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The world of arts :
Palamon and Arcite, the two noble kinsmen
Gwen HERAT
Written in 1613-14, the two Noble Kinsmen is believed to be a romance
adapted from Chaucer's Knight's Tale. It was in celebration with
Fletcher that Shakespeare wrote the play but failed to get into the
Folio of 1623. The play allowed the whole of Act I, scene I of Act III
and the whole of Act V except scene II. that was ready for the Folio.
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Theseus, the Duke of Athens from
Shakespeare’s play,
‘The Two Noble Kinsmen’. |
Separating Fletcher from Shakespeare, the unloved subplot of the
goaler's daughter was assigned to Fletcher. Yet, how much each dramatist
edited the other no one was able to speculate. However, the play runs
smoothly because there is no indication to prove which one agreed on the
other. It is a proven fact that Jacobean Theatre is mirrored in the
incidental pageantry. But this part is seldom performed though few
revivals have strengthened the belief in theatre power. Or it could have
been in the consistent quality of verse.
Though not as popular as most of Shakespeare's plays, few versions
have been seen performed after its first mounting in 1664 as The Rivals
by Devenant. He opted to remove the part of the goaler's daughter. The
play laid in hibernation until 1928 when Andrew Leigh staged the same
text at the Old Vic with Ernest Milton and Eric Portman as Palamon and
Arcite. Jean Ford-Robertson was the goaler's daughter in 1974. Richard
Digby adapted the text as an imaginative drama for the Open Air Theatre
in Regent's Park. A magnificent production of the play by the Royal
Shakespeare Company in 1986 saw Hugh Quarshire and Gerard Murphy as the
noble kinsmen.
The Plot
In the play with First Act is devoted to the three mourning queens
who very profoundly and with dignity appeal to Theseus, the Duke of
Athens at his marriage to Hippolyta to attack Creon, the King of Thebes
who slew their husbands. The Third Queen in particular speaks the
couplet: (transmuted from Chaucer)
'This world's a city full of straying streets,
And death's market place, where each one meets'...
Act I Scene V
Theseus agrees to avenge their deaths, one of the reasons being that
Palamon and Arcite happen to be the nephews of Creon. They also fight
for Thebes (Creon). But Theseus is able to capture and imprison them.
Palamon and Arcite see Emilia, the sister of Hippolyta from their prison
and they both fall in love with her. Arcite is released but banished
from Athens. He goes disguised into Emilia's service. In the meantime,
the goalkeeper's daughter who is passionately infatuated by Palamon,
helps him to escape and later goes mad for the loss of Emilia. The two
kinsmen, meet and fight each other, sparring them on the intercession of
Emilia and her sister, Hippolyta. But Emilia cannot say whom she loves.
Theseus orders them to return in a month's time and fight each other so
that the winner could have Emilia. He also orders the execution of the
loser. A suitor is impersonated as Palamon to restore the sanity of the
goalkeeper's daughter.
As the month slips by, Arcite prays to Mars and Palamon to Venus for
the success of their fencing bout. Emilia prays at Diana's altar. Arcite
who wins the combat falls from the horse and is mortally wounded. With
his last breath, Arcite implores Palamon to take over Emilia and wish
them all joy and happiness after he learns that Palamon will not be
executed. The goaler's daughter recovers from her madness.
Chief characters:
Theseus - Is the Duke of Athens, a just man, noble and sincere.
Hippolyta - Most dreaded Amazonian, marries the Duke of Athens.
Emilia - Sister of Hippolyta. A confused young woman who cannot make
up her mind whether it is Palamon or Arcite she wants to marry.
Palamon - A noble kinsman and nephew to Creon, King of Thebes.
Arcite - A noble kinsman and nephew to Creon, King of Thebes.
The three queens.
The three noble kinsmen are not included in the complete works of
Shakespeare nor in his first Folio, the reason I am unable to quote. |
