56 pages 1 hour read

William Shakespeare

Love's Labour's Lost

Fiction | Play | Adult | Published in 1598

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Themes

The Masculine Pursuit of Love

In Love’s Labour’s Lost, William Shakespeare examines the value and legitimacy of the masculine pursuit of love. The initial oath sworn by the men devalues the pursuit of love compared to pious intellectual pursuit. However, Berowne argues against this, and later all four Lords commit to the notion that pursuing love should be their paramount aim. Berowne suggests that love is the most valuable type of knowledge, arguing that women “are the books, the arts, the academes / That show, contain, and nourish all the world” (4.3.346-47). Shakespeare leans into the romantic idea central to many of his works that love enriches and inspires.

The four Lords embody a masculine pursuit of love typical of the literary and theatrical conventions of the period: They write sonnets and gift the women tokens of their affection. They hyperbolize the beauty of the women they are pursuing, and the way this love has altered their lives. For example, in the sonnets they read in 4.3, Berowne highlights the absurdity of Dumaine and Longaville’s heightened language, describing a romantic ideal to which a real person could never live up: “This is the liver vein, which makes flesh a deity” (4.3.74-75). However, this is laden with dramatic

blurred text

blurred text

Related Titles

By William Shakespeare

Study Guide
logo

All's Well That Ends Well

William Shakespeare

All's Well That Ends Well

William Shakespeare

STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE
logo

A Midsummer Night's Dream

William Shakespeare

A Midsummer Night's Dream

William Shakespeare

Study Guide
logo

Antony and Cleopatra

William Shakespeare

Antony and Cleopatra

William Shakespeare

STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE
logo

As You Like It

William Shakespeare

As You Like It

William Shakespeare

Study Guide
logo

Coriolanus

William Shakespeare

Coriolanus

William Shakespeare

Plot Summary
logo

Cymbeline

William Shakespeare

Cymbeline

William Shakespeare

Study Guide
logo

Hamlet

William Shakespeare

Hamlet

William Shakespeare

Study Guide
logo

Henry IV, Part 1

William Shakespeare

Henry IV, Part 1

William Shakespeare

Plot Summary
logo

Henry IV, Part 2

William Shakespeare

Henry IV, Part 2

William Shakespeare

Study Guide
logo

Henry V

William Shakespeare

Henry V

William Shakespeare

Plot Summary
logo

Henry VIII

William Shakespeare

Henry VIII

William Shakespeare

Plot Summary
logo

Henry VI, Part 1

William Shakespeare

Henry VI, Part 1

William Shakespeare

Plot Summary
logo

Henry VI, Part 3

William Shakespeare

Henry VI, Part 3

William Shakespeare

STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE
logo

Julius Caesar

William Shakespeare

Julius Caesar

William Shakespeare

Plot Summary
logo

King John

William Shakespeare

King John

William Shakespeare

STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE
logo

King Lear

William Shakespeare

King Lear

William Shakespeare

STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE
logo

Macbeth

William Shakespeare

Macbeth

William Shakespeare

Study Guide
logo

Measure For Measure

William Shakespeare

Measure For Measure

William Shakespeare

STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE
logo

Much Ado About Nothing

William Shakespeare

Much Ado About Nothing

William Shakespeare

Study Guide
logo

Othello

William Shakespeare

Othello

William Shakespeare