Love's Labour's Lost by William Shakespeare is in all probability composed of many inside jokes and the cast of characters may have had attributes or characteristics and maybe even been burlesqued in the play as caricatures of the very people who were viewing it. People like the Earl of Southampton and John Florio, among others. The Spaniard's name "Armado" is likely a jest on the recently sunk Spanish "Armada" and Asimov muses that this charactor is like a sketch of the famous Don Quiote with his commoner servant, named "Moth", having much more wit and sense than the padantic Armado which Cervantes may heve copied, however improbable; this play is likely written 6 years before Don Quiote. Asimov's Guide to Shakespeare: A Guide to Understanding and Enjoying the Works of Shakespeare.
The central idea is what is learning? (The Earl of Southampton, who the play was likely intended for was very interested in learning and in education of all England). Is learning meant to produce a man like Holoferness who can barely be understood by the common man? Is learning for learning sake like light shining on light for no real overall gain but to be blind in it, like Holoferness. Or, as suggested, is the man who possesses the learning, and his actions, the measure of the worth of learning. Is learning to be found in doing and in nature and in woo-ing? Indeed, the master of words and word smithery symbolically smashes his guitar, cuts his ear off, throws his paints against the wall in comic anger at the very realization of the limits of words to pierce the soul and the essence of being. Maybe Shakespeare mocks, here, certain types of learn-ed and masters of language bringing to light the need for action to make learning real in the world, which may have been the Earl of Southhampton's educational theme. Shakepeare has a masters ability to paint but a deep appreciation for the simple and straightforward and real. The play also gives much credit to the good common sense of the English language "sans sans" and clothed in good peasant stuff. Only Hamlet possibly gives a more intimate look at Shakespeare.
Goddard warns, however, not to make too much out of the play it is highly elusive and we may never know Shakespeare's intent. He leaves it to you. The Meaning of Shakespeare Vol. 1
The movie with Kenneth Braughnow Love's Labour's Lost was pretty terrible. The BBC production Love's Labour's Lost Plays: Written by William Shakespeare BBC was good, John Well's performance of Holofornes was subtly dignified, yet ridiculous without trying, which was probably Shakespeare intent. Kenneth Broughnow's version was absurd, lacked the subtlety, it tried too hard to make the obvious funny, like some laugh track to tell the audience something is supposed to be funny. Plus it left a lot out. The BBC version is thorough and one could get a clear understanding of the play after watching it.
