. It even has an index! Finally, after reading this play, I recommend listening to the audio compact disc by Arkangel Shakespeare that was published by The Audio Partners in 2006. It gives an effective and balanced performance. It may be the first unabridged audio recording of this play of its kind!! In conclusion, the first sentence of this play's epilogue states: "I would now ask ye how ye like th

I will be the first to admit this is not the "best" or the "greatest" play written by the bard, but it is still very worthy of his name, and incredibly beautiful! Kinsmen is a romance in the style of Shakespeare's other late plays, Pericles, Cymbeline, The Winter's Tale, and The Tempest (my favorite). In many ways it reflects his earlier works, namely A Midsummer Night's Dream, Hamlet, and The Tempest. It tells a wonderfully romantic story of two good friends who fall for the same girl (I know, sounds familiar, but trust me, it's a different take on the setup) in Athens. The poetry in it is lovely, the characters very well developed, and the plot is incredible. Many people haven't heard of this play as Shakespeare cowrote it with Fletcher, but belive me, it is still wonderful. Highly recomended.

The Arkangel Shakespeare series being issued by Penguin Audio is now halfway through the plays and the surprise is that was given preference to the remaining more familiar works. Co-authored by Shakespeare and Fletcher, this play remains an odd man out for several reasons. Based fairly closely on the "Knight's Tale" from Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales," it tells of two cousins, who just after swearing eternal friendship in one of Duke Theseus' prisons immediately fall in love with the same woman, Emilia, and become bitter rivals for her affections. One of them, Arcite, is exiled but returns in disguise; the other, Palamon, escapes with the help of the Jailer's Daughter, who goes mad for love of him; and...well, see for yourself. Of the play's 23 scenes, 7 and part of an 8th are attributed to Shakespeare, a 9th doubtfully so, and the rest to John Fletcher, who was probably handed over to Shakespeare to learn the ropes as it were. The Shakespeare parts are easy to spot: they are nearly impossible to understand without a heavily annotated copy of the text open before you! Even more so than in his late plays like "Cymberline" and "Winter's Tale," the syntax is so complex, the thoughts so condensed, that one might (and has) compared his writing with the late Beethoven String Quartets. As one of the scholars quoted in the excellent Signet Classic paperback edition of this play comments, the play is most unShakespearean in that none of the characters change over the course of the play. And I should add the subplot of the Daughter's madness is never integrated into the main plot. One scene, in fact, is devoted entirely to the description of some minor characters and might have been influenced by a similar and much longer sequence in "Seven Against Thebes." In short, do not play this for a casual listen; but be prepared to be challenged. Look especially for echoes of the earlier all-Shakespearean plays. The nuptials of Theseus and Hippolyta recall the opening scenes of "A Midsummer Night's Dream," the main plot that of "Two Gentlemen of Verona," the Daughter's madness of Ophelia, and so on. As for the actual recording, it would be difficult to better it! The voices of the two kinsmen (Johnathan Firth and Nigel Cooke) are easily distinguishable, Theseus (Geoffrey Whitehead) sounds advanced in years and noble, Emila (Helen Schlesinger) mature and alert, Hippolyta (Adjoa Andoh) vocally of African origins as perhaps befits the character, and all the rest as understandable as the text allows and "into" their roles. Thank you, Penguin, for this noble entry in a series that is getting better and better.

This volume, part of the third series of the Arden Shakespeare, is long overdue, since good critical editions of "Two Noble Kinsmen" have been scarce compared with other Shakespeare plays (perhaps because of its joint authorship with John Fletcher). Lois Potter does a splendid job of giving a well-edited text, with thorough notation of emendations of the First Quarto of 1634, and offering an informative introduction detailing the theatrical and critical fortunes of this work.