Who is Worthy?

What Shakespeare is complete without a play within a play? Love's Labor's Lost is no different. When the lords and ladies must be entertained out come the players. However in the case of this play the actors are mocked to such a high degree that they are unable to get more than a few lines out. The begin to present themselves as the nine worthies. In the Middle Ages this was a masque or a pageant in which three Jews, three Pagans, and three Christians were presented. While Shakespeare doesn't portray the typical nine worthies, real shocker there, there is enough presented to show the audience what is supposed to be happening. And like the play itself, the nine worthies production has no proper ending.

For a complete list of the worthies:
ORO Nine Worthies

Bullseye!

One of the more fascinating scenes of this play is the archery scene. Having someone actually fire an arrow on stage in Shakespeare's day would have been amazing to see, but even today an audience would be on the edge of their seat. A bow is a weapon and is therefore dangerous. Having been a certified archery instructor I can tell you that it takes a long time to master the craft as with any hobby.

Should there be an actual firing of a bow for this production I highly recommend the use of a fight choreographer and of a certified, level 3 archery instructor. Like any other stage combat, staged archery can be controlled and executed safely. Here is a short video on stage archery, specifically as it applies to Love's Labor's Lost.

It's All About the Sex

As with most of Shakespeare's comedies, Love's Labor's Lost is littered with sexual innuendoes. However, the play seems to have more than usual. Patricia Parker takes a closer look in her article 'Preposterous Reversals: Love's Labor's Lost'. In the article she discusses the variety of sexual humor but moves on to the absolutely obscene. Shakespeare, it seems in this play, has resorted to poop jokes.

For further reading:
Preposterous Reversals: Love's Labor's Lost

Parker, Patricia. "Preposterous Reversals: Love's Labor's Lost." Modern Language Quarterly. 54.4 (1993): 435-482. Print.

Henry of Navarre

The men of Love's Labor's Lost are Navarre (also called Ferdinand), Berowne, Dumaine, and Longaville. And while the events of the play may be fictitious, these characters are not. Navarre is Henry of Navarre who would become Henry IV of France about the time that the play was written. He had three noblemen in his company; the baron de Biron, the duc de Longueville, and the duc de Mayenne. (pg. 227-228)

Shakespeare, William. "Love's Labor's Lost." FOLGER Shakespeare Library. Ed. Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. New York, NY: Washington Square Press, 1996. Print.

For further reading of the exploits of Henry IV:
ORO Henry IV

Remuneration!

Money is referred to often in Love's Labor's Lost. Specifically Costard makes a reference to a three farthing coin he calls "remuneration." Here is a picture of the three farthing coin.

Notice the cross on the tails side of the coin. This is referred to in Act 1, Scene 2 by Armado's page in line 33, "He speaks the mere contrary; crosses love not him." The page seems to be simply implying that Armado's face is not on the coin, but could also be stating that Armado is having financial difficulties. 

As to the three farthing coin, a farthing is one quarter of an English penny. Three farthings today would be the equivalent of about $12.77. The 200 thousand crowns used to purchase Aquitaine in the play would be the equivalent to about $204 million dollars.

www.measuringworth.com/ppoweruk/

Love's Labor's Dialogue Lost Part II

One of the evidences that Love's Labor's Lost was written for a specific audience is the dialogue itself. Specifically the use of wordplay. Because the play uses an extraordinary amount of banter it is unfortunately difficult to follow. C.L. Barber, author of Shakespeare's Festive Comedy: A Study of Dramatic Form and its Relation to Social Custom, had this to say on the specific and extraordinary amount of banter:

"This kind of thing does weigh down parts of the play; it is dated by catering to a contemporary rage, a failure rare in Shakespeare's works, and one that suggests that he was writing for a special audience."

The fact that there is also an exuberant amount of verse, as the men attempt to woo their potential lovers, helps to aid the idea of audience catering and the cutting of such dialogue may be beneficial to a modern audience.

Barber, C.L. Shakespeare's Festive Comedy: A Study of Dramatic Form and its Relation to Social Custom. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1959. 95-99. Print.

Love's Labor's Dialogue Lost

Love's Labor's Lost as we all know is not a very well known Shakespearean comedy. A large reason for this is the dialogue. Having many inside jokes and many references that have been lost through the ages, it is difficult to understand what is being said most of the time. In particular, the scenes featuring Latin can be troublesome. Kenneth Branagh, renowned Shakespearean actor and director of the 2000 film version of Love's Labor's Lost had some interesting things to say on the subject.

Navarre vs. Aquitaine

The play Love's Labor's Lost revolves around The King of Navarre and the Princess of France. The entire purpose of their meeting is so that the King may purchase the land of Aquitaine. To better help the negotiations scene I have included some links that may aid in the understanding of what's going on.

The Kingdom of Navarre.
Navarre ORO Reference

The Land of Aquitaine

Aquitaine ORO Reference

As you can see the King is clearly attempting to expand the borders of his kingdom. It is also a sizable loss to France and according to Oxford Reference Online, a rich source of wine. It is no wonder then that it's worth is two hundred thousand crowns in the play. 

A Pleasant Conceited Comedy

For this production of Shakespeare's Love's Labor's Lost, I thought it best to look into some of the background of the play itself. Apparently the play is pivotal in the theory of there being a lost Quarto of Shakespeare's plays, including Love's Labor's Lost and Romeo and Juliet. The most crucial of the evidence presented is that of the title page of the play in the first quarto.

As the page says, "Newly corrected and augmented" implying that there is a previous copy somewhere else. On a side note, this is the first time Shakespeare's name was printed acknowledging him as a playwright. The page also shows that the play had previously been performed for the Queen the previous Christmas. Due to many inside jokes in the play, it is rumored that the play was likely written for a private audience, so don't feel bad if you don't get a couple of the jokes.

For further reading on the subject, a little more than a third of the way down. The date is 1598.

Shakespeare's Life and Times