Love's Labor's Lost
by William Shakespeare
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Love's Labor's Lost: Style 1 key example

New! Understand every line of Love's Labor's Lost.
Read our modern English translation.

Key Examples in Love's Labor's Lost

Act 4, Scene 2
Explanation and Analysis:

The style of Love’s Labor’s Lost falls largely in line with Shakespeare's typical style across his comic oeuvre, relying on wordplay, parody, and irony.

The play is full of quick dialogue and wordplay; not a scene goes by without a joke, a pun, or a ribbing exchange. While wit and wordplay is a trademark of Shakespeare’s work, Love’s Labor’s Lost has a unique relationship to this aspect of his style. The play's plot relies on the misunderstandings and confusions that stem from language. 

The language in each scene is shaped toward producing misunderstandings between the characters. For example, at the beginning of Act 4, when Holofernes, Nathaniel and Dull discuss hunting, a miscommunication slips in:

NATHANIEL: [...] it was a buck of the first head.

HOLOFERNES: Sir Nathaniel, haud credo.

DULL: T’was not a haud credo, t’was a pricket.