Thought to be Shakespeare's earliest surviving play, The Two Gentlemen of Verona is a comedy filled with passionate lovers, women disguised as men, sword fights and sudden revelations, and a happy denouement, all underscored by a farcical subplot featuring the character Launce and his dog Crab. Perfect for theater professionals and general readers, this marvelous edition includes an extensive performance history, a commentary illuminating the complexities of Shakespeare's language, and a setting of the song "Who is Silvia?" prepared from an Elizabethan source. The introduction by Roger Warren explores the play as a theatrical counterpart to the sonnets--a dramatization of competing kinds of love--analyzes the lyrical language, and provides further evidence that The Two Gentlemen is indeed Shakespeare's earliest play.
