What is The Two Gentlemen of Verona about?

Answer 1

Two Gentlemen of Verona is an early Shakespeare play which contains the seeds of many scenes and devices used in later comedies. It is not often played because of its last scene which is difficult to interpret in a way which makes the people on stage look like real people.

Two pals called Valentine and Proteus come from Verona. Proteus is in love with Julia; Julia loves him back but is having some trouble admitting it. Valentine goes off to Milan for work experience and there he falls in love with the Duke's daughter Sylvia, who loves him back. Her father prefers a dolt called Thurio. Meanwhile back in Verona, Julia has at last confessed her love for Proteus but at that moment his father sends him off to Milan to join Valentine. Julia follows, disguised, of course, as a boy.

However, as soon as he gets to Milan, Proteus falls for Sylvia and turns into a real heel. He exposes Valentine and Sylvia's plans to elope into the nearby forest, and Valentine is banished to the forest where he becomes the leader of a group of outlaws. Proteus, claiming to be working on Thurio's behalf, then begins wooing Sylvia in earnest. Sylvia is scornful. Proteus even tries sending his new pageboy (Julia in disguise) to woo Sylvia; Julia does it with a heavy heart but is relieved to find that Sylvia insists that Proteus should return to his true love Julia.

Sylvia eventually has had enough of this and escapes into the forest pursued by Proteus (accompanied by Julia), the Duke and Thurio. Proteus catches Sylvia and would have ravished her except that Valentine jumps out of the bushes and stops him. He then, in an almost unplayable scene, accepts Proteus's apology and approves of Proteus marrying Sylvia (wtf?). Julia's identity is revealed, Proteus's affection for her is revived and she somehow forgives him, Thurio proves himself to be an idiot and the Duke is so impressed with Valentine that he approves his marriage to Sylvia. So everything ends up happy.

Answer 2

It is about two brothers Nicola and Jacopo who face lot of hardships and do different jobs to earn a living and to treat their sister Lucia who was suffering from tuberculosis of spine.