“That man that hath a tongue,

I say is no man,

If with his tongue he cannot win a woman…”

The Two Gentlemen of Verona is a comedy-romance by William Shakespeare believed to have been written circa 1590.

It is considered by many to be Shakespeare's first play, and is often seen as displaying his first exploratory steps laying out the themes with which he would later deal in more detail: for example, it is the first of his plays in which a heroine, Julia, dresses as a boy, the first of Shakespeare's many cross-dressing heroines.

The play is a comedy of manners about two young lads from Verona, Valentine and Proteus, who are sent to Milan to what must be described as a male finishing school.

Here they must learn to be "perfect" gentlemen, to practice in "tilts and tournaments," and to make proper (male) conversation.

It's the first journey away from home for both Valentine and Proteus, who are longtime friends.

Both behave badly in ways that get them in terrible trouble.

The play deals with the themes of friendship and infidelity, the conflict between friendship and love, and the often-foolish behavior of people in love.

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (1564-1616) was an English playwright poet, and actor, regarded as the world's pre-eminent dramatist, and the greatest writer in the English language. Author of such timeless works as Romeo and Juliet, Othello, Hamlet and King Lear, he is often called the “Bard of Avon,” England's national poet.