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The Effect of Meter, Syntax, and Word Choice in Proteus’s Soliloquy

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In Shakespeare’s Two Gentlemen of Verona, gentleman Proteus faces an impossible decision--to stay loyal to the woman he’s been courting, or to come between his best friend, Valentine, and his lover, betraying the former and stealing away the latter. Through the specific words and syntax used, Shakespeare sets the two women, Julia and Sylvia, as vastly different in Proteus’s mind, yet somewhat interchangeable to those on the outside. Changes in meter are used to show Proteus’s anguish over the decision, and throughout the The soliloquy that makes up the entirety of Act 2 Scene 6 displays particularly the shift in Proteus’s feelings, from guilt over the incoming betrayal, to seeming indifference to the inevitability of fate. The first two lines of this soliloquy follow the exact same meter as each other: To leave my Julia, shall I be forsworn; To love fair Silvia, shall I be forsworn; Both names, “Julia” and “Silvia” are three syllables, and insert a dactyl into what would otherwise be perfect iambic pentameter. Therefore, the two names are rendered interchangeable, supporting the idea that Proteus cannot actually see much of a difference between the two girls. The only change from one line to the next are the adjectives used to describe the girls--“my” Julia, as opposed to “fair” Silvia. This difference could be read as foreshadowing, as by the end of the play, Proteus does return to “his” Julia. His love for Silvia is also seen as fickle and impulsive, possibly because he sees her as merely beautiful while he knows Julia much more intimately. The third line, however, brings something else into consideration. “To wrong my friend, I shall be much forsworn;” Adding the word “much” and removing the object of considerations name (in this case, that would be Valentine) reverts the whole phrase back into perfect iambic pentameter. The implication with this juxtaposition--and the addition of the word “much--is that

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Proteus’s brotherly love for Valentine is more natural and significant than his love for either Julia or Silvia. The next three lines discuss Proteus’ view of love, as a concept, and perhaps as an entity. They are as follows: And even that power which gave me first my oath Provokes me to this threefold perjury; Love bade me swear and Love bids me forswear. Surrounding the word “threefold” are three more out of place dactyls, in “and even that,” “power which,” and “love bade me.” This is not so much a symbolic allusion as a clever twist of words that drives the triplet quality into the speech. The word “love” is always on a stressed syllable, throughout the entire monologue, giving it a sort of reverence and importance. If one reads the last line as containing a dactyl (“love bade me swear” instead of “love bade me swear”) one must also pause after the word “swear” to let the meter catch up to itself. The pause lets Proteus truly implicate “love” in his betrayal of both Valentine and Julia, as it was love that made him do it, and not his own thoughts and actions. This idea is well supported in the next two lines: O sweet-suggesting Love, if thou hast sinned, Teach me, thy tempted subject, to excuse it! Proteus places the blame on “Love” for sinning, and thus, to teach him to be better. The next two lines, “At first I did adore a twinkling star,/But now I worship a celestial sun,” are the soliloquy’s return to iambic pentameter. These two lines beg a pause afterwords, to fully let the duet sink in. From the previous lines’ frantic misplacement of meter, these phrases have a calming effect, and cement Proteus’s feelings--that Silvia is in fact superior to Julia, and that his later actions will be justified. Even the specific wording alludes to this. The word

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“adore” is intimate, one used frequently between lovers. “Worship,” on the other hand, is reserved for gods, or godly beings. Silvia, to him, is on the highest pedestal, though he admits to still “adoring” Julia. His fickle “worship” will prove short-lived. The next section is regards Proteus defending the decision he’s about to make. Unheedful vows may heedfully be broken, And he wants wit that wants resolved will To learn his wit to exchange the bad for better. Fie, fie, unreverend tongue! to call her bad, Whose sovereignty so oft thou hast preferr'd With twenty thousand soul-confirming oaths. First, Proteus claims that his “vows” to Julia were made “unheedful--” that is, that he made them absentmindedly, without thinking to the consequences. Therefore, he reasons, the thought he puts into the betrayal should render the original vows moot. Later, though, he admonishes himself, saying he once loved Julia “with twenty thousand soul-confirming oaths.” This indecision is clearly stated, but is sided more slightly towards betraying Julia, unlike his earlier indecision that was tinged with staying loyal. In the final two lines of the section covered here, Proteus displays a rare spell of selfawareness, and admits that the choice he will make (to leave Julia to pursue Silvia, betraying Valentine) is probably not the right one. “I cannot leave to love, and yet I do;/But there I leave to love where I should love.” The word “love” remains on the stressed beat even here, proving that it is not any specific person on Proteus’s mind, but the nebulous concept of “love” he tries to pursue. The alliteration and assonance between the “leaves” and “loves” in the aforementioned lines drives the speaker in circles, confusing the syntax and muddling the meaning. Don’t be

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mistaken--these lines are a confession, that Proteus is fully aware of the consequences of his actions. Still, the delivery gives him the deniability he will later need. At this point, Proteus has made his decision, and is about to begin hatching a plot to see it through. All this is anticipated by the words here used. Proteus’s soliloquy demonstrates his thoughts and justifications as he finally makes the decision to betray his friend and his lover to pursue a new girl. His slow journey from guiltwracked grief to careful planning is made apparent by the syntax and meter, as well as other rhetorical devices, within the scene. This monologue is pivotal for Proteus’s character, and made ever the more effective by the words used to bring it to light....