The Two Gentlemen of Verona friendship and treachery, and set the play in a decadent world of social elitism. Valentine and Proteus were presented as aristocratic students, the Duke was a Don, and Eglamour an old scout master. On the other hand, the poverty-stricken outlaws were dressed in animal skins. The RSC again staged the play at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in 1981, as a double bill with "Titus Andronicus", with both plays heavily edited. Directed by John Barton, the production starred Peter Chelsom as Valentine, Peter Land as Proteus, Julia Swift as Julia and Diana Hardcastle as Silvia. This production saw the actors not
The Two Gentlemen of Verona William C. Carroll in his 2004 edition for the Arden Shakespeare, Third Series. Carroll argues, like Schlueter, that Valentine is indeed giving Silvia to Proteus, but unlike Schlueter, Carroll detects no sense of farce. Instead, he sees the action as a perfectly logical one in terms of the notions of friendship which were prevalent at the time: As in Schlueter, Carroll here interprets Valentine's actions as a gift to Proteus, but unlike Schlueter, and more in line with traditional criticism of the play, Carroll also argues that such a gift, as unacceptable as it is to modern eyes, is perfectly