Love’s Labour’s Lost - “… it were labour lost to speake of Loue."

 Love’s Labour’s Lost  - “… it were labour lost to speake of Loue."

It had been a good start to 1594 with the re-opening of the theatres in spring. The formation of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men using many of the actors from the Lord Strange’s Men  was a turning point for Shakespeare. This company, under the patronage of the Lord Chamberlain Henry Carey, First Baron Hunsdon, meant that the future looked bright for a young playwright like Shakespeare. In fact, Shakespeare had been appointed the official House Playwright of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men early in the year, so he now got a healthy cut of the profits of any of their performances of his plays at the Rose Theatre.

It had been quite a year for theatre. His own ‘The Comedy of Errors’ had been a success and would get some runs in the provinces and maybe a late autumn or winter performance at one of the barrister’s societies or clubs, perhaps even at the ever popular Honourable Society of Gray’s Inn. That would bring in some extra cash. But for Shakespeare, the highlights also probably included two performances he saw early in the season. In April, the combined companies of the Queen Elizabeth’s Men and the Sussex Men put on a curious play called ‘The moste famous Chronicle historye of King Leire of England and his Three Daughters’. Shakespeare thought the story had promise and with more time, he thought he could himself rejig this story later. The other play that blew him away was a revival production at the Rose Theatre by the same company of Marlowe’s ‘The Jew of Malta’.

Shakespeare knew that Marlowe was the master. His stories were new and innovative and Shakespeare knew that he had to at some point write his own original stories rather than re-hashing and improving the stories of others. But the climate for a large tragedy or a histrionic piece didn’t seem quite right to him so soon after the plague. Besides, light comedies seemed all the rage in London at the close of summer. Henslowe would probably pay five to ten pounds up front for another comedy before the end of the season. He also knew he could whip up a comedy in a little over a week and with a week of rehearsal slipped in around other performances, he could have extra money in his pocket in three weeks. More if it moved into the company’s repertoire. So his mind started to dwell on a comedy; a love story based around the words from a poem by John Florio called ‘His Firste Fruites’ written in 1578. Shakespeare had probably read it in a collection of poems he had picked up cheap in the marketplace (along with other collections sold cheap by families of victims of the plague). The lines of the poem that stuck in his head and on his bookshelf were:

"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."

Shakespeare’s ‘Love’s Labour’s Lost’ begins with the Duke of Navarre and his three lords’ quest to devote their lives, for three years, to their academy and their pursuit of learning. They believe this will bring them fame amongst others.

"Let fame, that all hunt after in their lives,

Live regist'red upon our brazen tombs"

And so for three years, they will swear to devote their lives to their academy and their pursuit of learning. Their oath involves fasting, forsaking some sleep and staying away from women. While the lords Longaville and Dumaine want to take the oath without question, Lord Berowne sees the oath as containing,

“… barren tasks, too hard to keep,

Not to see ladies, study, fast, not sleep…"

Berowne foresees that even the Duke himself may have trouble fulfilling the oath since the French Duke’s daughter is about to seek an audience with him.  But in the end, all agree to the oaths of the academy.

Constable Dull enters with a letter and a fool. The letter is from Don Armado. The fool is the aptly named Costard and as the Duke discovers from the letter, Costard has tried to court Jaquenetta and Don Armado has thereby sent Costard to the Duke to be disciplined. Thos of low birth can't court ladies. Costard’s puns and pedantic definitions do him no good. He tries to avoid punishment by maintaining that Jaquenetta is not a wench but a damsel, not a damsel but a virgin, and finally not a virgin but a maid. This all does him no good and he is sentenced to fast on bran and water for a week but the Duke can't cope with Costard's word play so he sends him back to Don Armado.

We then find out that Don Armado is upset with Costard primarily because he himself has great love and desire for Jaquenetta. Confusion ensues when Costard and Jaquenetta arrive back and Don Armado is informed that the Duke himself has sent Costard and Jaquenetta back. As Constable Dull says:

“Sir, the duke's pleasure is, that you keep Costard

safe: and you must suffer him to take no delight

nor no penance; but a' must fast three days a week.

For this damsel, I must keep her at the park: she

is allowed for the day-woman.”

Armado declares his love for Jaquenetta but she promptly leaves, not impressed by these overtures. Moth is then imprisoned with Costard for dubious reasons. Probably he will suffer more from Costard's puns and word plays than from imprisonment itself. Armado laments that the oath will keep him from wooing his love Jaquenetta and he decides that writing sonnets (and plenty of them) is the only way to curb his desire and love itself.

“Assist me, some extemporal god of rhyme,

for I am sure I shall turn sonnet. Devise, wit;

write, pen; for I am for whole volumes in folio.”

Love's Labour's Lost Act 2 – “Beauty is bought by judgment of the eye, not uttered by base sale of chapmen’s tongues.”

I start to realise how much Shakespeare has grown and blossomed as a dramatist by 1594. The language of ‘Love’s Labour’s Lost’ flows, the characters are so whole and he is able to have character and action grow subtly together on stage. Nowhere is this obvious than in the short but dramatically seamless Act 2 of ‘Love’s Labour’s Lost’.

Enter the Princess of France and her female entourage of Rosaline, Maria and Katherine. There is no coincidence that they number the same as the King or Duke of Navarre’s (depending on the edition) academy. Her attendant Boyet, goes to tell the King of her arrival since she has heard of the vows and pronouncement that "no woman may approach his silent court". Of course, with no men around, the ladies share their assessments of the men who have joined the academy and taken the King’s Vow. Maria shows admiration for Lord Longaville when she describes him. Katherine knows Dumaine, while Rosaline describes Berowne as “… a merrier man, within the limit of becoming mirth…”
When Boyet returns, the Princess is told that the King will see her but that he will keep his vows and thus desires her not to come to the palace. Boyet relates that the King will "lodge you in the field". The Princess does not have time to catch her breath when the King arrives. The Princess is greeted by him with “Fair Princess, welcome to the court of Navarre…”

To this she forthrightly retorts that:
“’Fair’ I give thee back again, and ‘welcome’ I have not yet.”

 

The Princess then gets down to business and previous agreements made with his father and the King of France concerning a hundred thousand crowns and who gets Aquitaine are raised. Deciding to take time over this important (but narratively insignificant issue, the King departs but promises he will return the next day with his decision. Then the interesting part of the scene is quickly revealed as Boyet is hassled by each of the King’s fellow academy members for the name of the three Princess’ entourage they are enamoured with.

 

The scene ends with Boyet revealing to the Princess that he truly thinks the King is “infected” with love and “… His heart… with your print impressed.”

Love’s Labour’s Lost  Act 3 – "As swift as lead, sir. . .Is that lead slow which is fired from a gun?"
I imagine Shakespeare worked closely with the actors of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men to develop his scripts in this period, particularly with his comedies. With the joining of companies in 1594 after the plague, Shakespeare probably had the unique opportunity of having 4 or 5 boy actors to play his strong female characters and 2 comic virtuosos or clowns for ‘Love’s Labour’s Lost’. The abundance of comic prowess is used by Shakespeare in Act 3 of this play.

Moth, the page, has a brief rude and witty comic repartee with Armado, his Spanish master. This interlude includes references to prostitutes but also includes comic bantering and clever witticism by Moth around revolving around wordplay and metaphors. This is evident when he says he can deliver a message:
"As swift as lead, sir. . . Is that lead slow which is fired from a gun?"

Armado eventually is able to get Moth to return with the clown Costard, so that Costard can deliver an important letter for Armado. Although Costard has broken his shin, his wit seems to be intact. Armado, Costard and Moth have a long discussion and word play on the nature of riddles and morality. In the end, Armado promises to set Costard free, on the condition that he delivers a letter to Jaquenetta whom Armado loves. Despite loving Jaquenetta himself, Costard is able to momentarily put aside his own love for Jaquenetta when Armado gives him ‘renumeration':
"Renumeration? Oh, that’s the Latin word for three farthings… Why, it is a fairer name than French crown." 

Berowne enters and seeing Costard, he solicits him to deliver a love letter to Rosaline. After some confusion about when he wants the letter delivered, Costard and Berowne come to an agreement and Costard is given the letter and a shilling which Costard mistakenly and literally calls a gardon:
“O sweet gardon! Better than renumeration – elevenpence farthing better."
Berowne is left alone to “…love, sigh, sue, groan…” as he awaits a response to his letter of affection. 

Love's Labour's Lost - Act 4 "... praise we may afford, to any that subdued a lord."

The ability of Shakespeare to use dramatic circumstances and setting to allow the action of the drama and characters to move along seamlessly is evident in this act of 'Love's Labour's Lost'.

The action starts with the Princess hunting in the wood which is both appropriate functionally and metaphorically. Costard enters and gives a letter to her which he thinks is from Berowne to Rosaline. Letters and their arrival, non-arrival and the mixing up of them becomes a crucial dramatic and narrative device in many of Shakespeare's plays (probably as revolutionary to plays in his time as mobile phones are as narrative devices in 21st Century films). The Princess and her man, Boyet, realise that this letter is a love letter from Don Armado to Jaquenetta. Costard has delivered the wrong letter but important details have been revealed to the audience.

In a scene that could be subtitled "... an extemporal epitaph on the death of a deer...", Sir Nathaniel, Holofernes and the Constable Dull discuss whether the Princess has just killed an old or a young deer. Sexual inferences ooze out of the cracks in their prose. Costard enters and again the wrong letter is read out. It is the love letter from Berowne to Rosaline which Costard is promptly ordered to take to the King.

Meanwhile, Berowne is composing a love poem for Rosaline when he hears someone coming and hides. The King enters and reads from a love poem he has secretly written for the Primcess. He hears a noise and hides as well. Longaville enters reading his love poem for Maria when he hears a noise and hides as well. Dumaine reads a love ode he has written for Kate.  After the lyrical procession of love poems and melancholic mangling of vitriolic verse, all reveal themselves and accusations fly. Berowne specifically accuses the others and stepping "... forth to whip hypocrisy..."

But even Berowne has spoken too soon, because Jacquenetta and Costard arrive with the love letter which Berowne wrote to Rosaline. Berowne tears up the letter, but with his name clearly written on the letter, he admits that he too is in love. Acknowledging that they are "all forsworn" to love, the King declares that they have kept their true faith and oath which is the faith and oath of love. Berowne reinforces this with a beautiful long speech about how studies can lead people away from the truest of studies, love and beauty. Berowne's argument and rhetoric convinces everyone including the King, that they must pursue their loves for wisdom's sake, love's sake, men's sake and "... women's sake by whom we men are men..." They then "resolve to win" and "woo" the women they love.

‘Love’s Labour’s Lost’ Act 5 – “… a light heart lives long.”

What a bizarre mix of theatrical styles, events and language forms are evident in Act 5 of ‘Love’s Labour’s Lost’. This is the first time Shakespeare uses the device of a play within a play as we see the supposedly intellectuals practice and rehearse the ‘Nine Worthies’ play they will present. The play within the play seems to take the form of a tableaux catwalk-like presentation similar to the ones evident in masque balls which became popular in various stages in the 1590’s and in the early 1600’s. It also gives us some insight into how plays might have been rehearsed in Shakespeare’s time even though the whole sequence is a parody.

We start with Holofernes and Nathaniel ridiculing Don Armado’s intelligence and his pronunciation of English words. These ‘intellectuals’ are also mocked by he young boy Moth when he whispers to Costard the Clown "They have been at a great feast of languages, and stolen the scraps…” When Armado enters he requests that Holofernes and Nathaniel help him in an “… ostentation, or show, or pageant, or antick…” he has been asked to put on by the King for the Princess and her ladies. And so the play of the ‘Nine Worthies’ is born. Since they do not number nine, some of them will have to play multiple roles. They exit, in need of plenty of rehearsal.

The women enter and the Princess displays the ‘bling’ sent to her by the King. The conversation turns to love and we hear how Katherine’s sister had a man make “her melancholy, sad and heavy, and so she died…” She ends this sad tale with the moral that “… a light heart lives long.” The deluge of love revelations erupts. Rosaline reveals that Berowne has sent verses and portrait, Katherine unveils the gloves and letters that Dumaine has secretly bestowed upon her and Maria divulges that also received a letter from Longaville which was accompanied by some pearls. If this all seems strange, sublime and melodramatic, then the arrival of Boyet informing the ladies that the men are about to arrive and court them dressed as Muscovites makes the scene turn into chaotic farce. The women can do nothing better than to put masks over their faces to further deceive the men.

Of course, each of the gentlemen woos the wrong female (using the by now switched gifts as an indication of their love’s identity) and after the men go, the women express their amazement at the ease with which each man was fooled.

When the men come back as themselves, the women reveal that they weren’t fooled. The ‘Nine Worthies’ play begins to general heckling and derision. When Armado finally enters as Hector, Costard reveals that Jaquenetta is pregnant. In true commedia style, Armado challenges Costard to a duel. At this moment of high farce, the tragic news of the death of the Princess’ father, the King of France is delivered. The Princess is devastated and prepares to leave. The King and the men discard their frivolities and once more declare their love. The King is told by the Princess to live life as a hermit for a year and if he still loves her after that time, she will return his love. The other men are given similar year-long rain checks on their love. It seems that love may be able to just wait.

And so the play ends as “… the wind doth blow…” of the final song of the play within the play that tells of love in all its winter and its spring.