Sign-In
Cart
Love's Labour's Lost: A Comedy of Wit, Language, and Unfulfilled Intentions
Paperback
ISBN13: 9781627555388
Publisher: Wilder Publications
Published: Nov 11 2013
Pages: 108
Weight: 0.37
Height: 0.26 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
A refined early comedy of language, wit, and the instability of human intention, centred on the tension between study and desire.
In Love's Labour's Lost, William Shakespeare constructs a carefully balanced comedy in which a group of noblemen, having sworn to devote themselves to study and abstinence, find their resolve tested by the arrival of the Princess of France and her companions. What begins as an intellectual exercise soon gives way to courtship, misdirection, and the inevitable collapse of carefully declared intentions.
The play is distinguished by its elaborate language and intricate wordplay, with characters engaging in displays of wit that both reveal and obscure their true motives. Beneath its surface comedy lies a more considered examination of the limits of reason, the nature of desire, and the difficulty of reconciling idealised aims with lived experience.
As one of Shakespeare's earlier comedies, Love's Labour's Lost demonstrates his developing interest in linguistic form and social interaction. Its conclusion, notably restrained when compared to later comedies, reflects a more complex understanding of time, expectation, and the postponement of resolution.
The play remains a significant work within the Shakespearean canon, valued for its verbal ingenuity, structural precision, and its exploration of the relationship between intellect and emotion.
31 different editions
Also available
Love's Labour's Lost: (Annotated by Henry N. Hudson with an Introduction by Charles Harold Herford)
Shakespeare, William
Paperback
Loves Labours Lost: 0ne of the most delightful and stageworthy of Shakespeare's comedies
Shakespeare, William
Paperback
Also in
Shakespeare
Four Comedies: The Taming of the Shrew, a Midsummer Night's Dream, the Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night
Shakespeare, William
Paperback
Much ADO about Nothing: No Fear Shakespeare Side-By-Side Plain English
Sparknotes
Shakespeare, William
Paperback
Twelfth Night: No Fear Shakespeare Side-By-Side Plain English
Sparknotes
Shakespeare, William
Paperback
Romeo and Juliet: No Fear Shakespeare Side-By-Side Plain English
Sparknotes
Shakespeare, William
Paperback
As You Like It: No Fear Shakespeare Side-By-Side Plain English
Sparknotes
Shakespeare, William
Paperback
A Midsummer Night's Dream: No Fear Shakespeare Side-By-Side Plain English
Sparknotes
Shakespeare, William
Paperback
Julius Caesar: No Fear Shakespeare Side-By-Side Plain English
Shakespeare, William
Sparknotes
Paperback
Hamlet: No Fear Shakespeare Deluxe Student Editions - Shakespeare Side-By-Side Plain English
Sparknotes
Shakespeare, William
Paperback
Macbeth: No Fear Shakespeare Deluxe Student Editions - Shakespeare Side-By-Side Plain English
Shakespeare, William
Sparknotes
Paperback
Romeo and Juliet: No Fear Shakespeare Deluxe Student Editions - Shakespeare Side-By-Side Plain English
Sparknotes
Shakespeare, William
Paperback
A Midsummer Night's Dream: No Fear Shakespeare Deluxe Student Editions - Shakespeare Side-By-Side Plain English
Sparknotes
Shakespeare, William
Paperback
Julius Caesar: No Fear Shakespeare Deluxe Student Editions - Shakespeare Side-By-Side Plain English
Sparknotes
Shakespeare, William
Paperback
Romeo and Juliet: The New Oxford Shakespeare
Connor, Francis X.
Shakespeare, William
August, Hannah
Paperback
Twelfth Night: No Fear Shakespeare Deluxe Student Editions - Shakespeare Side-By-Side Plain English
Shakespeare, William
Sparknotes
Paperback
Othello: No Fear Shakespeare Deluxe Student Editions - Shakespeare Side-By-Side Plain English
Shakespeare, William
Sparknotes
Paperback
Merchant of Venice: No Fear Shakespeare Deluxe Student Editions - Shakespeare Side-By-Side Plain English
Sparknotes
Shakespeare, William
Paperback
The Merchant of Venice: No Fear Shakespeare Side-By-Side Plain English
Shakespeare, William
Sparknotes
Paperback
Titus Andronicus: The New Oxford Shakespeare
Shakespeare, William
McCarthy, Harry R.
Taylor, Gary
Paperback
Botanical Shakespeare: An Illustrated Compendium of All the Flowers, Fruits, Herbs, Trees, Seeds, and Grasses Cited by the World's Greatest Playwright
Quealy, Gerit
Collins, Sumie Hasegawa
Hardcover
Measure for Measure: The New Oxford Shakespeare
Bourus, Terri
Shakespeare, William
Whipday, Emma
Paperback
The History of King Lear: The Oxford Shakespearethe History of King Lear
Shakespeare, William
Paperback
Othello: The Moor of Venice: The Oxford Shakespeareothello: The Moor of Venice
Shakespeare, William
Paperback
King Lear: No Fear Shakespeare Deluxe Student Editions - Shakespeare Side-By-Side Plain English
Sparknotes
Shakespeare, William
Paperback
The Tempest: No Fear Shakespeare Deluxe Student Editions - Shakespeare Side-By-Side Plain English
Sparknotes
Shakespeare, William
Paperback
Julius Caesar: The New Oxford Shakespeare
Shakespeare, William
Neville, Sarah
Adams, Brandi K.
Paperback
Arden of Faversham: The New Oxford Shakespeare
Bourus, Terri
Shakespeare, William
Sheeha, Iman
Paperback
As You Like It: The New Oxford Shakespeare
Connor, Francis X.
Shakespeare, William
Borlik, Todd
Paperback
The School for Wives and the Learned Ladies, by Molière: Two Comedies in an Acclaimed Translation.
Wilbur, Richard
Paperback
A Midsummer Night's Dream: Abridged for Schools and Performance
O'Hara, Kj
Shakespeare, William
Paperback
The Merry Wives of Windsor: The New Oxford Shakespeare
Neville, Sarah
Shakespeare, William
Davies, Callan
Paperback