The Two Noble Kinsmen by William Shakespeare (Illustrated)

By William Shakespeare

This eBook features the unabridged text of ‘The Two Noble Kinsmen’ from the bestselling edition of ‘The Complete Works of William Shakespeare’.

Having established their name as the leading publisher of classic literature and art, Delphi Classics produce publications that are individually crafted with superior formatting, while introducing many rare texts for the first time in digital print. The Delphi Classics edition of Shakespeare includes original annotations and illustrations relating to the life and works of the author, as well as individual tables of contents, allowing you to navigate eBooks quickly and easily.

eBook features:
* The complete unabridged text of ‘The Two Noble Kinsmen’
* Beautifully illustrated with images related to Shakespeare’s works
* Individual contents table, allowing easy navigation around the eBook
* Excellent formatting of the textPlease visit www.delphiclassics.com to learn more about our wide range of titles

• Language: English
• Publisher: Publishdrive
• Release date: Jul 17, 2017
• ISBN: 9781786563064

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare (1564–1616) is arguably the most famous playwright to ever live. Born in England, he attended grammar school but did not study at a university. In the 1590s, Shakespeare worked as partner and performer at the London-based acting company, the King’s Men. His earliest plays were Henry VI and Richard III, both based on the historical figures. During his career, Shakespeare produced nearly 40 plays that reached multiple countries and cultures. Some of his most notable titles include Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet and Julius Caesar. His acclaimed catalog earned him the title of the world’s greatest dramatist.

Book preview

The Complete Works of

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

VOLUME 38 OF 74

The Two Noble Kinsmen

Parts Edition

By Delphi Classics, 2012

Version 6

COPYRIGHT

‘The Two Noble Kinsmen’

William Shakespeare: Parts Edition (in 74 parts)

First published in the United Kingdom in 2017 by Delphi Classics.

© Delphi Classics, 2017.

All rights reserved.  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form other than that in which it is published.

ISBN: 978 1 78656 306 4

Delphi Classics

is an imprint of

Delphi Publishing Ltd

Hastings, East Sussex

United Kingdom

Contact: [e-mail]

www.delphiclassics.com

William Shakespeare: Parts Edition

This eBook is Part 38 of the Delphi Classics edition of William Shakespeare in 74 Parts. It features the unabridged text of The Two Noble Kinsmen from the bestselling edition of the author’s Complete Works. Having established their name as the leading publisher of classic literature and art, Delphi Classics produce publications that are individually crafted with superior formatting, while introducing many rare texts for the first time in digital print. Our Parts Editions feature original annotations and illustrations relating to the life and works of William Shakespeare, as well as individual tables of contents, allowing you to navigate eBooks quickly and easily.

Visit here to buy the entire Parts Edition of William Shakespeare or the Complete Works of William Shakespeare in a single eBook.

Learn more about our Parts Edition, with free downloads, via this link or browse our most popular Parts here.

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

IN 74 VOLUMES

Parts Edition Contents

The Plays

1, Henry  VI, Part 2

2, Henry  VI, Part 3

3, Henry  VI, Part 1

4, Richard  III

5, The Comedy of Errors

6, Titus Andronicus

7, Taming of the Shrew

8, The Two Gentlemen of Verona

9, Love’s Labour’s Lost

10, Romeo and Juliet

11, Richard II

12, A Midsummer Night’s Dream

13, King John

14, The Merchant of Venice

15, Henry IV, Part I

16, Henry IV, Part II

17, Much Ado About Nothing

18, Henry V

19, Julius Caesar

20, As You Like It

21, Twelfth Night

22, Hamlet

23, The Merry Wives of Windsor

24, Troilus and Cressida

25, All’s Well that Ends Well

26, Measure for Measure

27, Othello

28, King Lear

29, Macbeth

30, Antony and Cleopatra

31, Coriolanus

32, Timon of Athens

33, Pericles

34, Cymbeline

35, The Winter’s Tale

36, The Tempest

37, Henry  VIII

38, The Two Noble Kinsmen

The Lost Plays

39, The Lost Plays

The Sources

40, The Plays’ Sources

The Apocryphal Plays

41, Arden of Faversham

42, The Birth of Merlin

43, King Edward  III

44, Locrine

45, The London Prodigal

46, The Puritan

47, The Second Maiden’s Tragedy

48, Sir John Oldcastle

49, Thomas Lord Cromwell

50, A Yorkshire Tragedy

51, Sir Thomas More

52, Fair Em

53, Mucedorus

54, The Merry Devil of Edmonton

55, Edmund Ironside

56, Thomas of Woodstock

57, Vortigern and Rowena

The Adaptations

58, Tales from Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb

The Poetry

59, The Sonnets

60, Venus and Adonis

61, The Rape of Lucrece

62, The Passionate Pilgrim

63, The Phoenix and the Turtle

64, A Lover’s Complaint

The Apocryphal Poetry

65, To the Queen

66, A Funeral Elegy for Master William Peter

67, Sonnets to Sundry Notes of Music

The Criticism

68, The Criticism

The Biographies

69, Some Account of the Life of Mr. William Shakespear by Nicholas Rowe

70, Shakespeare: His Life, Art, and Characters by Henry Norman Hudson

71, Life of William Shakespeare by Sir Sidney Lee

72, Shakespeare’s Lost Years in London by Arthur Acheson

73, The People for Whom Shakespeare Wrote by Charles Dudley Warner

Resources

74, Resources

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The Two Noble Kinsmen

Attributed to John Fletcher and Shakespeare, this play derives its plot from The Knight’s Tale in Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales.  Written in 1613-14, the authorship of the play remained in doubt for many years and only in recent times have most critics agreed that Shakespeare and Fletcher collaborated on the play.

The Two Noble Kinsmen begins with three queens pleading with Theseus and Hippolyta, rulers of Athens, to avenge the deaths of their husbands at the hands of the tyrant Creon of Thebes. Creon has killed the three kings and refuses to allow them proper burial. Theseus agrees to wage war on Creon.  In Thebes, Palamon and Arcite, cousins and close friends, are bound by duty to fight for Creon, though they are appalled by his tyranny. In a hard-fought battle Palamon and Arcite enact prodigies of courage, but the Thebans are defeated by Theseus. Palamon and Arcite are imprisoned, but philosophically resign themselves to their fate. Their stoicism is instantly destroyed when from their prison window they see the Athenian princess Emilia. Both fall in love with her, and their friendship turns to bitter rivalry. Arcite is released after a relative intercedes on his behalf. He is banished from Athens, but he disguises himself, wins a local wrestling match, and is appointed as Emilia’s attendant.

John Fletcher, who, after Shakespeare’s retirement, became one of the most successful London playwrights of his time

The 1634 Quarto title page

CONTENTS

Dramatis Personæ

Prologue

Act I. Scene I.

Act I. Scene II.

Act I. Scene III.

Act I. Scene IV.

Act I. Scene V.

Act II. Scene I.

Act II. Scene II.

Act II. Scene III.

Act II. Scene IV.

Act II. Scene V.

Act II. Scene VI.

Act III. Scene I.

Act III. Scene II.

Act III. Scene III.

Act III. Scene IV.

Act III. Scene V.

Act III. Scene VI.

Act IV. Scene I.

Act IV. Scene II.

Act IV. Scene III.

Act V. Scene I.

Act V. Scene II.

Act V. Scene III.

Act V. Scene IV.

Act V. Scene V.

Act V. Scene VI.

Epilogue

A scene from a production of the play at Shakespeare’s Globe theatre in 2000. Emilia stands between the two noble kinsmen.

Dramatis Personæ

HYMEN

THESEUS

HIPPOLITA, BRIDE TO THESEUS

EMILIA, SISTER TO THESEUS

EMILIA’S WOMAN

NYMPHS

THREE QUEENS

THREE VALIANT KNIGHTS

The Two Noble Kinsmen:

PALAMON

ARCITE

VALERIUS

PERITHOUS

A HERALD

A GENTLEMAN

A MESSENGER

A SERVANT

WOOER

KEEPER

JAILER

HIS DAUGHTER, IN LOVE WITH PALAMON

HIS BROTHER

A DOCTOR

4 COUNTREYMEN

2 FRIENDS OF THE JAILER

3 KNIGHTS

NEL, AND OTHER

WENCHES

A TABORER

GERROLD, A SCHOOLMASTER

Prologue

Flourish. Enter Prologue

Prologue. New plays and maidenheads are near akin:

Much followed both, for both much money giv’n

If they stand sound and well. And a good play,

Whose modest scenes blush on his marriage day

And shake to lose his honour, is like her   5

That after holy tie and first night’s stir

Yet still is modesty, and still retains

More of the maid to sight than husband’s pains.

We pray our play may be so, for I am sure

It has a noble breeder and a pure,   10

A learnèd, and a poet never went

More famous yet ‘twixt Po and silver Trent.

Chaucer, of all admired, the story gives:

There constant to eternity it lives.

If we let fall the nobleness of this   15

And the first sound this child hear be a hiss,

How will it shake the bones of that good man,

And make him cry from under ground,’ O fan

From me the witless chaff of such a writer,

That blasts my bays and my famed works makes lighter   20

Than Robin Hood’? This is the fear we bring,

For to say truth, it were an endless thing

And too ambitious to aspire to him,

Weak as we are, and almost breathless swim

In this deep water. Do but you hold out   25

Your helping hands and we shall tack about

And something do to save us. You shall hear

Scenes, though below his art, may yet appear

Worth two hours’ travail. To his bones, sweet sleep;

Content to you. If this play do not keep   30

A little dull time from us, we perceive

Our losses fall so thick we must needs leave.

Flourish. Exit

Act I. Scene I.

Music. Enter Hymen with a torch burning, a Boy in a white robe before, singing and throwing flowers. Then a nymph with flowing tresses, bearing a wheaten garland. Then Theseus between two other nymphs with wheaten chaplets on