The Two Noble Kinsmen was not usually considered part of the Shakespeare canon until the last fifty years or so. This seems surprising, since from its earliest publication in 1634 it has been attributed to a collaboration between Shakespeare and the much younger John Fletcher. However, perhaps because Shakespeare had long since retired and died prior to the earliest known performance, in 1619, scholars have been reluctant to group this play with the rest of the Bard’s known works.

Largely thanks to computers, however, analysis of the vocabulary, punctuation, meter, etc. has allowed us to conclude that Shakespeare might have been approached by Fletcher, fifteen years his junior and at the time the hot new talent in London, to collaborate on at least two post-Tempest works: Henry VIII, Two Noble Kinsmen and possibly the forever lost Cardenio. Fletcher was already well-known for his partnerships with other popular writers, most notably Francis Beaumont (see biographical info below). In fact this play was not included with Shakespeare’s Folios after his death, while it was placed in the second Beaumont and Fletcher folio in 1679 and most subsequent collections of their work.

So which parts were whose? This seems to be the consensus:

Prologue – Fletcher
Act I
scene 1 – Shakespeare
scene 2 – Shakespeare
scene 3 – Shakespeare
scene 4 – Shakespeare
scene 5 – Shakespeare
Act II
scene 1 – Shakespeare
scene 2 – Fletcher
scene 3 – Fletcher
scene 4 – Fletcher
scene 5 – Fletcher
scene 6 – Fletcher
Act III
scene 1 – Shakespeare
scene 2 – Fletcher
scene 3 – Fletcher
scene 4 – Fletcher
scene 5 – Fletcher
scene 6 – Fletcher
Act IV
scene 1 – Fletcher
scene 2 – uncertain
scene 3 – Fletcher
Act V
scene 1, lines 1-33 – Fletcher, lines 34-173 – Shakespeare
scene 2 – Fletcher
scene 3 – Shakespeare
Epilogue – Fletcher

But of course we’ll never know.

The Two Noble Kinsmen, a story of the courtly ideal of love, was inspired by “The Knight’s Tale” from Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, which was itself based on Teseida delle nozze di Emilia by Giovanni Boccaccio, writing in Italian in the mid-1300s. Just as Pericles begins with a tribute to Gower, the source for that play, so does this one begin with a tip of the hat to Chaucer, considered then as now to be one of the originators of all English literature.

Just like Midsummer, Kinsmen begins with an interruption of the nuptials between Theseus, duke of Athens, and Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons. You’ve heard of weddings where everything goes wrong? Here’s a wedding that had to accommodate two Shakespeare plays!

While it would have been a lovely happy ending for Palamon to marry the jailer’s daughter and Arcite to marry Emilia, it simply wouldn’t have been the noble thing to do, and the play is, after all, about nobility. The idea is that both consider themselves to be bound irrevocably to Emilia, and it is the duty of the other to recognize that. When they don’t, cousin or not, this makes them enemies and one of them must die for it.

The way they resolve the love triangle is especially ironic and symmetrical:

• Arcite prays to Mars, god of war, that he might win the duel. His wish comes true.
• Palamon prays to Venus, goddess of love, that he might win the hand of Emilia. His wish comes true.
• Emilia prays to Diana, goddess of virginity, that she might marry the one who truly loves her. Her wish comes true, too!

This play makes frequent references to one of England’s great traditions: the Morris Dance. An activity going back to the Renaissance and continuing to this day, it involved teams of dancers wearing bells and waving handkerchiefs, and others dressed as characters from Robin Hood, and another in a horse costume. Will Kemp, most famous for playing Shakespeare’s Fools, once gained everlasting fame by dancing the Morris between London and Norwich, a distance of more than 100 kilometers, in nine days over the course of one month.

Prologue
A glowing tribute to Chaucer, source of the story, and spiritual father of English literature.

Act I
scene 1
The wedding of Theseus and Hippolyta stops to tend to the grievance of three queens against Creon, king of Thebes. He slew their husbands in battle, but refused permission for them to be buried, then as now an unspeakable crime. They agree to postpone the wedding until Creon is punished.
scene 2
Palamon and Arcite, cousins and nephews of Creon, discuss their love for each other and the dismay at the crimes of their uncle.
scene 3
Hippolyta and her sister Emilia bid farewell to the army of Theseus, and discuss Emilia’s vow never to marry.
scene 4
Theseus, in his victory over Creon, remarks on the two valiant soldiers, Palamon and Arcite, he has captured in battle.
scene 5
The queens hold the funeral for their deceased husbands at last.

Act II
scene 1
The Jailer, his Daughter, and her Wooer (none of them have real names) discuss the noble prisoners in the jail. Daughter begins her infatuation with Palamon.
scene 2
Really a continuation of scene 1, Palamon and Arcite both see Emilia through the prison window, both fall in love with her, and both demand that the other yield his claim to her. Later, Arcite is removed from the prison and banished from Athens.
scene 3
Arcite learns that games will be held, and plans to enter, in disguise, so that he can see Emilia.
scene 4
Daughter’s infatuation with Palamon grows stronger.
scene 5
Arcite, in disguise, wins the games, and impresses all, including Emilia.
scene 6
Daughter releases Palamon from prison.

Act III
scene 1
Arcite stumbles across Palamon in the woods, still in chains and weak from hunger. While they still hate each other for loving the same woman, Arcite promises Palamon that he will return with food, clothes and tools to remove the chains, after which they vow to fight to the death over Emilia.
scene 2
Daughter looks for Palamon in the woods, and starts to go mad when she can’t find him.
scene 3
Palamon and Arcite eat together, but still keep up their enmity.
scene 4
Daughter continues to go mad.
scene 5
Some morris dancers discover daughter raving in the woods for Palamon, and lead her away. Later they dance for Theseus.
scene 6
Palamon and Arcite fight, and are discovered by Theseus. Since Emilia won’t choose between them, Theseus offers a challenge: they are to return to Thebes, then come back to Athens with supporters, at which time they will fight a duel, and the winner will get Emilia.

Act IV
scene 1
The Jailer and several friends, including the one who was wooing Daughter before, grieve over her madness, and play along with her in order to humor her.
scene 2
Palamon and Arcite, with their supporters, arrive in Athens to fight their duel.
scene 3
A doctor tends to Daughter’s madness, and instructs Wooer to pretend to be Palamon.

Act V
scene 1
Arcite prays to Mars, god of war, that he might win the duel.
Palamon prays to Venus, goddess of love, that he might win the hand of Emilia.
Emilia prays to Diana, goddess of virginity, that she might marry the one who truly loves her.
scene 2
Wooer succeeds in making Daughter think that he is Palamon.
scene 3
Arcite wins the duel.
scene 4
Palamon prepares to be executed, according to the terms of the duel. However, Arcite is unexpectedly crushed when his horse rears, and he surrenders his claim to Emilia, and makes peace with Palamon before he dies.
Epilogue
As usual in plays of this sort, an actor speaks directly to the audience, asking that they applaud, or at least not boo.

biography courtesy of Microsoft Encarta

Francis Beaumont (1584-1616) and John Fletcher (1579-1625), were major figures in English drama.
Beaumont was born in Leicestershire and educated at the University of Oxford. Fletcher was born in Rye, Sussex, and educated at the University of Cambridge. From about 1606 to 1616, when Beaumont died, the two collaborated on many plays (the exact number of which is in dispute), on a masque, and on poetry. Their plays are characterized by ingenious plots, diversified characters, and realistic dialogue. Their comedies, witty and sophisticated, foreshadow the licentious comedies of the Restoration.
Beaumont surpassed Fletcher in his ability to write tragic scenes, construct plots, and express deep emotion. Fletcher was the better writer of comic scenes and of lyric blank verse. Notable among their plays are Philaster (1610?), The Maid’s Tragedy (1611?), and A King and No King (1611). Beaumont wrote one play alone, The Knight of the Burning Pestle (1607?), and he was responsible for most of The Woman Hater (1607). Fletcher wrote several plays alone, including The Faithful Shepherdess (1609?), and several plays with collaborators other than Beaumont. Among these plays were, with the playwright Philip Massinger, The Spanish Curate (1622); and, probably, with William Shakespeare, Henry VIII (1613) and The Two Noble Kinsmen (1613).