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A review by jenmkin
Love's Labour's Lost by William Shakespeare
5.0
It might help that I saw a really good production of this play, but it's honestly up there in the list of my favorite Shakespeare plays. Mostly, though, I think that it's a result of the way that Love's Labour's Lost defies the conventions of Comedy—and, specifically, of other Shakespearean comedies which involve multiple romantic plotlines—by not ending with marriage, but with a "who knows what could come in the future." The tragedy of a death underscores so much of the play, from the beginning, when it is merely a possibility, to the end, when it has come to pass, and it feels honest and realistic in a way that sharply contrasts with the outlandish humor of the romantic storyline.
Overall, Love's Labour's Lost grants its heroes and heroines an agency that's usually reserved for the characters in the tragedies, which is super interesting to consider. I think a comparative analysis between this play and another comedy would be great—particularly Much Ado About Nothing or As You Like It, considering the debate around the play Love's Labour's Won, which is listed among Shakespeare's works on early documents, and is often theorized to be either 1. a lost sequel to Love's Labour's Lost (which is reasonable, since the play ends on a cliffhanger) or 2. an alternate name for an existing play, with both Much Ado & As You Like It as possible options put forth by theorists.
Overall, Love's Labour's Lost grants its heroes and heroines an agency that's usually reserved for the characters in the tragedies, which is super interesting to consider. I think a comparative analysis between this play and another comedy would be great—particularly Much Ado About Nothing or As You Like It, considering the debate around the play Love's Labour's Won, which is listed among Shakespeare's works on early documents, and is often theorized to be either 1. a lost sequel to Love's Labour's Lost (which is reasonable, since the play ends on a cliffhanger) or 2. an alternate name for an existing play, with both Much Ado & As You Like It as possible options put forth by theorists.