Love's Labour's Lost Analysis

Rich or poor, the men in the play need people to look up to. The motif of heroes recurs again and again – go to "Shout Outs" for a running list. At one point Armado asks Moth what other great...

Navarre is a region in Northern Spain, but that doesn't really matter. What matters is that this play takes place outside. In Shakespeare's comedies, outside means freedom, fun, and sexual chemistr...

Is Love's Labour's Lost a comedy? Berowne sure doesn't think so. Think about when he says: "These ladies' courtesy / Might well have made our sport a comedy" (5.2.948-949).On the other hand, the pl...

The tone of Love's Labour's Lost is strongly influenced by its setting: how can you be anything but cheerful in idyllic nature? These characters are on one long picnic/barbeque/camping trip.Until t...

Witty banter is almost another character in this play. Seriously: the plot just seems like an excuse for Shakespeare to indulge his taste and talent for putting words together. Have you ever seen s...

This one is a head-scratcher for students and scholars alike, the whole world over. The first issue is a purely practical one: how do you spell the dang thing, anyway? Is it Love's Labors Lost? Lov...

Someone who hasn't seen or read this play might be surprised at the ending. After several extended wooing sessions, many sighs, far more love poems than we thought possible, a masque and a play-wit...

Like a lot of Shakespeare, Love's Labour's Lost is much harder to read than it is to see on stage. Why? In a word: wordplay. Battles of wits are huge in this play, and you often just won't get the...

The King of Navarre and his men take an oath.The play opens with the King, Berowne, Longaville and Dumain putting in writing what they've already agreed to do: study for three years, abstain from w...

The noblemen of Navarre take a life-denying vow in favor of hardcore learning.These lords want to reject everything that gives pleasure: food, women and sleep. In their youthful eagerness to unde...

The King of Navarre and his pals take an oath to swear off women. Their resolve is tested when the Princess of France and her women arrive on the scene.The men go through elaborate rituals of wooin...

Navarre is real! Explore the photos and culture of the play's setting here.

This play is all about romance: wanting it bad and figuring out how to get it. These lords fall in love with the ladies at first sight—this is not intellectual love we're talking about; it's raw...

Cupid (2.1) – the god of love. Kind of the patron saint of this play.Nestor (4.3) – a kind king Argus (3.1) – a giant with 100 eyesJove (4.3) – god of sky and thunderJuno (4.3) – goddess...