Two Noble Kinsmen

This late play, first printed in 1634 and written with John Fletcher, retells Chaucer's Knight's Tale. After Theseus of Athens defeats Thebes, the cousins Palamon and Arcite are imprisoned. From their cell both see Emilia, Hippolyta's sister, and sworn friendship turns into rivalry for her. Arcite is freed but banished, then returns in disguise; Palamon escapes with help from the jailer's daughter, who goes mad for love of him. The kinsmen meet in the woods, are discovered, and Theseus orders a combat: the winner will marry Emilia and the loser will die. The play is a tragicomedy of chivalric rivalry set in a legendary Athens, not a chronicle of the historical city.

Quarter bound in green Nigerian goatskin leather with marbled papers. Oxford University Press commentary volume. Green solander box with leather label.