My Science School

      What would happen if someone decides that he would have nothing to do with women and no women would be allowed within one mile of his home? Love’s Labour’s Lost, one of Shakespeare’s early comedies, has misogyny as its central theme.

      Ferdinand, the King of Navarre, and his friends decided that women were not allowed inside their palace for three years, because they wanted to devote their time and energy to learning and research. However, their plans were thwarted when the Princess of France and her ladies arrived for a diplomatic mission to the Court. The Princess, insulted without an entry to the palace, camped outside the court. In the events that ensued, the King fell in love with the beautiful princess and his friends with other women. They eventually relinquished the vow and realized that the ultimate knowledge was the knowledge of love and understanding.

      As the play ends, the marriages are planned and they would take place in a year’s time.

      This is one of Shakespeare’s original plays. Scholars opine that he has not consulted sources that he used for his other plays. Abounding in sophisticated wordplay, the play contains lines such as: ‘Love is a familiar; love is a devil. There is no evil angel but love’.

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