“Two Gentlemen of Verona” unfolds inside the realm of Verona, in which the bonds of friendship among the two protagonists, Valentine and Proteus, are positioned to the test once they each fall in love with the identical woman, Silvia. The narrative navigates the demanding situations of loyalty, jealousy, and the dynamics of younger love, weaving a tale of flawed identities, heartfelt confessions, and the pursuit of true happiness. Read More Class 12th English Summaries.
Two Gentlemen of Verona Summary
Two Gentlemen of Verona Introduction:
The title of this story has been taken from one of the plays of William Shakespeare. The author describes the life of two small boys who love their sister. They are Nicola and Jacopo. They work very hard so that they could pay for the treatment of their sister suffering from tuberculosis (T.B.). The boys’ sacrifice for their sister gives a new hope for society.
Two Gentlemen of Verona Summary in English
‘Two Gentlemen of Verona’ is the story of two brothers, Nicola and Jacopo. They belong to Verona in Italy. (Shakespeare wrote a play of the same title). Nicola is thirteen and Jacopo is twelve. The narrator and his friend meet them when they are driving through the foothills of Alps. They buy a basket of strawberries from them. Then they go to the hotel.
The driver of the narrator told him not to buy fruit from the boys. They would be able to get better fruit in Verona. The next morning they find the two boys at the public square. The boys tell the narrator that they do all sorts of work including guiding tourists. The narrator tells the boys to take him and his friend around the city. They also feel impressed by their manners and behaviour. Despite their untidy clothes, they leave a good impression on the narrator and his friend.
One night, the narrator and his friend see the boys at a deserted square. They were resting on a pavement stone. They are waiting for the last bus from Padua so that they can sell the newspapers. Both the brothers look tired. They are as usual in unclean clothes. The narrator asks them the reason for their not being dressed in clean clothes and for not eating well.
The narrator had thought that the boys were saving money to travel to the States. But the boys tell him that they are not interested in going to the States. They have something else in their mind. They ask the narrator if he can take them to Poleta in his car. The narrator agrees.
They drive down to Poleta the next afternoon. The narrator finds them entering a villa. They tell him that they will stay in the villa for an hour or so and that he can go to a cafe for a drink. After some time, the narrator rings the bell of the villa. A nurse opens the door.
He asks her about two young boys who have just gone to the house. She takes the narrator along and the narrator finds himself in a hospital. He finds Japoco and Nicola sitting at the bedside of their sister. He requests the nurse to tell him everything about the two boys. The nurse tells him their story.
Summary of Two Gentlemen of Verona
The narrator comes to know that the two boys and their sister are the children of a well-known singer at La Scala who was killed during the war. Their house was destroyed and the children had to suffer all kinds of hardships. The German Elite Guards came to their town and their life became more wretched.
The boys joined the resistance movement. They carried errands (messages) to its leaders and informed them of the movements of German troops. Their sister Lucia was suffering from tuberculosis of the spine. She had been in the hospital for the last 12 months. Her brothers visited her in the hospital every week to clear the dues.
The narrator then waits for the boys. He drives them back to the city. He does not tell them what he has learnt about their sister and her ailment. He is impressed by their selfless devotion to their sister. He feels that the selfless devotion to their sister brings new nobility to human life. The young boys’ selfless service of their sister was an indication of the selfless service of the human society.