SOURCE: Proudfoot, G. R. Introduction to The Two Noble Kinsmen, by John Fletcher and William Shakespeare, edited by G. R. Proudfoot, pp. xxi-xxiv. London: Edward Arnold, 1970.

In the following excerpt, Proudfoot reviews the themes and characters found in The Two Noble Kinsmen, observing that the play's impressiveness stems not from its characters, but from its adroit handling of tragicomic effects.

The Two Noble Kinsmen belongs to the vogue of tragicomedy that began about 1609 with the revival of the old play of Mucedorus and with the writing of Cymbeline and Philaster. It differs from these plays in sustaining to the end a somber note which they dispel in the resolution of their plots. The Knight's Tale prescribed the death of Arcite, but the death sentence imposed on the losers in the tournament is not in Chaucer and the emphasis on mortality which pervades Act I is present only at...