Love's Labour's Lost
'Love's Labour's Lost' Summary
Ferdinand, King of Navarre, 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 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, 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.
Book Details
Author
William Shakespeare
United Kingdom
William Shakespeare was born on April 23, 1564, in Stratford-upon-Avon. The son of John Shakespeare and Mary Arden, he was probably educated at the King Edward VI Grammar School in Stratford, where he...
More on William ShakespeareDownload eBooks
Listen/Download Audiobook
Related books
The Devil is an Ass by Ben Jonson
In a world where greed and corruption rule, one man is determined to outwit the devil himself. Ben Jonson's The Devil is an Ass is a satirical comedy...
A Night Off; or A Page From Balzac by Augustin Daly
There are a number of subplots going on in this play. The Professor has unearthed a play that he wrote back in his University days. He has read it to...
The Two Gentlemen of Verona by William Shakespeare
As the play begins, Valentine is preparing to leave Verona for Milan so as to broaden his horizons. He begs his best friend, Proteus, to come with him...
The Belle's Stratagem by Hannah Cowley
The Belle's Stratagem is a romantic comedy of manners, the most successful work of its playwright, Hannah Cowley. It received its premiere on 22 Febru...
Cupid's Whirligig by Edward Sharpham
When Cupid strikes, no one is safe, not even a jealous husband. Cupid's Whirligig is a city comedy by Edward Sharpham, first published in 1607. The p...
Hay Fever by Noël Coward
Hay Fever is a comic play written by Noël Coward in 1924. Its first production was in the West End in 1925 with Marie Tempest as Judith Bliss. A cross...
Miles Gloriosus; The Braggart Captain by Titus Maccius Plautus
Pleusicles loves Philocomasium, but she is kidnapped by Pyrgopolinices. Palaestrio, faithful servant to Pleusicles, witnesses this and goes to tell hi...
Mucedorus by William Shakespeare
The play opens with an induction that consists of a meta-theatrical flyting between the allegorical personifications Comedy and Envy. Envy declares th...
Lady Frederick, a Comedy in Three Acts by W. Somerset Maugham
It is a witty and entertaining comedy in three acts that tells the story of a woman's struggle to maintain her independence and identity in the face o...
The Emperor of the Moon by Aphra Behn
The Emperor of the Moon is a Restoration farce written by Aphra Behn in 1687, based on Italian commedia dell'arte. It was Behn's second most successfu...
Reviews for Love's Labour's Lost
No reviews posted or approved, yet...