How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Act.Scene.Line)
Quote #1
KING
Our court shall be a little academe (1.1.13)
The King is excited not only by the fame his court will gain from their studies, but also by the camaraderie the vow promises.
Quote #2
LONGAVILLE
I am resolved. 'Tis but a three years' fast.
The mind shall banquet though the body pine. (1.1.25-26)
This is one of many moments in which Shakespeare equates knowledge with food.
Quote #3
BEROWNE
What is the end of study, let me know?
KING
Why, that to know which else we should not know.
BEROWNE
Things hid and barred, you mean, from common
sense? (1.1.56-59)
Berowne introduces the contrast between book learning and life experience. Keep in mind that this is an important theme in the play. Where else do we see this contrast?
Quote #4
BEROWNE
Light seeking light, doth light of light beguile.
So, ere you find where light in darkness lies,
Your light grows dark by losing of your eyes. (1.1.79-81)
In his typically wordy way, Berowne is saying that too much study can make you go blind. This stance is certainly in keeping with his perspective on scholarly pursuits.
Quote #5
KING
How well he's read, to reason against reading. (1.1.96)
Berowne may be exasperating, but the King can't deny his eloquence.
Quote #6
BEROWNE
And though I have for barbarism spoke more
Than for that angel knowledge you can say... (1.1.116-117)
Berowne often seems to win an argument through the sheer volume of words he can spit out. He has the most lines in the play.
Quote #7
KING
that unlettered, small-knowing soul,—
COSTARD
Me? (1.1.253-254)
Almost everyone in the play makes jokes about Costard's ignorance and lack of education, but the erudite lords spend the play learning what the rustic has long known about love.
Quote #8
BEROWNE
For where is author in the world
Teaches such beauty as a woman's eye? (4.3.312-313, Arden Edition)
This rhetorical question is at the heart of the play. Love – and by extension, living life – teaches more than book study.
Why Arden edition? A big chunk of Berowne's monologue is cut from the Folger's edition because it was not in the original draft of the play (and thus of questionable origin).
Quote #9
HOLOFERNES
I abhor
[...]
such rackers of orthography,
as to speak 'dout,' fine, when he should
say 'doubt'; 'det' when he should pronounce
'debt'—d, e, b, t, not d, e, t. (5.1.18; 20-23)
Overly pedantic teachers like Holofernes are why learning and education often get a negative rap.