Love's Labour's Lost
Play by Shakespeare

Picture - The Nine Worthies. A group of actors present a pageant before the King in "Love's Labour's Lost." 1598 Engraving from a painting by R. Hillingford.

Love's Labour's Lost the play by William Shakespeare

Text - script of Love's Labour's Lost play by William Shakespeare
Cast and characters in Love's Labour's Lost play by William Shakespeare
Index of plays by William Shakespeare

Introduction - The play and the image displayed in the picture
This section is dedicated to Love's Labour's Lost, the play by William Shakespeare. The picture is 18th century and image displayed represents the essence of the play which, we hope, will bring to life a famous scene or character from the play. The information provided in this section of william-shakespeare.info includes famous quotes / quotations from Love's Labour's Lost, summary of the plot or story, facts about the play, a list of the cast and characters and access to the full text - script of Love's Labour's Lost play by William Shakespeare

Summary of the plot or story
The Princess of France and her company of ladies Rosaline, Maria and Katherine tell the men wooing them (Ferdinand the King of Navarre, Biron, Longaville and Dumain) that they must wait and undergo tests to prove that their love is not simply infatuation. King Ferdinand and his compatriots decide to isolate themselves for three years to study great books vowing that they will keep no company with women during this time. However, when beautiful women arrive on a diplomatic mission, the men immediately fail to keep their oaths. The ladies discover the situation and the gentlemen realise that they truly love the ladies. The ladies banish the men to a hermitage for a further year before they will associate with them. 

Information provided about the Love's Labour's Lost play
William Shakespeare never published any of his plays and therefore none of the original manuscripts have survived. Eighteen unauthorised versions of his plays were, however, published during his lifetime in quarto editions by unscrupulous publishers (there were no copyright laws protecting Shakespeare and his works during the Elizabethan era). A collection of his works did not appear until 1623 (a full seven years after Shakespeare's death on April 23, 1616) when two of his fellow actors, John Hemminges and Henry Condell, posthumously recorded his work and published 36 of William’s plays in the First Folio. Some dates are therefore approximate other dates are substantiated by historical events, records of performances and the dates plays appeared in print.

Date first performed
It is believed that Love's Labour's Lost was first performed between 1594 and 1595. In the Elizabethan era there was a huge demand for new entertainment and Love's Labour's Lost would have been produced immediately following the completion of the play.

Date first printed
It is believed that Love's Labour's Lost was first printed in 1598. As William Shakespeare clearly did not want his work published details of the play would have therefore been noted, and often pirated without his consent, following a performance.