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)
Mess. | Mess | M •… ss.
Words
367
Characters
1956
Typicality
0.40 (cosine to cluster centroid)
TCP id
A00969
BritDrama no.
1724
Cluster
Cluster 6 — Battlefield messengers & soldiers
Important excerpts
No keyword-matching excerpt could be extracted (the cluster label doesn't share vocabulary with this character's speech).
Full speech
I will Sir, And truly what I think: Six braver spirits Then these they have brought, (if we judge by the outside) I never saw, nor read of: He that stands In the fittest place with Arcite, by his seeming Should be a stout man, by his face a Prince, (His very looks so say him) his complexion, Nearer a brown, than black; stern, and yet noble, Which shows him hardy, fearless, proud of dangers: The circles of his eyes show fair within him, And as a heated Lion, so he looks; His hair hangs long behind him, black and shining Like Ravens wings: his shoulders broad, and ftrong, Armed long and round, and on his Thigh a Sword Hung by a curious Baldric; when he frowns To seal his will with, better o'my conscience Was never Soldiers friend. Ther's another, A little man, but of a tough soul, seeming As great as any: fairer promises In such a Body, yet I never looked on. Me thinks, Being so few, and well disposed, they show Great, and fine art in nature, he's white haired, Not wanton white, but such a manly colour Next to and aborne, tough, and nimble set, Which shows and active soul; his arms are brawny Linde with strong sine was: To the shoulder piece, Gently they swell, Like women new conceived, Which speaks him prove to labour, never fainting Under the weight of Arms; stout hearted, still, But when he stirs, a Tiger; he's grey eyed, Which yields compassion where he conquers: sharp To spy advantages, and where he finds they, He's swift to make they his: He do's no wrongs, Nor takes none; he's round faced, and when he smiles He shows a Lover, when he frowns, a Soldier: About his head he wears the winners oak, And in it stuck the favour of his Lady: His age, some six and thirty. In his hand He bears a charging Staff, embossed with silver. What do you here, you'll lose the noblest sighed That ever was seen. They are You bear a charge there too. Hold, hold, Oh hold, hold, hold. The same my Lord, Are they not sweet ones? From the Knights.
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’…