Critical Studies From 1980 to Present
Susan Ragusa 2003

As rivers will never run dry, the criticism of William Shakespeare's work will keep flowing. Although scholars tend to remain on the well-beaten track of studying the commonly known works such as Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, or Hamlet, some do dare to step into the realm of those lesser read such as Love's Labour's Lost. The research done in the past twenty years has been quite extensive and varied since the interpretations and theories to the purpose of this play have not been completely exhausted.

In contrast to many of Shakespeare's works, Love's Labour's Lost it is believed to be the first one he wrote with no collaboration and appears to have no source for the plot. Typically he transformed different sources into his own creation of a play. The exceptions to this are the few plays that he may have written for a special event such as a wedding or court occurrence as to create a plot as appropriate as possible for the occasion and audience. Other plays rumored to be of this persuasion include A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Merry Wives of Windsor. It is also believed that this may have been his first comedy and was treated as an experimental piece that resulted in few permanent results either technically or intellectually.(Campbell 83) Perhaps this is why there are not any other plays similar to this style; this may have been a play written strictly for Shakespeare's own entertainment value or a special presentation for an event.

The thought and language usage has been studied quite extensively in Love's Labour's Lost. Vickers asserts that a sense of confusion is brought upon the reader due to the "overall incongruity of Derridian methods being employed."(210) In other words, Shakespeare uses a style in which "the center is not the center and coherence is constituted in contradiction."(211) We see contradiction in the satire of the plot itself. The play begins with Ferdinand, Biron, Longueville and Dumaine accepting an oath of abstinence for the pursuit of knowledge. This plan is completely forgotten once the Princess of France arrives with Rosaline, Maria, and Katherine. The men are drawn to the women as if they never took an oath. We are immediately struck by the humor of the situation that has been set up in the overall ridiculousness. It is quite possible that no sense is to be made especially in analyzing the language usage in what could be called "A Comedy of Grammars…in the grotesque gallery of linguistic oddballs."(Vickers 211) It is not apparent if these "oddballs" are within the language or in the characters speaking, but it could conceivably apply to both. Indeed the wit moves very quickly and is full of ambiguities; one may not be able to catch on to the real meaning in a phrase unless scrutinizing it carefully. The verbal chaos adds to the charm and hilarity of the play and appeals to the general audience.

Considering the eventful opening one would assume much action would take place throughout the entire play, but this is not so. Wordplay, not complexity of plot, is to be the highlight of the work. The women engage in verbal combat with the men, during which it becomes apparent that the men have fallen in love and the women are about halfway in love with the men. Not much of a plot has developed and it seems that the play is almost over by the end of act II. However the title reminds us that there is more to the story than we have seen up to this point as in that love's labor's lost and not won.(Voth 16) It is suspected that there is more to the story than we have been aware of to this point. Unfortunately we do not see the plot evolve in acts III and IV. The wordplay however does continue and through this it is confirmed that the four scholars fail to uphold their vows and are called upon to explain why they have done so. Biron, being the eloquent speaker makes the proclamation of a crazed lover in act III scene 1. Drenched in self-disgust, he realizes that he loves the least attractive girl, Rosaline.(Voth 21) At the same time however, he knows that not just appearances matter, it is her personality that he is attracted to. Finally we see some seriousness that keeps us grounded amongst the frivolity of the play. The audience identifies with Biron because we see that he is not putting on an act as much as his fellow wooers and we can believe what he tells us.

Of all the studies of the play, the most intriguing assertion was the exhibition of "masculine insecurity and helplessness…and the gap of inequality that cannot be bridged."(Erickson 243) From the beginning of the play the men's authority is frail while female power is almost complete. The women are depicted as strong and knowing what they want, while the men look like fools as they break the oath they just made. Erickson also suggests the "fixed gap enables Shakespeare to dramatically explore the conventions of female domination and male humility which had become established in love poetry. The psychology of male and female stereotypes expressed in the men's poetry keeps the men and women apart."(243) The opening scene makes this quite apparent in Ferdinand's speech in which he claims to abstain from all pleasures for the sake of learning, but towards the end his tone start s to become defensive "If you are armed to do as sworn to do, Subscribe to your deep oaths, and keep it, too."(I.1.22-23) The spirit behind the oath does not seem to be positive, on the contrary it appears to be a contract of impending doom by the way Ferdinand speaks of it. He doesn't even seem fully willing to participate in the "haven for masculine purity based on the exclusion of women"(Erickson 243) he has created. Biron is the wisest of the four and is the most hesitant to sign the contract. In fact later on in the play he makes a comment completely contradictory of the terms that Ferdinand started the scholarly scheme in the first place. Ferdinand is seeing women as the enemy at the beginning of the play. In Act IV scene 3 Biron conversely claims that they "nourish all the world." Depending on your point of view, one could assert that both are right. Based on the ending of the play the women have the potential to appear evil by leaving though making the men serve penance for their actions. Or, one could claim that the women are strong upstanding people that try to push the men into maturity.

It is also apparent that the breakdown of the scholarly oath is within the purpose that Ferdinand originally uses for the quest--to become famous. According to Wells "The words turn into actions, but into actions which in various ways run counter to the intention of the speaker. They enact not what has been desired but what has been denied. In Freudian terminology, the plot of Love's Labour's Lost fully acts out the return of the repressed."(85) The very reason that Ferdinand uses in attempting to become famous completely blows up in his face. In this mindset, the women have such control over the men because the men did not want to give up women in the first place. The women arrive at the most opportune time and bring strength in their tongues. The "scholarly" men must fight to keep up with the four female verbal opponents that incite some fear to the possible inadequacy of their language. As the wits collide, we see the intrigue and submissiveness in the men that had only been hinted upon until this point.

The men's submissiveness leads to their inability to achieve a relationship with the women. This ability is most likely the result of the failure in their language.(Erickson 245) Biron is the only one of the four that has the literary ability to possibly match these educated women. In Act IV, scene 3, we come upon the four men composing poems for their ladies. They are attempting to flaunt their style as a peacock shows off it's brightly colored feathers, but they are all foolishly trying to hide it from one another. Finally each one is discovered and the men finally give up their futile oaths completely.

In Act V scene 2 the women poke fun at the letters that they have just received. Rosaline is particularly cynical with the opinion that there is "Much in the letters, nothing in the praise."(V.2.41) All the women agree that the letters are too long and do not say anything beyond declarations of love. In contrary to the purpose of the letters, to woo, they have a different effect. The letters do not flatter the women, however the women are amused. They decide to humble the foolish men in a scheme of switching gifts with one another. The women will not submit into courtship until the men confess their fallibility.(Wells 103) The men do not disclose their silliness even after the women mock the Muscovite disguises the men use to court them.. When Rosaline finally reveals that the women have known all along that the men were in disguise, Biron desperately tries to talk himself out of the situation, but to no avail. Rosaline still remains the dominant speaker.

Overall it is the immaturity and cockiness of the men that results in the women's resistance to submission. Although the men lack authority from the beginning, they are not humble enough to pass by the high expectations of the women. The apparent intellectual domination of the women over the men and the lack of ability for the men to rise to the expected level results in the women's departure and the twelve-month waiting period stipulation. The men have yet to prove themselves to the women, so despite their toils, the bittersweet ending leaves the men's love's labour at a loss.

Works Cited
Erickson, Peter B., and Londre, Felicia H. ed. Love's Labour's Lost--Critical Essays. New York: Garland, 1997.

Greenblatt, Stephen, ed. The Norton Shakespeare. New York: WW Norton & Co. 1997.

Jarvis, Simon, Scholars and Gentlemen--Shakespearian Textual Criticism and Representations of Scholarly Labour. New York: Oxford UP, 1995.

Vickers, Brian, Appropriating Shakespeare--Contemporary Critical Quarrels. New Haven: Yale UP, 1993.

Voth, Grant L., Love's Labour's Lost--A Guide for The Shakespeare Plays. Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt, 1984.

Wells, Stanley, ed. Shakespeare in the Theatre--An anthology of Criticism. New York: Clarendon Press, 1997.

Wells, Stanley, ed. Shakespeare Survey--An Annual Survey of Shakespearian Study and Production: New York: Cambridge UP, 1984.

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