Valentine: The Gentleman Who Learns
First appears: Act 1, Scene 1
Valentine leaves Verona to see the world and expand his education. His opening speech mocks Proteus for staying behind for love. Within a few scenes, he is in love with the Duke of Milan's daughter Silvia and equally blind to anything else.
His banishment, his time as a forest outlaw, and Proteus's near-rape of Silvia bring him to a critical moment at the end. His willingness to forgive Proteus (including offering him Silvia) has troubled audiences ever since. Whether it is genuine friendship or simply a dramatic convenience is a question the play cannot quite answer.
He is the more straightforward of the two gentlemen, which does not make him more interesting.
Key Scenes
Famous Quotes
“Except I be by Silvia in the night, There is no music in the nightingale; Unless I look on Silvia in the day,”
Valentine — Act 3, Scene 1
“Home-keeping youth have ever homely wits.”
Valentine — Act 1, Scene 1
Themes
Other Characters in The Two Gentlemen of Verona
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