Love's Labour's Lost (Annotated with Biography and Critical Essay)

Love’s Labour’s Lost is generally considered one of the few plays that Shakespeare created and did not mine other sources for inspiration.  It is a comedy and a farce, and has a rather inconclusive ending.

The action begins with the Ferdinand, the king of Navarre, and three of his lord/companions (Biron, Longueville, and Dumaine) taking an oath to devote themselves to study.  They intend of taking off three years to do this – at the same time they were abstain from the company of women and other forms of excess.  Ferdinand wants to make Navarre the academic capital of the world. He has forgotten, however, that the daughter of the King of France is about to visit, and soon she shows up.  She tells Ferdinand that she will repay the loan that her father owes Navarre, but he indignantly protests that the French King is falling short on the amount he must pay Ferdinand.

This annotated edition includes a biography and critical essay.