Questions on
Shakespeare’s Comedies
Shakespeare, William. The Two Gentlemen of Verona. (The Norton Shakespeare: Comedies, 3rd ed. 148-96.)
ACT 1
1. In Act 1, Scene 1, what portrait does the text offer of Valentine and Proteus’s friendship? What seems to bind them together as friends? What do they agree on, and what differences do they have, so far as this first conversation reveals?
2. In Act 1, Scene 1, what romantic ideal does Proteus affine himself with after his conversation with Valentine? What are its underlying assumptions and salient features? What hints of something darker and less ideal appear alongside this ideal even at this point in the play?
3. In Act 1, Scene 1, what kind of dialog partner is Speed for his master Valentine and his friend Proteus? What characterizes Speeds wit and way with language? In these things, how does he compare to the higher-status characters?
4. In Act 1, Scene 2, the gentlewoman Julia converses with her waiting-woman, Lucetta on the twin subjects of the nature of love and the quality of Julia’s suitors. What does each woman say about these things? What does Julia claim to think of Proteus in particular? Which woman seems to be more experienced in love matters, and how can you tell?
5. In Act 1, Scene 2, Speed mistakenly delivers a letter from Proteus to Lucetta rather than to its intended recipient, Julia. Describe the struggle over control of this letter. Why does Julia at first tear it to pieces, but then read fragments of it anyway? What might Shakespeare be suggesting about how a person really construes the meaning of a communication, especially one that has to do with declarations of love or similar intimate topics?
6. In Act 1, Scene 3, why do Antonio, his brother, and Pantino want to send Proteus from Verona to Milan, where Valentine has gone already? What’s the purpose of a long stay elsewhere? How do Antonio and Pantino construe the concept of “experience”—what sorts of activities would Proteus be expected to engage in while in Milan?
7. In Act 1, Scene 3, Antonio approaches Proteus to inform him about his decision to send the young man to Milan. How does Proteus (who notes the irony himself) trap himself into simply agreeing with his father on a trip to Milan instead of trying to ward it off? His obedience notwithstanding, what are Proteus’s true feelings about this new development?
ACT 2
8. In Act 2, Scene 1, how does Speed temper his master Valentine’s stereotypical romantic idealism in the dialogue that begins the scene? What quips does he offer to deflate Valentine’s sometimes “Petrarchan” inflation of Silvia? (To respond to this question, first briefly research the basic features of Petrarchan love poetry and discourse.)
9. In Act 2, Scene 1, what trick has Silvia practiced with respect to the letter she solicited Valentine to write for her? Who is the letter really for? Why would Silvia do this? What is Valentine’s view of this trick once he finds out about it?
10. In Act 2, Scene 2, describe Proteus and Julia’s leave-taking. On what terms do they part? Why does this parting more or less constitute a betrothal? (In responding, research online what a couple must say and do to make the occasion as a betrothal, rather than just an affecting scene.)
11. In Act 2, Scene 3, what complaint does Proteus’s servant Lance air against his dog, Crab? What has Crab failed to do, according to Lance? In what sense does this funny vignette partially deflate the romantic idealism we have seen in the interactions between Proteus and Julia, and Valentine and Silvia?
12. In Act 2, Scene 4, when Sylvia’s father, the Duke of Milan, asks Valentine to brief him on the character of Proteus, what image of his friend does Valentine offer? What qualities does he attribute to him? Is the image accurate thus far? Why or why not?
13. In Act 2, Scene 4, how does Valentine introduce Silvia to Proteus? What notes of competition are thereby introduced between Valentine and Proteus? Then, too, what information does Valentine reveal to Proteus that he really shouldn’t have, and why does he reveal it?
14. In Act 2, Scene 4, how does the text describe the coming-on of Proteus’s desire for Silvia? What confessions does he make in soliloquy as he becomes aware of this desire? Consider what he says about his affection for Julia as well—what has happened in that regard, and what does it suggest about the properties of “desire”? What plan does Proteus seem determined to follow?
15. In Act 2, Scene 5, what observations about feeling “welcome” do Lance and Speed share? Why might this topic come up just now? What does each servant say about their respective masters’ love affairs? On the whole, what quality of friendship or acquaintance seems to exist between Lance and Speed?
16. In Act 2, Scene 6, how does Proteus’s scheme to win Silvia’s affection ripen, now that he has had some time to experience his desire for her? What plan of action is taking shape? What are Proteus’s thoughts about Julia? What reflections does he make on the fundamental dishonesty of what he is about to do, and why don’t these reflections materially change his conduct?
17. In Act 2, Scene 7, what sparks Julia to set out (in the disguise of a male page) after Proteus? Why does she believe this is desirable or necessary? How does her waiting-woman, Lucetta, react to Julia’s plan? How does she help, and what eccentric touch does Julia herself add to her disguise? Overall, to what extent does Julia’s expression of her love resemble that of Proteus before he met Silvia? Explain.
ACT 3
18. In Act 3, Scene 1, how does Proteus justify his betrayal of Valentine when he broaches the matter to the Duke? Is there any sign of a guilty conscience or hesitation in his delivery? How does the Duke react to the news and to Proteus’s stated reasons for delivering it?
19. In Act 3, Scene 1, how does the Duke, once Proteus has informed him about Valentine’s plan to elope to Mantua with Silvia, manage to trick Valentine into undoing himself and earning his own exile from Milan? How does Proteus advise Valentine so as to get him to accept this exile as inevitable?
20. In Act 3, Scene 1, Lance discusses with Speed his courtship of a milkmaid. What virtues and vices does he itemize pertaining to her? What is his attitude towards the vices in particular? How does this episode with Speed reflect on the higher-status matches between Valentine and Silvia, and Proteus and Julia?
21. In Act 3, Scene 2, Proteus and the Duke conspire to help Turio gain Silvia’s affection, or at least her consent to a match with this unimpressive suitor. What is the plan? Itemize its steps. How does Proteus describe his own part in this plan? How do the Duke and Turio fall into the trap that Proteus is setting for them so that he, and not Turio, can benefit from what transpires?
ACT 4
22. In Act 4, Scene 1, Valentine and Speed are accosted by an unusually civil band of highwaymen. What questions do they pose when they first capture Valentine and Speed? What does Valentine tell them? In turn, what are their stories—why have they been exiled from their respective cities and taken up residence in the wilderness? What reasons do they give for inviting Valentine to be their captain?
23. In Act 4, Scene 2, Proteus steps in to sing a song for the timid suitor Turio to Silvia, obviously hoping to supplant Turio and make his own case through his presence and singing. Describe the play of Proteus, Silvia, and Julia’s passions through this scene—how does Silvia respond to Proteus’s attempts to win her? How does Julia react to the situation and, more particularly, to the song she hears Proteus sing along with his words to Silvia afterwards?
24. In Act 4, Scene 2, why does Proteus finally settle on asking Silvia for the portrait of her that is apparently displayed in her chamber? Why does Silvia agree to give him the portrait—what use does she suppose he will make of it, and why? Since Julia (disguised as the page Sebastian) is also listening in, what thoughts does she express upon hearing that Proteus wants Silvia’s portrait?
25. In Act 4, Scene 3, Silvia speaks with Sir Eglamour and easily convinces him to help her escape from Milan and travel to Mantua. Research the name “Eglamour” online and connect that name to the tradition of chivalric romance literature. Why might Shakespeare have given this minor character a chivalric name? What does Silvia say about this character—why has she chosen him as her protector on such a journey?
26. In Act 4, Scene 4, what misdeed has Lance’s dog, Crab, just committed, and what was the outcome? What “crimes” does Lance further list Crab as having committed in the past that his owner ended up paying for as if he had committed them? Why does Lance put up with Crab’s unsavory exploits, and in what way might his affection for Crab relate to the themes that mark the rest of the play?
27. In Act 4, Scene 4, Proteus hires “Sebastian” (Julia, that is) to deliver a ring and a letter to Silvia, and to take the portrait that Silvia has offered him. What reflections does Julia offer regarding the predicament into which Proteus’s request has cast her? How will she handle playing courier to the woman Proteus has chosen (however unsuccessfully so far) to replace her?
28. In Act 4, Scene 4, how does a variety of what would in subsequent plays become one of Shakespeare’s favorite devices—the “ring device” or “ring plot”—figure at this point in The Two Gentlemen of Verona? How does the transfer of a ring function plot-wise and thematically here? Among other things, how does Julia/Sebastian’s attempt to transfer the ring to Silvia affect the conversation that ensues between the two women?
29. In Act 4, Scene 4, what are Julia’s reflections in soliloquy following the conversation she has had with Silvia, who expresses a good deal of empathy with her plight? What are Julia’s apparent feelings towards Silvia in return? How does she compare her own qualities to the qualities she attributes to her rival? To what extent, and at what point or points, does an ordinary lovers’ competitive spirit enter the scene?
ACT 5
30. Act 5, Scenes 1-3 do little more than set us up for the fourth scene, in which the play’s action is resolved. How, then, do these three very brief scenes prepare us for the action of the fourth? To add to this, what should we make of one possibly significant action in these scenes, which is the ignominious failure of Sir Eglamour to protect Julia from the highwaymen?
31. In Act 5, Scene 4, Proteus, having rescued Silvia from the highwaymen, tries again to woo her, but fails. He immediately tries to rape her, only to be prevented by Valentine, to whom he apologizes and by whom he is instantly forgiven. Valentine even attempts to “gift” Silvia to Proteus to reinforce the two men’s friendship! Since Silvia isn’t allowed any substantive say, how does Julia respond to these absurd events? How does the “ring device” first mentioned in in Act 4, Scene 4 now figure in Julia’s response—how does it lead to the revelation of her identity?
32. In Act 5, Scene 4, after the events addressed in the previous question, Julia is reconciled with Proteus, and when Turio refuses to defend his “interest” in Silvia, she and Valentine are free to marry. Silvia has yet again been “gifted” from one man to another without her consent being sought. What perspectives might we take regarding this supposedly happy but also implausible, abrupt, and even offensive conclusion to one of Shakespeare’s earliest plays? Should it be treated as “in earnest,” or as some variety of sendup or parody of light romantic comedy? Explain.
Edition. Greenblatt, Stephen et al., editors. The Norton Shakespeare: Comedies + Digital Edition. 3rd ed. W. W. Norton, 2016. ISBN-13: 978-0-393-93861-6.
Copyright © 2025 Alfred J. Drake
Document Timestamp: 11/25/2025 1:55 PM