Love S Labour S Lost Annotated With Biography And Critical Essay

Love’s Labour’s Lost is generally considered one of the few plays that Shakespeare created and did not mine other sources for inspiration. It is a comedy and a farce, and has a rather inconclusive ending. The action begins with the Ferdinand, the king of Navarre, and three of his lord/companions (Biron, Longueville, and Dumaine) taking an oath to devote themselves to study. They intend of taking off three years to do this – at the same time they were abstain from the company of women and other forms of excess. Ferdinand wants to make Navarre the academic capital of the world. He has forgotten, however, that the daughter of the King of France is about to visit, and soon she shows up. She tells Ferdinand that she will repay the loan that her father owes Navarre, but he indignantly protests that the French King is falling short on the amount he must pay Ferdinand. This annotated edition includes a biography and critical essay.

This anthology examines Love's Labours Lost from a variety of perspectives and through a wide range of materials. Selections discuss the play in terms of historical context, dating, and sources; character analysis; comic elements and verbal conceits; evidence of authorship; performance analysis; and feminist interpretations. Alongside theater reviews, production photographs, and critical commentary, the volume also includes essays written by practicing theater artists who have worked on the play. An index by name, literary work, and concept rounds out this valuable resource.

The Two Gentlemen of Verona, a romance, is one of Shakespeare’s early plays, and was written in 1590 or 1591. The setting is Verona, Milan, and a forest near Mantua of the sixteenth century. Two plot lines are intertwined in the play. It is thought that Shakespeare borrowed the plot of love triangle from a Spanish story Diana published in 1559 and the story of friendship from an English story, The Boke Named the Governour, from 1531. Many Shakespearean scholars believe that The Two Gentlemen of Verona was Shakespeare’s first play. The play begins with Valentine, a “gentleman of Verona,” seeking adventure, leaving that place to serve the Duke of Milan. He falls in love with the Duke’s daughter, Silvia. Valentine’s friend, Proteus, another gentleman of Verona, although reluctant to leave, is sent to Milan by his father. Proteus has a steady love interest, Julia, who he claims to love, but when he arrives in Milan he falls in love with Silvia too. The wealthy Thurio is also in love with her. The friendship of Valentine and Proteus is challenged when Proteus foils Valentine’s plot to elope with Silvia. After discovering the elopement plot, Silvia’s father, the Duke of Milan, banishes Valentine, who joins a gang of outlaws. This annotated edition includes a biography and critical essay.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1843.