The Two Noble Kinsmen Act One – “Roses their sharpe spines being gone, not royal in their smells alone, but in their hew…”

The Two Noble Kinsmen Act One – “Roses their sharpe spines being gone, not royal in their smells alone, but in their hew…”

"... I will entertain you at the present with what happened this week at the Banks side. The King's players had a new play called All is True, representing some principal pieces of the reign of Henry the Eighth, which set forth with many extraordinary circumstances of pomp and majesty even to the matting of the stage; the knights of the order with their Georges and Garter, the guards with their embroidered coats, and the like: sufficient in truth within awhile to make greatness very familiar, if not ridiculous. Now King Henry making a Masque at the Cardinal Wolsey's house, and certain cannons being shot off at his entry, some of the paper or other stuff, wherewith one of them was stopped, did light on the thatch, where being thought at first but idle smoak, and their eyes more attentive to the show, it kindled inwardly, and ran round like a train, consuming within less than an hour the whole house to the very ground. This was the fatal period of that virtuous fabrick, wherein yet nothing did perish but wood and straw, and a few forsaken cloaks; only one man had his breeches set on fire, that would perhaps have broyled him, if he had not by the benefit of a provident wit, put it out with a bottle of ale."

Eye-witness account of the Globe Theatre fire on June 29^th, 1613 written by Sir Henry Wotton in a letter dated July 2, 1613.

When the Globe Theatre burnt down on June 29^th 1613, it was the end of an era. Shakespeare already was probably spending more time at Stratford upon Avon than in London and his investments in the country and in London were reaping him rewards so the burning of the Globe was not so much a financial blow (it was rebuilt and re-opened the next year in 1614) but a psychological one. It probably felt like the end of an era for Shakespeare. With the belief (at least amongst the actor's of the company) that the play ‘Henry VIII’ might be a bit jinxed, the actors of the King’s Men moved back over to the Blackfriars Theatre to probably do reruns of ‘The Tempest’ and ‘The Winter’s Tale’ while Shakespeare parked himself in the lodgings he owned in the Blackfriars’ Priory and started work with John Fletcher on what was to become his last play, ‘The Two Noble Kinsmen’.

After seeing Richard Edwarde's adaptation of ‘The Knight’s Tale’ from Chaucer’s ‘The Canterbury Tales’, Shakespeare probably thought that he and Fletcher could whip up a better version with some original twists in no time at all. With the weather heating up, Shakespeare and Fletcher probably set themselves the task of writing the play by the end of July so that they could have the play premiere on the Blackfriars Theatre stage in mid-August. Even for Shakespeare and Jacobean playwrights, this was a cracking pace.

It would seem that many of the first scenes of each Act of ‘The Two Noble Kinsmen’ have Shakespeare’s touch all over them, so it is not unlikely that Shakespeare would have burnt the candle late at night and have one or two scenes written for Fletcher in the morning. Fletcher probably then took these scenes back to his lodgings and would take a few days to write up the rest of the scenes for the Act before he would bring them back to Shakespeare for revision and pick up Shakespeare’s opening scenes for the next Act. After about three weeks of this process, the play was virtually complete and handwritten copies of individual actor’s parts were probably copied off the originals (locked in Shakespeare’s lodgings) by Shakespeare and Fletcher themselves and one or two trusted copy-writers. Around the first week in August, the actors would have started to rehearse their parts in the mornings (since many would be playing in afternoon performances) and by mid-August 1613, ‘The Two Noble Kinsmen’ would have premiered at the Blackfriars Theatre.

The Prologue of ‘The Two Noble Kinsmen’, informs the audience that the play is based on a story from Chaucer. The play opens with a scene where three queens come to petition King Theseus and Queen Hippolyta of Athens to take revenge for the deaths of their husbands by King Creon of Thebes, who will also not allow the proper burial of the three queens husbands.

“We are three, Queenes, whose Soveraignes fell before

The wrath of cruell Creon; who endured

The Beakes of Ravens, Talents of the Knights,

And pecks of Crowes, in the fowle fields of Thebs.

He will not suffer us to burne their bones,

To urne their ashes, nor to take th' offence

Of mortall loathsomenes from the blest eye

Of holy Phoebus, but infects the windes

With stench of our slaine Lords.  O pity, Duke:

Thou purger of the earth, draw thy feard Sword

That does good turnes to'th world; give us the Bones

Of our dead Kings, that we may Chappell them;

And of thy boundles goodnes take some note

That for our crowned heades we have no roofe,

Save this which is the Lyons, and the Beares,

And vault to every thing.”

Theseus listens to their story and is so moved that he agrees to mount a war on Creon and the city of Thebes.

The next scene then switches to Thebes where we meet the two noble kinsmen of the title. They are two friends and cousins, Palomon and Arcite, who are revolted by the tyranny and actions of Creon, decide that they will still stay and they will fight for Thebes not for Creon:

“He, a most unbounded Tyrant, whose successes

Makes heaven unfeard, and villany assured

Beyond its power there's nothing, almost puts

Faith in a feavour, and deifies alone

Voluble chance; who onely attributes

The faculties of other Instruments

To his owne Nerves and act; Commands men service,

And what they winne in't, boot and glory; on(e)

That feares not to do harm; good, dares not; Let

The blood of mine that's sibbe to him be suckt

From me with Leeches; Let them breake and fall

Off me with that corruption…

Nothing truer:

I thinke the Ecchoes of his shames have dea'ft

The eares of heav'nly Iustice: widdows cryes

Descend againe into their throates, and have not

Due audience of the Gods…

Our services stand now for Thebs, not Creon,

Yet to be neutrall to him were dishonour;

Rebellious to oppose: therefore we must

With him stand to the mercy of our Fate,

Who hath bounded our last minute.”

At the gates of Athens, Hippolyta and Emilia bid farewell to Theseus’ forces and wish them success. They contemplate the nature of war, power, men and what women must endure with war.

“In's bosome:

We have bin Soldiers, and wee cannot weepe

When our Friends don their helmes, or put to sea,

Or tell of Babes broachd on the Launce, or women

That have sod their Infants in (and after eate them)

The brine, they wept at killing 'em; Then if

You stay to see of us such Spincsters, we

Should hold you here for ever…

With much labour,

And I did love him fort: they two have Cabind

In many as dangerous, as poore a Corner,

Perill and want contending; they have skift

Torrents whose roring tyranny and power

I'th least of these was dreadfull, and they have

Fought out together, where Deaths-selfe was lodgd,

Yet fate hath brought them off: Their knot of love,

Tide, weau'd, intangled, with so true, so long,

And with a finger of so deepe a cunning,

May be outworne, never undone.  I thinke

Theseus cannot be umpire to himselfe,

Cleaving his conscience into twaine and doing

Each side like Iustice, which he loves best…

Now, alacke, weake Sister,

I must no more beleeve thee in this point

(Though in't I know thou dost beleeve thy selfe,)

Then I will trust a sickely appetite,

That loathes even as it longs; but, sure, my Sister,

If I were ripe for your perswasion, you

Have saide enough to shake me from the Arme

Of the all noble Theseus, for whose fortunes

I will now in, and kneele with great assurance,

That we, more then his Pirothous, possesse

The high throne in his heart…”

The battle then begins and although Palomon and Arcite fight valiantly, Thebes is defeated by Theseus and his forces. Theseus knows the cost of war and prepares to take Palomon and Arcite and others prisoner:

“Then like men use 'em.

The very lees of such (millions of rates)

Exceede the wine of others: all our Surgions

Convent in their behoofe; our richest balmes

Rather then niggard, waft: their lives concerne us

Much more then Thebs is worth: rather then have 'em

Freed of this plight, and in their morning state

(Sound and at liberty) I would 'em dead;

But forty thousand fold we had rather have 'em

Prisoners to us then death.  Beare 'em speedily

From our kinde aire, to them unkinde, and minister

What man to man may doe--for our sake more,

Since I have knowne frights, fury, friends beheastes,

Loves provocations, zeale, a mistris Taske,

Desire of liberty, a feavour, madnes,

Hath set a marke which nature could not reach too

Without some imposition: sicknes in will

Or wrastling strength in reason.  For our Love

And great Appollos mercy, all our best

Their best skill tender.  Leade into the Citty,

Where having bound things scatterd, we will post 

To Athens for(e) our Army.”

Act One of ‘The Two Noble Kinsmen' ends with the three queens taking possession of their husbands. They progress across the stage in a solemn funeral procession with the bodies of their husbands.

“Vrnes and odours bring away,

Vapours, sighes, darken the day;

Our dole more deadly lookes than dying;

Balmes, and Gummes, and heavy cheeres,

Sacred vials fill'd with teares,

And clamors through the wild ayre flying.

Come all sad and solempne Showes,

That are quick-eyd pleasures foes;

We convent nought else but woes.

We convent nought else but woes.”