Love's Labour's Lost by William Shakespeare (Book Analysis): Detailed Summary, Analysis and Reading Guide

By Bright Summaries

Unlock the more straightforward side of Love’s Labour’s Lost with this concise and insightful summary and analysis!

This engaging summary presents an analysis of Love’s Labour’s Lost by William Shakespeare, a comedy centred on Ferdinand, the King of Navarre, and three of his closest friends, all of whom decide to swear an oath to avoid the company of women and devote themselves to philosophical study for three years. However, their resolve is shaken when the Princess of France visits the court, and each of them falls in love with a member of her entourage, leading to a series of comic antics and misadventures. Love’s Labour’s Lost is a lesser-known play by William Shakespeare, who is widely considered to be one of the most influential writers in the history of the English language.

Find out everything you need to know about Love’s Labour’s Lost in a fraction of the time!

This in-depth and informative reading guide brings you:

• A complete plot summary
• Character studies
• Key themes and symbols
• Questions for further reflection

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• Language: English
• Publisher: BrightSummaries.com
• Release date: Apr 4, 2019
• ISBN: 9782808017688

Book preview

ENGLISH PLAYWRIGHT AND POET

Born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564.

Died in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1616.

Notable works:

King Lear (1623), play

A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1600), play

Richard III (1597), play

William Shakespeare was an English playwright and poet, and is generally considered the most influential writer in the English language. He worked in several modes including comedy, history, tragedy, the narrative poem and the sonnet, and was active during an extraordinary flowering of creativity during the Elizabethan Renaissance – not just as a playwright, but also as an actor and as the eventual co-owner of the Globe theatre in London. Shakespeare spent 20 years in London, where he wrote all of his famous works and staged them with his own acting company, The King’s Men, and others. Shakespeare’s plays are universal in their scope, as they explore all the complexities of the human experience, from politics to love and death. Played constantly all around the world and revered for their complex characters and deft use of language, Shakespeare’s plays are now considered one of the crowning jewels of English and international literary heritage.

COMIC DRAMA

Genre: play

Reference edition: Shakespeare, W. (1998) Love’s Labour’s Lost. London: The Arden Shakespeare.

1stedition: 1598 (Quarto)

Themes: masculinity and femininity, sex, love, education and learning, literature and language, fantasy and reality, humanity and nature

The young King of Navarre (a medieval kingdom located on the border between