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This was a special one for me: I'd never actually read The Two Noble Kinsmen before. In college, it wasn't assigned in my Shakespeare course, and the Complete Works I had was borrowed from my mom, and was circa approximately 1956; TNK wasn't part of the 'official' Shakespeare canon then and was omitted.
It's an odd duck, even among Shakespeare plays. It's the very last play to be credited as partly by Shakespeare; he and John Fletcher, his successor at the Globe, wrote it (scholars believe) in 1614. As such, it tends to be disliked intensely by 'bardolators'. Which is to say, people who believe that every word Shakespeare put down was utterly perfect. And, more to the point, if it ISN'T perfect, then it's not by Shakespeare. This tends to boil down to 'I don't like it, so it's not in my personal canon'.
Now, I totally sympathize with this, as a Willow/Tara and Harry/Luna fan. :) And yes, it would be cool if Shakespeare wrote his grand 'retirement' speech for Prospero at the end of The Tempest and then retired, never to write another word. But we just have too much evidence that didn't happen. He co-wrote Henry VIII. He co-wrote Cardenio, a play now sadly lost. And he wrote The Two Noble Kinsmen, a very funny tragedy. No wait, it's actually a rather depressing comedy. Or...
Well, look. Most people, when they think of the word 'tragicomedy', tend to imagine a blend of the two genres. Something similar to Shakespeare's romances, only without the supernatural deus ex machinas. But The Two Noble Kinsmen is a tragicomedy in that first it's a tragedy. Then, it's totally a wacky romantic comedy. Then, it's rather nasty drawing room tragedy. Then, it's somewhat dark comedy! It careens you from mood to mood, till you're unsure what's going on.
It also has the Jailer's Daughter. Another minor character who tends to steal the play, we're not sure if she's Fletcher's parody of Ophelia or Shakespeare's own deconstruction of her. In fact, the daughter (never named in the play) seems to have a deeper role than Ophelia, and her spurned love turning to utter madness can be quite touching, especially unnerving since it's also the cause of much of the humor. The play ends with the poor sod who loves her pretending to be one of the heroes, and her father urging the man to deflower her. Small wonder that a lot of directors choose to add a scene at the end of the play showing she's not all better.
And then there's our heroes. They start out, in Act 1, locked up and convinced they're about to die (not a bad supposition, considering the depressing beginning to the play). They are very much a bromance couple, and modern productions of this do not hesitate to play up the gay (Shakespeare and Fletcher give them a lot to work with, frankly). But then, they see... the other woman. And suddenly, they're ready to condemn the other to die. As I said, this play tends to throw you for a loop with its mood swings.
In the end, there's a duel. And one guy wins. But then just as the other guy (trust me, they're fairly interchangeable) is about to be executed (long story), a messenger! The first guy has been killed by rampaging horses! Now the other guy has to live, cause really, otherwise it would be too depressing. He'll marry the heroine, but after a 2-day period of mourning, cause, really, death sucks like that. (If you think I sound glib, wait till you read the actual passage).
Two Noble Kinsmen is too recent to the Shakespeare 'canon' to be an official problem play. But boy, it fits every definition. And like another problem play, Troilus and Cressida, I find the play more interesting than good. But it is very interesting. If you're one of the many who never read it, give it a shot.
It's an odd duck, even among Shakespeare plays. It's the very last play to be credited as partly by Shakespeare; he and John Fletcher, his successor at the Globe, wrote it (scholars believe) in 1614. As such, it tends to be disliked intensely by 'bardolators'. Which is to say, people who believe that every word Shakespeare put down was utterly perfect. And, more to the point, if it ISN'T perfect, then it's not by Shakespeare. This tends to boil down to 'I don't like it, so it's not in my personal canon'.
Now, I totally sympathize with this, as a Willow/Tara and Harry/Luna fan. :) And yes, it would be cool if Shakespeare wrote his grand 'retirement' speech for Prospero at the end of The Tempest and then retired, never to write another word. But we just have too much evidence that didn't happen. He co-wrote Henry VIII. He co-wrote Cardenio, a play now sadly lost. And he wrote The Two Noble Kinsmen, a very funny tragedy. No wait, it's actually a rather depressing comedy. Or...
Well, look. Most people, when they think of the word 'tragicomedy', tend to imagine a blend of the two genres. Something similar to Shakespeare's romances, only without the supernatural deus ex machinas. But The Two Noble Kinsmen is a tragicomedy in that first it's a tragedy. Then, it's totally a wacky romantic comedy. Then, it's rather nasty drawing room tragedy. Then, it's somewhat dark comedy! It careens you from mood to mood, till you're unsure what's going on.
It also has the Jailer's Daughter. Another minor character who tends to steal the play, we're not sure if she's Fletcher's parody of Ophelia or Shakespeare's own deconstruction of her. In fact, the daughter (never named in the play) seems to have a deeper role than Ophelia, and her spurned love turning to utter madness can be quite touching, especially unnerving since it's also the cause of much of the humor. The play ends with the poor sod who loves her pretending to be one of the heroes, and her father urging the man to deflower her. Small wonder that a lot of directors choose to add a scene at the end of the play showing she's not all better.
And then there's our heroes. They start out, in Act 1, locked up and convinced they're about to die (not a bad supposition, considering the depressing beginning to the play). They are very much a bromance couple, and modern productions of this do not hesitate to play up the gay (Shakespeare and Fletcher give them a lot to work with, frankly). But then, they see... the other woman. And suddenly, they're ready to condemn the other to die. As I said, this play tends to throw you for a loop with its mood swings.
In the end, there's a duel. And one guy wins. But then just as the other guy (trust me, they're fairly interchangeable) is about to be executed (long story), a messenger! The first guy has been killed by rampaging horses! Now the other guy has to live, cause really, otherwise it would be too depressing. He'll marry the heroine, but after a 2-day period of mourning, cause, really, death sucks like that. (If you think I sound glib, wait till you read the actual passage).
Two Noble Kinsmen is too recent to the Shakespeare 'canon' to be an official problem play. But boy, it fits every definition. And like another problem play, Troilus and Cressida, I find the play more interesting than good. But it is very interesting. If you're one of the many who never read it, give it a shot.
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