
''Love's Labour's Lost'' is one of
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's early comedies, believed to have been written in the mid-1590s for a performance at the
Inns of Court
The Inns of Court in London are the professional associations for barristers in England and Wales. There are four Inns of Court: Gray's Inn, Lincoln's Inn, Inner Temple, and Middle Temple.
All barristers must belong to one of them. They have s ...
before Queen
Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...
. It follows the King of
Navarre
Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. ...
and his three companions as they attempt to swear off the company of women for three years in order to focus on study and fasting. Their subsequent infatuation with the Princess of
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
and her ladies makes them forsworn (break their oath). In an untraditional ending for a comedy, the play closes with the death of the Princess's father, and all weddings are delayed for a year. The play draws on themes of masculine love and desire, reckoning and rationalisation, and reality versus fantasy.
Though first published in
quarto
Quarto (abbreviated Qto, 4to or 4º) is the format of a book or pamphlet produced from full sheets printed with eight pages of text, four to a side, then folded twice to produce four leaves. The leaves are then trimmed along the folds to produc ...
in 1598, the play's title page suggests a revision of an earlier version of the play. There are no obvious sources for the play's plot. The use of apostrophes in the play's title varies in early editions, though it is most commonly given as ''Love's Labour's Lost''.
Shakespeare's audiences were familiar with the historical personages portrayed and the political situation in Europe relating to the setting and action of the play. Scholars suggest the play lost popularity as these historical and political portrayals of Navarre's court became dated and less accessible to theatergoers of later generations. The play's sophisticated wordplay, pedantic humour and dated literary allusions may also be causes for its relative obscurity, as compared with Shakespeare's more popular works. ''Love's Labour's Lost'' was rarely staged in the 19th century, but it has been seen more often in the 20th and 21st centuries, with productions by the
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...
, the
National Theatre, and the
Stratford Festival of Canada, among others. It has also been adapted as a musical,
an opera, for radio and television and as
a musical film.
Characters
* Ferdinand – King of
Navarre
Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. ...
* Lord Berowne (or Biron), Lord Longueville (or Longaville) and Lord Dumaine – attending on the King
* Princess of France, later Queen of France
* Lady Rosaline, Lady Maria, Lady Katharine and Boyet – attending on the Princess
* Marcadé – messenger
* Don Adriano de Armado – a fantastical Spaniard
* Moth – Armado's
page
Page most commonly refers to:
* Page (paper), one side of a leaf of paper, as in a book
Page, PAGE, pages, or paging may also refer to:
Roles
* Page (assistance occupation), a professional occupation
* Page (servant), traditionally a young m ...
* Sir Nathaniel –
curate
A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are as ...
* Holofernes – schoolmaster
* Dull –
constable
A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. ''Constable'' is commonly the rank of an officer within a police service. Other peo ...
*
Costard
Costard is a comic figure in the play '' Love's Labour's Lost'' by William Shakespeare. A country bumpkin, he is arrested in the first scene for flouting the king's proclamation that all men of the court avoid the company of women for three yea ...
– a rustic
* Jaquenetta – country wench
* Forester
* Officers and others, attendants on the King and Princess
Synopsis
Ferdinand, King of
Navarre
Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. ...
, and his three noble companions, the Lords Berowne, Dumaine, and Longaville, take an oath not to give in to the company of women. They devote themselves to three years of study and fasting; Berowne agrees somewhat more hesitantly than the others. The King declares that no woman should come within a mile of the court. Don Adriano de Armado, a Spaniard visiting the court, writes a letter to tell the King of a tryst between
Costard
Costard is a comic figure in the play '' Love's Labour's Lost'' by William Shakespeare. A country bumpkin, he is arrested in the first scene for flouting the king's proclamation that all men of the court avoid the company of women for three yea ...
and Jaquenetta. After the King sentences Costard, Don Armado confesses his own love for Jaquenetta to his page, Moth. Don Armado writes Jaquenetta a letter and asks Costard to deliver it.
The Princess of France and her ladies arrive, wishing to speak to the King regarding the cession of
Aquitaine
Aquitaine (, ; ; ; ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne (), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former Regions of France, administrative region. Since 1 January 2016 it has been part of the administ ...
, but must ultimately make their camp outside the court due to the decree. In visiting the Princess and her ladies at their camp, the King falls in love with the Princess, as do the lords with the ladies. Berowne gives Costard a letter to deliver to the lady Rosaline, which Costard switches with Don Armado's letter that was meant for Jaquenetta. Jaquenetta consults two scholars, Holofernes and Sir Nathaniel, who conclude that the letter is written by Berowne and instruct her to tell the King.
The King and his lords lie in hiding and watch one another as each subsequently reveals his feelings of love. The King ultimately chastises the lords for breaking the oath, but Berowne reveals that the King is likewise in love with the Princess. Jaquenetta and Costard enter with Berowne's letter and accuse him of treason. Berowne confesses to breaking the oath, explaining that the only study worthy of mankind is that of love, and he and the other men collectively decide to relinquish the vow. Arranging for Holofernes to entertain the ladies later, the men then dress as
Muscovites and court the ladies in disguise. The Queen's courtier Boyet, having overheard their planning, helps the ladies trick the men by disguising themselves as each other. When the lords return as themselves, the ladies taunt them and expose their ruse.
Impressed by the ladies' wit, the men apologize, and when all identities are righted, they watch Holofernes, Sir Nathaniel, Costard, Moth and Don Armado present the
Nine Worthies
The Nine Worthies are nine historical, scriptural, and legendary men of distinction who personify the ideals of chivalry established in the Middle Ages, whose lives were deemed a valuable study for aspirants to chivalric status. All were commonly ...
. The four lords and Boyet heckle the play, saving their sole praise for Costard. Don Armado and Costard almost come to blows when Costard reveals mid-pageant that Don Armado has got Jaquenetta pregnant. Their spat is interrupted by news that the Princess's father has died. The Princess makes plans to leave at once, and she and her ladies, readying for mourning, declare that the men must wait a year and a day to prove their loves lasting. Don Armado announces he will swear a similar oath to Jaquenetta and then presents the nobles with a song.
Sources
''Love's Labour's Lost'' may be found to have a number of sources for various aspects, but a primary source for the story is not extant. It has this in common with two other Shakespeare plays – ''
A Midsummer Night's Dream
''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a Comedy (drama), comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One s ...
'' and ''
The Tempest
''The Tempest'' is a Shakespeare's plays, play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1610–1611, and thought to be one of the last plays that he wrote alone. After the first scene, which takes place on a ship at sea during a tempest, th ...
''. Some possible influences on ''Love's Labour's Lost'' can be found in the early plays of
John Lyly
John Lyly (; also spelled ''Lilly'', ''Lylie'', ''Lylly''; born c. 1553/54 – buried 30 November 1606)Hunter, G. K. (2004)"Lyly, John (1554–1606)". ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 23 January 2 ...
,
Robert Wilson's ''The Cobbler's Prophecy'' (c. 1590) and
Pierre de La Primaudaye
Pierre de La Primaudaye (1546–1619) was a French writer. He is known particularly for ''L'Academie Française'', which was influential in English translations, from 1584 onwards, particularly ''The French Academie'' of 1618.
La Primaudaye came ...
's ''L'Academie française'' (1577). Michael Dobson and
Stanley Wells
Sir Stanley William Wells, (born 21 May 1930) is an English Shakespearean scholar, writer, professor and editor who has been honorary president of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, professor emeritus at Birmingham University, and author of many ...
comment that it has often been conjectured that the plot derives from "a now lost account of a diplomatic visit made to Henry in 1578 by
Catherine de' Medici
Catherine de' Medici (, ; , ; 13 April 1519 – 5 January 1589) was an Italian Republic of Florence, Florentine noblewoman of the Medici family and Queen of France from 1547 to 1559 by marriage to Henry II of France, King Henry II. Sh ...
and her daughter
Marguerite de Valois, Henry's estranged wife, to discuss the future of Aquitaine, but this is by no means certain."
[Dobson, M. and Wells, S. ''The Oxford Companion to Shakespeare'', Oxford University Press, 2001, p. 264]
The four main male characters are all loosely based on historical figures; Navarre is based on Henry of Navarre (who later became
Henry IV of France
Henry IV (; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry (''le Bon Roi Henri'') or Henry the Great (''Henri le Grand''), was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 16 ...
), Berowne on
Charles de Gontaut, duc de Biron, Dumain on
Charles, duc de Mayenne and Longaville on
Henri I d'Orléans, duc de Longueville. Biron in particular was well known in England because
Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex
Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex (; 10 November 1565 – 25 February 1601) was an English nobleman and a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I. Politically ambitious, he was placed under house arrest following a poor campaign in Ireland during th ...
, had joined forces with Biron's army in support of Henry in 1591.
[ Albert Tricomi states that "the play's humorous idealization could remain durable as long as the French names of its principal characters remained familiar to Shakespeare's audiences. This means that the witty portrayal of Navarre's court could remain reasonably effective until the assassination of Henry IV in 1610. ... Such considerations suggest that the portrayals of Navarre and the civil-war generals presented Elizabethan audiences not with a mere collection of French names in the news, but with an added dramatic dimension which, once lost, helps to account for the eclipse ''Love's Labour's Lost'' soon underwent."]
Critics have attempted to draw connections between notable Elizabethan
The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The Roman symbol of Britannia (a female per ...
English persons and the characters of Don Armado, Moth, Sir Nathaniel, and Holofernes, with little success.[
]
Date and text
Most scholars believe the play was written in 1594–1595, but not later than 1598. ''Love's Labour's Lost'' was first published in quarto
Quarto (abbreviated Qto, 4to or 4º) is the format of a book or pamphlet produced from full sheets printed with eight pages of text, four to a side, then folded twice to produce four leaves. The leaves are then trimmed along the folds to produc ...
in 1598 by the bookseller Cuthbert Burby. The title page states that the play was "Newly corrected and augmented by W. Shakespere," which has suggested to some scholars a revision of an earlier version.
Dating to 1598, Edinburgh University
The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the town council under the authority of a royal charter from King James VI in 1582 and offi ...
's manuscript is one of the earliest known copies of the work and according to its title page, is the same version as that which was presented to Queen Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...
the previous Christmas, in 1597. It is in quarto format and was donated to Edinburgh University
The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the town council under the authority of a royal charter from King James VI in 1582 and offi ...
between 1626 and 1636 by former student William Drummond of Hawthornden, making it part of the university's first literature collection.
The play next appeared in print in the First Folio
''Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies'' is a collection of plays by William Shakespeare, commonly referred to by modern scholars as the First Folio, published in 1623, about seven years after Shakespeare's death. It is cons ...
in 1623, with a later quarto in 1631. '' Love's Labour's Won'' is considered by some to be a lost sequel.
The speech given by Berowne at 4.3.284–361 is potentially the longest in all of Shakespeare's plays, depending on editorial choices. Shakespeare critic and editor Edward Capell has pointed out that certain passages within the speech seem to be redundant and argues that these passages represent a first draft which was not adequately corrected before going to print.[Furness, Horace Howard. (ed.) ''Love's Labour's Lost'' A New Variorum Edition of Shakespeare (Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1904), pp. 192–194] Specifically, lines 291–313 are "repeated in substance" further in the speech and are sometimes omitted by editors. With no omissions, the speech is 77 lines and 588 words.
Analysis and criticism
Title
The title is normally given as ''Love's Labour's Lost''. The use of apostrophes varies in early editions. In its first 1598 quarto publication it appears as ''Loues labors loſt''. In the 1623 First Folio
''Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies'' is a collection of plays by William Shakespeare, commonly referred to by modern scholars as the First Folio, published in 1623, about seven years after Shakespeare's death. It is cons ...
it is ''Loues Labour's Lost'' and in the 1631 quarto it is ''Loues Labours Lost''. In the Third Folio
The earliest texts of William Shakespeare's works were published during the 16th and 17th centuries in quarto or folio format. Folios are large, tall volumes; quartos are smaller, roughly half the size. The publications of the latter are usually a ...
it appears for the first time with the modern punctuation and spelling as ''Love's Labour's Lost''. Historian John Hale notes that the title could be read as "love's labour is lost" or "the lost labours of love" depending on punctuation. Hale suggests that this parallel nature of product and process was intended and is derived from existing Latin idioms. Hale suggests that the witty alliteration of the title is in keeping with the pedantic nature of the play. In 1935 Frances Yates asserted that the title derived from a line in John Florio's ''His firste Fruites'' (1578): "We neede not speak so much of loue, al books are ful of lou, with so many authours, that it were labour lost to speake of Loue", a source from which Shakespeare also took the untranslated Venetian proverb ''Venetia, Venetia/Chi non ti vede non ti pretia'' (LLL 4.2.92–93) ("Venice, Venice, Who does not see you cannot praise you").
Reputation
''Love's Labour's Lost'' abounds in sophisticated wordplay, puns, and literary allusions and is filled with clever pastiches of contemporary poetic forms. Critic and historian John Pendergast states that "perhaps more than any other Shakespearean play, it explores the power and limitations of language, and this blatant concern for language led many early critics to believe that it was the work of a playwright just learning his art." In ''The Western Canon
''The Western Canon: The Books and School of the Ages'' is a 1994 book about Western literature by the American literary critic Harold Bloom, in which the author defends the concept of the Western canon by discussing 26 writers whom he sees as c ...
'' (1994), Harold Bloom
Harold Bloom (July 11, 1930 – October 14, 2019) was an American literary critic and the Sterling Professor of humanities at Yale University. In 2017, Bloom was called "probably the most famous literary critic in the English-speaking world". Af ...
lauds the work as "astonishing" and refers to it as Shakespeare's "first absolute achievement". It is often assumed that the play was written for performance at the Inns of Court
The Inns of Court in London are the professional associations for barristers in England and Wales. There are four Inns of Court: Gray's Inn, Lincoln's Inn, Inner Temple, and Middle Temple.
All barristers must belong to one of them. They have s ...
, whose students would have been most likely to appreciate its style. It has never been among Shakespeare's most popular plays, probably because its pedantic humour and linguistic density are extremely demanding of contemporary theatregoers.[ The satirical allusions of Navarre's court are likewise inaccessible, "having been principally directed to fashions of language that have long passed away, and reconsequently little understood, rather than in any great deficiency of invention."
]
Themes
Masculine desire
Masculine desire structures the play and helps to shape its action. The men's sexual appetite manifests in their desire for fame and honour; the notion of women as dangerous to masculinity and intellect is established early on. The King and his Lords' desires for their idealized women are deferred, confused, and ridiculed throughout the play. As the play comes to a close, their desire is deferred yet again, resulting in an increased exaltation of the women.
Critic Mark Breitenberg commented that the use of idealistic poetry, popularized by Petrarch
Francis Petrarch (; 20 July 1304 – 19 July 1374; ; modern ), born Francesco di Petracco, was a scholar from Arezzo and poet of the early Italian Renaissance, as well as one of the earliest Renaissance humanism, humanists.
Petrarch's redis ...
, effectively becomes the textualized form of the male gaze.[ In describing and idealizing the ladies, the King and his Lords exercise a form of control over women they love. Don Armado also represents masculine desire through his relentless pursuit of Jacquenetta. The theme of desire is heightened by the concern of increasing female sexuality throughout the ]Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
period and the consequent threat of cuckoldry. Politics of love, marriage, and power are equally forceful in shaping the thread of masculine desire that drives the plot.[
]
Reckoning and rationalization
The term 'reckoning' is used in its multiple meanings throughout the Shakespeare canon. In ''Love's Labour's Lost'' in particular, it is often used to signify a moral judgement; most notably, the idea of a final reckoning as it relates to death. Though the play entwines fantasy and reality, the arrival of the messenger to announce the death of the Princess's father ultimately brings this notion to a head. Scholar Cynthia Lewis suggested that the appearance of the final reckoning is necessary in reminding the lovers of the seriousness of marriage.[ The need to settle the disagreement between Navarre and France likewise suggests an instance of reckoning, though this particular reckoning is settled offstage. This is presented in stark contrast to the final scene, in which the act of reckoning cannot be avoided. In acknowledging the consequences of his actions, Don Armado is the only one to deal with his reckoning in a noble manner. The Lords and the King effectively pass judgement on themselves, revealing their true moral character when mocking the players during the representation of the Nine Worthies.][
Similar to reckoning is the notion of rationalization, which provides the basis for the swift change in the ladies' feelings for the men. The ladies are able to talk themselves into falling in love with the men due to the rationalization of the men's purported flaws. Lewis concluded that "the proclivity to rationalize a position, a like, or a dislike, is linked in ''Love's Labour's Lost'' with the difficulty of reckoning absolute value, whose slipperiness is indicated throughout the play."][
]
Reality versus fantasy
Critic Joseph Westlund wrote that ''Love's Labour's Lost'' functions as a "prelude to the more extensive commentary on imagination in ''A Midsummer Night's Dream
''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a Comedy (drama), comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One s ...
''." There are several plot points driven by fantasy and imagination throughout the play. The Lords and the King's declaration of abstinence is a fancy that falls short of achievement. This fantasy rests on the men's idea that the resulting fame will allow them to circumvent death and oblivion, a fantastical notion itself. Within moments of swearing their oath, it becomes clear that their fantastical goal is unachievable given the reality of the world, the unnatural state of abstinence itself, and the arrival of the Princess and her ladies. This juxtaposition ultimately lends itself to the irony and humour in the play.[
The commoners represent the theme of reality and achievement versus fantasy via their production regarding the Nine Worthies. Like the men's fantastical pursuit of fame, the play within a play represents the commoners' concern with fame. The relationship between the fantasy of love and the reality of worthwhile achievement, a popular Renaissance topic, is also utilized throughout the play. Don Armado attempts to reconcile these opposite desires using Worthies who fell in love as model examples.][ Time is suspended throughout the play and is of little substance to the plot. The Princess, though originally "craving quick dispatch," quickly falls under the spell of love and abandons her urgent business. This suggests that the majority of the action takes place within a fantasy world. Only with the news of the Princess's father's death are time and reality reawakened.][
]
Music
Unlike many of Shakespeare's plays, music plays a role only in the final scene of ''Love's Labour's Lost''. The songs of spring and winter, titled "Ver and Hiems" and "The Cuckoo and the Owl", respectively, occur near the end of the play. Given the critical controversy regarding the exact dating of ''Love's Labour's Lost'', there is some indication that "the songs belong to the 1597 additions."
Different interpretations of the meaning of these songs include: optimistic commentary for the future, bleak commentary regarding the recent announcement of death, or an ironic device by which to direct the King and his Lords towards a new outlook on love and life. In keeping with the theme of time as it relates to reality and fantasy, these are seasonal songs that restore the sense of time to the play. Due to the opposing nature of the two songs, they can be viewed as a debate on the opposing attitudes on love found throughout the play.[ Catherine McLay comments that the songs are functional in their interpretation of the central themes in ''Love's Labour's Lost''.][ McLay also suggests that the songs negate what many consider to be a "heretical" ending for a comedy. The songs, a product of traditional comedic structure, are a method by which the play can be " roughtwithin the periphery of the usual comic definition."][
Critic Thomas Berger states that, regardless of the meaning of these final songs, they are important in their contrast with the lack of song throughout the rest of the play.][ In cutting themselves off from women and the possibility of love, the King and his Lords have effectively cut themselves off from song. Song is allowed into the world of the play at the beginning of Act III, after the Princess and her ladies have been introduced and the men begin to fall in love. Moth's song "Concolinel" indicates that the vows will be broken.][ In Act I, Scene II, Moth recites a poem but fails to sing it. Don Armado insists that Moth sing it twice, but he does not. Berger infers that a song was intended to be inserted at this point, but was never written. Had a song been inserted at this point of the play, it would have followed dramatic convention of the time, which often called for music between scenes.][
]
Performance history
The earliest recorded performance of the play occurred at Christmas in 1597 at the Court before Queen Elizabeth. A second performance is recorded to have occurred in 1605, either at the house of the Earl of Southampton or at that of Robert Cecil, Lord Cranborne. The first known production after Shakespeare's era was not until 1839, at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, with Madame Vestris as Rosaline. ''The Times
''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' was unimpressed, stating: "The play moved very heavily. The whole dialogue is but a string of brilliant conceits, which, if not delivered well, are tedious and unintelligible. The manner in which it was played last night destroyed the brilliancy completely, and left a residuum of insipidity which was encumbered rather than relieved by the scenery and decorations." The only other performances of the play recorded in England in the 19th century were at Sadler's Wells in 1857 and the St. James's Theatre
The St James's Theatre was in King Street, St James's, King Street, St James's, London. It opened in 1835 and was demolished in 1957. The theatre was conceived by and built for a popular singer, John Braham (tenor), John Braham; it lost mone ...
in 1886.
Notable 20th-century British productions included a 1936 staging at the Old Vic
Old or OLD may refer to:
Places
*Old, Baranya, Hungary
*Old, Northamptonshire, England
*Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD)
*OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Mai ...
featuring Michael Redgrave as Ferdinand and Alec Clunes as Berowne. In 1949, the play was given at the New Theatre with Redgrave in the role of Berowne. The cast of a 1965 Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...
production included Glenda Jackson
Glenda May Jackson (9 May 1936 – 15 June 2023) was an English actress and politician. Over the course of her distinguished career she received List of awards and nominations received by Glenda Jackson, numerous accolades including two Academy ...
, Janet Suzman
Dame Janet Suzman (born 9 February 1939) is a South African-born British actress who had a successful early career in the Royal Shakespeare Company, later replaying many Shakespearean roles on television. In her first film, '' Nicholas and Alexa ...
and Timothy West
Timothy Lancaster West (20 October 1934 – 12 November 2024) was an English actor with a long and varied career across theatre, film, and television. He began acting in repertory theatres in the 1950s before making his London stage debut in 19 ...
. In 1968, the play was staged by Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier ( ; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director. He and his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud made up a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage of the m ...
for the National Theatre, with Derek Jacobi
Sir Derek George Jacobi (; born 22 October 1938) is an English actor. Known for his roles on stage and screen as well as for his work at the Royal National Theatre, he has received numerous accolades including a Tony Award, a BAFTA Award, two ...
as the Duke and Jeremy Brett
Peter Jeremy William Huggins (3 November 1933 – 12 September 1995), known professionally as Jeremy Brett, was an English actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes from 1984 to 1994 in 41 episodes of a Sherlock Holmes (1984 TV ...
as Berowne. The Royal Shakespeare Company produced the play again in 1994. The critic Michael Billington wrote in his review of the production: "The more I see ''Love's Labour's Lost'', the more I think it Shakespeare's most beguiling comedy. It both celebrates and satisfies linguistic exuberance, explores the often painful transition from youth to maturity, and reminds us of our common mortality."
In late summer 2005, an adaptation of the play was staged in the Dari language in Kabul, Afghanistan by a group of Afghan actors, and was reportedly very well received.
A 2009 staging by Shakespeare's Globe theatre, with artistic direction by Dominic Dromgoole
Dominic Charles Fleming Dromgoole (born 25 October 1963) is an English theatre director and writer about the theatre who has also worked in film.
Early life and education
Dominic Charles Fleming Dromgoole was born on 25 October 1963 in Bristo ...
, toured internationally. Ben Brantley
Benjamin D. Brantley (born October 26, 1954) is an American theater critic, journalist, editor, publisher, and writer. He served as the chief theater critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1996 to 2017, and as co-chief theater critic from 2017 t ...
, in ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', called the production, seen at Pace University
Pace University is a private university with campuses in New York City and Westchester County, New York, United States. It was established in 1906 as a business school by the brothers Homer St. Clair Pace and Charles A. Pace. Pace enrolls about ...
, "sophomoric". He postulated that the play itself "may well be the first and best example of a genre that would flourish in less sophisticated forms five centuries later: the college comedy."
In 2014, the Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...
completed a double-feature in which ''Love's Labour's Lost'', set on the eve of the First World War, is followed by ''Much Ado About Nothing
''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' (W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. ...
'' (re-titled ''Love's Labour's Won''). Dominic Cavendish of the ''Telegraph
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...
'' called it "the most blissfully entertaining and emotionally involving RSC offering I've seen in ages" and remarked that "Parallels between the two works – the sparring wit, the sex-war skirmishes, the shift from showy linguistic evasion to heart-felt earnestness – become persuasively apparent."
Adaptations
Literature
Alfred Tennyson
Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (; 6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of ...
's poem '' The Princess'' (and, by extension, Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900) and to the works they jointly created. The two men collaborated on fourteen com ...
's comic opera ''Princess Ida
''Princess Ida; or, Castle Adamant'' is a comic opera with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It was their eighth operatic collaboration of fourteen; the next was ''The Mikado''. ''Princess Ida'' opened at the Savoy Thea ...
'') is speculated by Gerhard Joseph to have been inspired by ''Love's Labour's Lost''.
Thomas Mann
Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novell ...
in his novel '' Doctor Faustus'' (1943) has the fictional German composer Adrian Leverkühn attempt to write an opera on the story of the play.
Musical theatre, opera, and plays
An opera of the same title as the play was composed by Nicolas Nabokov, with a libretto by W. H. Auden
Wystan Hugh Auden (; 21 February 1907 – 29 September 1973) was a British-American poet. Auden's poetry is noted for its stylistic and technical achievement, its engagement with politics, morals, love, and religion, and its variety in tone, ...
and Chester Kallman, and first performed in 1973.
In the summer of 2013, The Public Theater
The Public Theater is an arts organization in New York City. Founded by Joseph Papp, The Public Theater was originally the Shakespeare Workshop in 1954; its mission was to support emerging playwrights and performers.Epstein, Helen. ''Joe Papp: ...
in New York City presented a musical adaptation of the play as part of their Shakespeare in the Park programming. This production marked the first new Shakespeare-based musical to be produced at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park
Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...
since the 1971 mounting of ''The Two Gentlemen of Verona
''The Two Gentlemen of Verona'' is a Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1589 and 1593. It is considered by some to be Shakespeare's first play, and is often seen as showing his first ten ...
'' with music by Galt MacDermot
Arthur Terence Galt MacDermot (December 18, 1928 – December 17, 2018) was a Canadian-American composer, pianist and writer of musical theater. He won a Grammy Award for the song "African Waltz" in 1960. His most successful musicals were ''Hair ...
. The adaptation of ''Love's Labour's Lost'' featured a score by '' Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson'' collaborators Michael Friedman and Alex Timbers. Timbers also directed the production, which starred Daniel Breaker, Colin Donnell, Rachel Dratch, and Patti Murin, among others.
The 2004 ska musical '' The Big Life'' is based on ''Love's Labour's Lost'', reworked to be about the Windrush generation arriving in London.
Marc Palmieri's 2015 play ''The Groundling'', a farce the ''New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' referred to as "half comedy and half tragedy", was billed as a "meditation on the meaning of the final moments of ''Love's Labour's Lost''".
Film, television and radio
Kenneth Branagh
Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh ( ; born 10 December 1960) is a British actor and filmmaker. Born in Belfast and raised primarily in Reading, Berkshire, Branagh trained at RADA in London and served as its president from 2015 to 2024. List of award ...
's 2000 film adaptation relocated the setting to the 1930s and attempted to make the play more accessible by turning it into a musical. The film was a box office disappointment.
The play was one of the last works to be recorded for the BBC Television Shakespeare
The ''BBC Television Shakespeare'' is a series of British television adaptations of Shakespeare's plays, the plays of William Shakespeare, created by Cedric Messina and broadcast by BBC Television. Transmitted in the UK from 3 December 1978 to ...
project, broadcast in 1985. The production set events in the eighteenth century, the costumes and sets being modeled on the paintings of Jean-Antoine Watteau
Jean-Antoine Watteau (, , ; baptised 10 October 1684died 18 July 1721) Alsavailablevia Oxford Art Online (subscription needed). was a French Painting, painter and Drawing, draughtsman whose brief career spurred the revival of interest in colour ...
. This was the only instance in the project of a work set in a period after Shakespeare's death. The play is featured in an episode of the British TV show, ''Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...
''. The episode, entitled ''The Shakespeare Code
"The Shakespeare Code" is the second episode of the third series of the revived British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It was broadcast on BBC One on 7 April 2007. According to the BARB figures this episode was seen by 7.23 mi ...
'', focuses on Shakespeare himself and a hypothetical follow-up play, ''Love's Labour's Won'', whose final scene is used as a portal for alien witches to invade Earth. All copies of this play disappear along with the witches.
BBC Radio 3 aired a radio adaptation on 16 December 1946, directed by Noel Illif, with music by Gerald Finzi
Gerald Raphael Finzi (14 July 1901 – 27 September 1956) was a British composer. Finzi is best known as a choral composer, but also wrote in other genres. Large-scale compositions by Finzi include the cantata '' Dies natalis'' for solo voice and ...
scored for a small chamber orchestra. The cast included Paul Scofield
David Paul Scofield (21 January 1922 – 19 March 2008) was an English actor. During a six-decade career, Scofield achieved the Triple Crown of Acting, winning an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Tony Award for his work. Scofield ...
. The music was subsequently converted into an orchestral suite. BBC Radio 3 aired another radio adaptation on 22 February 1979, directed by David Spenser, with music by Derek Oldfield. The cast included Michael Kitchen as Ferdinand; John McEnery as Berowne; Anna Massey
Anna Raymond Massey (11 August 19373 July 2011) was an English actress. She won a British Academy Film Awards, BAFTA Best Actress Award for the role of Edith Hope in the Hotel du Lac (film), 1986 TV adaptation of Anita Brookner's novel ''Hotel ...
as the Princess of France; Eileen Atkins
Dame Eileen June Atkins (born 15 June 1934) is an English actress. She has worked in the theatre, film, and television consistently since 1953. In 2008, she won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress and the Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting ...
as Rosaline; and Paul Scofield
David Paul Scofield (21 January 1922 – 19 March 2008) was an English actor. During a six-decade career, Scofield achieved the Triple Crown of Acting, winning an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Tony Award for his work. Scofield ...
as Don Adriano.
A modern-language adaptation of the play, titled ''Groups of Ten or More People'', was released online by Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
-based company Littlebrain Theatre in July 2020. This adaptation, set during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, was filmed entirely over the digital conferencing program Zoom.
Notes
Editions
* Bate, Jonathan and Rasmussen, Eric (eds.) ''Love's Labour's Lost'' (The RSC Shakespeare; London: Macmillan, 2008)
* Arthos, John (ed.) ''Love's Labour's Lost'' (Signet Classic Shakespeare; New York: Signet, 1965; revised edition, 1988; 2nd revised edition 2004)
* Carroll, William C. (ed.) ''Love's Labour's Lost'' (The New Cambridge Shakespeare; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009)
* David, Richard T. (ed.) ''Love's Labour's Lost'' (The Arden Shakespeare, 2nd Series; London: Arden, 1951)
* Furness, H.H. (ed.) ''Love's Labour's Lost'' (A New Variourm Edition of Shakespeare; Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1904)
* Evans, G. Blakemore (ed.) '' The Riverside Shakespeare'' (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1974; 2nd edn., 1997)
* Greenblatt, Stephen; Cohen, Walter; Howard, Jean E. and Maus, Katharine Eisaman (eds.) ''The Norton Shakespeare: Based on the Oxford Shakespeare'' (London: Norton, 1997)
* Harbage, Alfred (ed.) ''Love's Labour's Lost'' (The Pelican Shakespeare; London: Penguin, 1963; revised edition 1973)
* Hart, H.C. (ed.) ''Love's Labour's Lost'' (The Arden Shakespeare, 1st Series; London: Arden, 1906)
* Hibbard, G.R. (ed.) ''Love's Labour's Lost'' (The Oxford Shakespeare; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990)
* Holland, Peter (ed.) ''Love's Labour's Lost'' (The Pelican Shakespeare, 2nd Edition; London: Penguin, 2000)
* Kerrigan, John (ed.) ''Love's Labour's Lost'' (The New Penguin Shakespeare; London: Penguin, 1982; revised edition 1996)
* Quiller-Couch, Arthur and Dover Wilson, John (eds.) ''Love's Labour' Lost'' (The New Shakespeare; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1923; 2nd edn. edited by Dover Wilson only, 1962)
* Walton, Nicholas (ed.) ''Love's Labour's Lost'' (The New Penguin Shakespeare 2nd edition; London: Penguin, 2005)
* Wells, Stanley; Taylor, Gary; Jowett, John and Montgomery, William (eds.) ''The Oxford Shakespeare: The Complete Works'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1986; 2nd ed., 2005)
* Werstine, Paul and Mowat, Barbara A. (eds.) ''Love's Labour's Lost'' (Folger Shakespeare Library
The Folger Shakespeare Library is an independent research library on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., United States. It has the world's largest collection of the printed works of William Shakespeare, and is a primary repository for rare materia ...
; Washington: Simon & Schuster, 1996)
*
External links
*
*
*
''Love's Labour's Lost''
at British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...
''Love's Labour's Lost''
at Shakespeare Birthplace Trust
The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust (SBT) is an independent registered educational charity based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England, that came into existence in 1847 following the purchase of William Shakespeare's birthplace for preser ...
*
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1590s plays
English Renaissance plays
British plays adapted into films
Fiction set in the 1570s
Shakespearean comedies
Plays about kings