Arthos, John. "The Two Gentlemen of Verona." In Shakespeare: The Early Writings, 104-73. Totowa, N.J.: Rowman and Littlefield, 1972.

Arthos sees significant philosophical issues woven into the romantic comedy of this play, including questions about the nature of faithfulness, what suffering can teach us about friendship and love, and what constitutes perfection. He views Silvia as an illustration of what perfection may be: holy, wise, and fair. Proteus, by contrast, shows us that love without reason leads to loss of integrity and the betrayal of truth.

Berry, Ralph. "Love and Friendship." In Shakespeare's Comedies: Explorations in Form, 40-53. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1972.

Berry regards Valentine as a self-absorbed young man who affects the pose of a conventional romantic lover and adapts his behavior in keeping with what he sees as the rules of that convention. Berry perceives Proteus as a self-conscious role-player, too, and he compares...