Love's Labour's Lost: A Guide to the PlayLove's Labour's Lost has had a puzzling history. Until the 1950s it was generally considered one of Shakespeare's earliest plays, and it was one of his most vilified until the 20th century. Perhaps more than any other Shakespearean play, it explores the power and limitations of language, and this blatant concern for language led many early critics to believe that it was the work of a playwright just learning his art. Because of its linguistic density, it is one of Shakespeare's most demanding plays, and this difficulty helps account for its initial unpopularity. But modern critics have begun to study the play in earnest and it is now one of Shakespeare's most popular works. This reference is a thorough introduction to the play's origins and legacy. |
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... Barton's 1978 Royal Shakespeare Com- pany production , a world that was , according to Gilbert , “ gentle and friendly rather than elegant or beautiful ” ( 115 ) . As one reviewer noted , " Barton is more interested in the idea of ...
... Barton's production the language " sounded less like the witty badinage of sophisticated people and more like the attempts of immature people to impress each other " ( 116 ) . To this end ... Barton , John Barton's 152 Love's Labour's Lost.
... Barton's production em- phasized " the sense of two worlds , the emphasis on the importance of keeping oaths , the necessity of growing up " ( Gilbert 116 ) . Anne Barton made standard the importance of the ending in understanding the ...
Contents
Textual History | 1 |
Contexts and Sources | 29 |
Dramatic Structure | 55 |
Copyright | |
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