Love's Labour's Lost: The Oxford Shakespeare

This recording is simply superb. Derek Jacobi as the King of Navarre and Jeremy Brett as Berowne have exquisite voices, and the lively and sweet interactions of all the cast make this special. Berowne gives several speeches on love and life and learning which are soaringly beautiful.

Love's Labour's Lost by William Shakespeare is in all probability composed of many inside jokes and the cast of characters may have had attributes or characteristics and maybe even been burlesqued in the play as caricatures of the very people who were viewing it. People like the Earl of Southampton and John Florio, among others. The Spaniard's name "Armado" is likely a jest on the recently sunk Spanish "Armada" and Asimov muses that this charactor is like a sketch of the famous Don Quiote with his commoner servant, named "Moth", having much more wit and sense than the padantic Armado which Cervantes may heve copied, however improbable; this play is likely written 6 years before Don Quiote. Asimov's Guide to Shakespeare: A Guide to Understanding and Enjoying the Works of Shakespeare. The central idea is what is learning? (The Earl of Southampton, who the play was likely intended for was very interested in learning and in education of all England). Is learning meant to produce a man like Holoferness who can barely be understood by the common man? Is learning for learning sake like light shining on light for no real overall gain but to be blind in it, like Holoferness. Or, as suggested, is the man who possesses the learning, and his actions, the measure of the worth of learning. Is learning to be found in doing and in nature and in woo-ing? Indeed, the master of words and word smithery symbolically smashes his guitar, cuts his ear off, throws his paints against the wall in comic anger at the very realization of the limits of words to pierce the soul and the essence of being. Maybe Shakespeare mocks, here, certain types of learn-ed and masters of language bringing to light the need for action to make learning real in the world, which may have been the Earl of Southhampton's educational theme. Shakepeare has a masters ability to paint but a deep appreciation for the simple and straightforward and real. The play also gives much credit to the good common sense of the English language "sans sans" and clothed in good peasant stuff. Only Hamlet possibly gives a more intimate look at Shakespeare. Goddard warns, however, not to make too much out of the play it is highly elusive and we may never know Shakespeare's intent. He leaves it to you. The Meaning of Shakespeare Vol. 1 The movie with Kenneth Braughnow Love's Labour's Lost was pretty terrible. The BBC production Love's Labour's Lost Plays: Written by William Shakespeare BBC was good, John Well's performance of Holofornes was subtly dignified, yet ridiculous without trying, which was probably Shakespeare intent. Kenneth Broughnow's version was absurd, lacked the subtlety, it tried too hard to make the obvious funny, like some laugh track to tell the audience something is supposed to be funny. Plus it left a lot out. The BBC version is thorough and one could get a clear understanding of the play after watching it.

The Folger Library editions are absolutely the best for scholarship, due to their extensive notation. My preference for Love's Labor's Lost is for the Pelican Books version, with sufficient but abreviated notation. The lighter notation gives wings to Shakespeare's most ponderous romantic comedy. This is the story of three gentlemen who pledge themselves to three years of intellectual rigor in the court of the King of Navarre, who joins them in their sober enterprise. When the four of them determine that their scholarship must not be interupted by vice, the reader readily understands that their ill-considered commitments can only end in ribald hippocracy. Temptation arrives immediately in the form of the Princess of France and her three ladies in waiting. The story moves along more or less predictably, though in a style that is almost a parody of Shakespeare. There are scores of allusions, silly, bawdy, and sharp, which apparently would have been recognized by the audience of the time, but which have not travelled well through the intervening four centuries. The result is five acts of mostly turgid iambic pentameter, interrupted by some lilting, if not particularly memorable lines. Such as when Dumaine and Berone start and finish one another's thoughts: Dumaine: In reason nothing. Berone: Something then in rhyme. Dumaine: How follows that? Berone: Fit in his place and time. And here are some usages and allusions which you might need to pause to look up: "misprision" = error "woodcock" = stupidity "festinately" = quickly "dig you den" = give you good evening "intellect" = purport "jerks of invention" = strokes of wit "in print" = to the letter One of the few lines for which the book is known is, "Where fair is not, praise cannot mend the brow," meaning that compliments cannot make an unattractive person less so. All in all, Love's Labor's Lost is unlikely to become anyone's favorite Shakespearean comedy. It is for the advanced reader who is willing to take the time to penetrate the subliminal and archaic humor. For that dedicated reader, however, it is worth the effort.

One of Shakespeare's earlier comedies, "Love's Labour's Lost" does not even hold a candle to some of the Bard's greatest comedic works (A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Tempest, The Winter's Tale). Yet, for all its lack of blazing greatness, the play is indeed a joyful diversion.The plot is that of a philosopher's paradise being invaded by the most nefarious of things...love. Shakespeare means many things when he speaks of love: often it can be shallow, bawdy lecherous love, sometimes it is an almost Petrachan yearning "courtly" love, once in a while it is a self destructive, clasping, obsessive love. Here it is pretty much straight-up attraction of the "hey, I'd like to marry you" variety.As the noble, well-meaning but unable to restrain themselves philosopher's fall for the beauties of this tale, many awkward situations occur. Much of the humor here is of this vein. Plays on words and outrageous situations provide most of the laughs.For fans of Shakespeare, I wholeheartedly endorse this great play. For beginners, I recommend starting with one of the plays mentioned above.

Be forewarned. Even if you have read a lot of Shakespeare's plays, this one is difficult and demands much effort to follow. But, if you can push yourself into reading this, it is well worth the time. Shakespeare himself performed the role of Berowne. While this is a comedy, the humour relies on irony as opposed to funny events. Also, unlike his other comedies, this one does not end in utter happieness. The interaction of the characters, as well as the situation comedy (especially in 4.3) is quite memorable. This comedy differs significantly from most of his others, but it is a wonderful piece of literature.