in The Two Noble Kinsmen — Fletcher, John; Shakespeare, William
Metadata
Play
The Two Noble Kinsmen
Author
Fletcher, John; Shakespeare, William
Year (catalogued)
1634
First performance
1613
Decade
1630s
Genre
Tragicomedy
Play type
Adult Professional
Company
King's Men
Theater
Blackfriars;Indoor Professional
Speech prefix(es)
1. Fr. | 2. Fr. | 2. Fr:
Words
269
Characters
1421
Typicality
0.28 (cosine to cluster centroid)
TCP id
A00969
BritDrama no.
1724
Cluster
Cluster 4 — Constant hearts & virtuous ladies
Important excerpts
No keyword-matching excerpt could be extracted (the cluster label doesn't share vocabulary with this character's speech).
Full speech
Nothing that I herd, For I came home before the business Was fully ended: Yet I might perceive Ere I departed, a great likelihood Of both their p rdons: For Hipolita, And faire-eyd Emily, upon their knees Begged with such handsome pity, that the Duke Me thought stood staggering, whither e should follow His ra h o'th, or the sweet compassion Of those two ; and to second them, That truly noble Prince P rithous Half his own heart, set in too, that I hope All shall be well: Neither herd I one question Of your name, or his escape. How was it ended? I knew would be so. Will be known. These are strange Questions. Not right? It cannot be. Pretty soul. Yes, he's a fine man. Yes. Yes. No. Do's she know him? No, would she did. Here, Palamon has cleerd you, And God your pardon, and discovered How, and by whose means he escaped, which was your Daughters, Whose pardon is procured too, and the Prisoner Not to be held ungrateful to her goodness, Has given a sum of money to her Marriage. A large one isle assure you. Why, as it should be; they that never begged But they prevailed, had their suits fairly granted, The prisoners have their lives. But there be new conditions, which you'll hear of At better time. They are honourable, How good they'll prove, I know not. How he looks? Not well? — Wooer, No Sir not well. Alas what pity it is? This is strange. A fair wood. Be of good comfort man; I bring you news, Good news.
Plot summary
Plot — The Two Noble Kinsmen
Theseus’ wedding to Hippolyta is interrupted by three widowed queens, whose husbands have fallen in battle against Thebes. Creon, the victor, has denied them the right to bury their dead, so they request Theseus’ help in forcing his hand. At Hippolyta’s request, Theseus postpones the wedding feast and leads an army against Thebes. It is a bad moment for the Theban princes Palamon and Arcite: they are on the point of leaving Creon’s corrupt court, but now feel a patriotic duty to defend their city. Theseus wins the war, Palamon and Arcite are taken prisoner, and the dead kings are buried. Palamon and Arcite are imprisoned in Athens. Their cell overlooks a garden where Emilia walks; they both fall in love with her and quarrel jealously. Arcite is released, on condition that he never returns to Athens, but he stays in disguise and performs with distinction at a. sporting festival for Emilia’s birthday. Meanwhile Palamon is moved to a cell without a garden view. The jailer’s daughter falls in love with him and, aware that they are of markedly different rank, seeks to win his regard by engineering his escape. Palamon meets Arcite in the woods the following morning; Arcite agrees to bring him food, clothing, and weapons so that they can fight out their quarrel. In consequence, Palamon fails to turn up at his appointment with the jailer’s daughter, and she is driven mad by a combination of disappointed love and fear that her father will be blamed for the escape. The fight between Palamon and Arcite is interrupted by Theseus. Though one has broken banishment and the other broken prison, Hippolyta and Emilia beg that their lives be spared, but the kinsmen will not consent to Emilia’s proposal that they should be banished from Athens and_.swear never again to see either her or one another. Theseus proposes to execute only one of them if Emilia will agree to marry the other, but she cannot decide between them. Theseus resolves on a trial by combat, with each kinsman supported by three knights: the winner will get Emilia, and the loser will die. Palamon exonerates the jailer concerning his escape and gives his daughter a dowry. A doctor treats her by dressing her fiancé as Palamon and encouraging him to play up to her, even if it entails pre-marital sex. It does, and she is cured. The kinsmen return to Athens with their knights to participate in the combat. Arcite prays for victory to Mars and Palamon to Venus; both receive signs of their respective deities’…