Lance

Play

The Two Gentlemen of Verona

Summary

Lance is Proteus's clownish servant, famous for his extended comic monologues — particularly his lament over his family's inadequate grief at his departure, performed with his shoes and staff as props, and his long-suffering relationship with his dog Crab. He is considered the earliest of Shakespeare's great clowns, a forerunner of Dogberry, Bottom, and the Fool, whose down-to-earth humanity comically deflates the high romantic sentiment of the main plot.

Notable Quotations

"I am the dog. No, the dog is himself, and I am the dog — O, the dog is me, and I am myself." *(2.3)*

"When a man's servant shall play the cur with him, look you, it goes hard." *(4.4)*

Cross-references

• The Two Gentlemen of Verona — the play
• Comedies
• character_proteus — his master
• character_speed_2gv — fellow servant (to Valentine); his sparring partner