It all goes back to Shakespeare...
Shakespeare may have been writing about himself to some extent with the original Two Gents. Shakespeare himself had only recently arrived in the Big City (London), coming from a small town (Stratford), a young man in his twenties ready to take on the world, just like Valentine (which may explain why Valentine is the least ridiculous character in the story). Just like his Two Gents characters, young Shakespeare reinvented himself in London, living as a single man even though he had a wife and family back in Stratford (not that it wasn't uncommon to do so back then.) Sound familiar?
Two Gentlemen of Verona was Shakespeare’s first play, and though he’s not at the top of his game here, he’s still Shakespeare, and that’s enough. It's youthful, raw, rowdy, messy, rude, flawed but perhaps only a play so full of inconsistencies - for instance, why is the Duke of Milan sometimes referred to as the Emperor of Milan? - could lend itself to such bold tinkering.
Two Gentlemen of Verona was Shakespeare’s first play, and though he’s not at the top of his game here, he’s still Shakespeare, and that’s enough. It's youthful, raw, rowdy, messy, rude, flawed but perhaps only a play so full of inconsistencies - for instance, why is the Duke of Milan sometimes referred to as the Emperor of Milan? - could lend itself to such bold tinkering.