" LOVE'S LABOUR'S
LOST gives us entrée into a Renaissance-era lifestyle-of-the-rich-and-famous,
golden world of beautiful people
—young, attractive, clever, sophisticated people—who
ultimately sense that beauty really resides in the soul
and must be cultivated there."
—Felicia Hardison Londre
There is some debate as to when LOVE'S LABOUR'S LOST was
written, as it is believed there was a draft prior to being
published in the First Quarto in 1598. The first draft may
have been written as early as 1578 with revisions penned
sometime between 1593 and 1595. Regardless of when LOVE'S
LABOUR'S LOST was
written, it is clear that this play was Shakespeare's first
realization of his true verbal prowess. This marks the beginning
of the High or Lyrical plays of 1595 to 1597, which include
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, ROMEO AND JULIET, RICHARD II
and THE MERCHANT OF VENICE. LOVE'S LABOUR'S LOST is also
the first of only three plays, including A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S
DREAM and THE TEMPEST, in Shakespeare's canon that has no
direct literary source.
The public and critical view of LOVE'S LABOUR'S LOST has
been changed radically from generation to generation. With
the sophisticated wordplay in the dialogue, it can be assumed
that LOVE'S LABOUR'S LOST was written specifically for a
noble class audience, and perhaps like MIDSUMMER, commissioned
for a particular event. Early records of the play would
support this fact, with few noted performances in the years
following its creation. The few references available (found
in journals and letters) did not provide high praise, and
in the centuries that followed, LOVE'S LABOUR'S LOST disappeared
from the stage altogether. It is, in fact, the only Shakespeare
play that was not performed at any time during the 18th
century—a disappointing 235-year hiatus for one of
the Bard's most joyous and challenging works. When it was
"dusted off" in 1839, it once more received less
than favorable reviews.
"One of the worst of Shakespeare's plays, nay I think
I may say the very worst... (with a) well contrived plot
device and some pretty reflections however."
—Gildon, 1710
"Much of it so vulgar that it ought not have been performed
before a maiden queen... though it has many sparks of genius."
—Samuel Johnson, 1765
It was not until the 20th (and early 21st) century that
LOVE'S LABOUR'S LOST found the prominence it so rightly
deserves. A joyous and dexterous display of linguistic gymnastics,
the play is now seen by many as the highpoint of Shakespeare's
verbal abilities. Concocting puns, rhymes and riddles, allusions,
logic and wit with a childlike abandon, Shakespeare penned
a masterwork that is only now truly being appreciated.
"... A festival of language, and exuberant fireworks
display in which Shakespeare seems to seek the limits of
his verbal resources, and discovers that there are none."
—Harold Bloom
"LOVE'S LABOUR'S LOST is a witty, lively, romantic
comedy that contains some of the most exuberant and fantastic
language Shakespeare ever composed."
—Eric Mowat
