Love Labours Lost

 

 

 

Title and Author:

The title of my classical play is ‘Love Labours lost’ written and published 1598 by William Shakespeare. He was born in Stratford-upon-Avon 26^th April 1564 and died 23^rd April 1616. Throughout his life he wrote various plays consisting of Tragedies, Comedies, and Romance etc.  He also worked as an actor in London where he partly owned a playing company called ‘Lord Chamberlains Men’ which later turned into ‘The kings men’.

 

Brief Synopsis:

The play starts with the King of Navarre taking an oath of three years of study with his three noblemen in England. To the King’s misfortune, the Princess of France is visiting England and wants to meet the King. The king on the other hand denies this and says that the princess can camp outside the kingdom in a field and the King and Men can meet them there. Despite the oath of study without any woman, the Princess who brings her three ladies in waiting falls in love with the king and her three ladies with his three men. Thus, leading to comical problems.

The play also revolves around many other comical characters being unlucky in love. At the end of the play, the princess finds out that her father, the King of France has died and needs her to be the heir to the throne. The king and his men vow to stay Faithful to the princess and her ladies, but they feel that their love isn’t strong enough and claim that the men must stay faithful for a year to prove their love.

Genre and Style of the Play:

The genre of the play is a Comedy but, with some romance thrown in. The style of the play is like many of Shakespeare’s comedies with characters unluckily falling in love with eachother or coming across with several problems.  Although the style of the ending of ‘Love Labours Lost’ is very different to Shakespeare’s and Elizabethan comedies as many of them stay together or die, hence many of his other plays. 

The character:

The character that I have chosen is the Princess of France named Elisabeth.  She lives at court with her Father, King Henry IV Of France, and her mother Catherine She is quite an excited character and plays games of wit with the King and his Lords while paying her visit. She is described as Pretty although; she is humble about her looks. She is constantly being flattered by her Servant, Boyet which she doesn’t approve of. The Princess is also quite quick-witted and clever as she mentions ‘to know his pleasure’ she sends her servant to England and talk with the king before she arrives. She and her ladies fall in love with the King and his Noblemen.

What appeals to me about the play:

I think what appeals to me about the play is the fact that I love Shakespeare comedies; there is nothing like slapstick comedy. I also enjoy romcoms which I would assume ‘Love Labours lost’ in categorized in. Also, the plotline is very different to other Shakespeare plays and many people can relate to the character’s lives in some way or form. For example, the comical side of the romance . Another thing that appeals to me about the play is the characters, they have a certain likeability to them which is difficult to define in words.

What appeals to me about the Character:

What appeals to me about my character, Princess is the personality side of her. She is quite a comical character and enjoys to play small pranks with her ladies in waiting and to play games of wits with the King and his men. She clearly mocks other characters in a humorous ways and is a humble character. I think that she is a very likeable character and generally is an appealing character to any girl that would of picked ‘Love Labours Lost’ as she also is an authoritive figure in the play and playing a Princess is a very appealing role to play.

The similarities: Character and I

The similarities between the Princess and I, is quite basic and noticeable. I enjoy having power and authority but, I know when not to abuse it. I also enjoy mocking people and practical jokes on friends or people that I know are intended to do the same. I also feel that I can be quite a genuine person and a humble character. The Princess is also quite an outspoken Character and quite sarcastic, I feel that I share these features.

The differences: Character and I.

There’s not many differences between the Princess and I but, there are some minor ones that contrast both our characters. Sometimes during the play the Princess is quite quick on researching and figuring out the King and his noblemen’s intentions. I personally feel that I am some-what good at that feature but, at times I also am quite naive. There are more basic differences between me and this Character for example, she lives in France and is a Princess, which is a far difference between me and her. Another minor difference is the fact the King Ferdinand calls her ignorant because of her disrespect against his oath. I personally feel that I am not an ignorant person and do not react and judge people.

The difficulties playing this role.

I think the difficulties I will have playing this role is just generally playing the part of her character as a Princess in the 16^th Century. She is quite an excited character during my monologue and I feel that I am more introvert at times. I think that the role doesn’t generally seem that difficult to play first hand but, when delving deeper into the research of her character shows that during the monologue it would be harder to perceive her as a Princess.

 

What do I need to work on Vocally?

What I think I may need to work on vocally while performing this monologue is to soften my London/East London accent so the Princess of France doesn’t sound so common or cockney. Another thing that I feel I really need to concentrate is to slow down my speech. I find that I talk quite quickly and stumble over certain words, this is very dangerous while performing Shakespeare so I feel I need to conquer that problem. Although the Princess is quite excited in my monologue, I would need to sound excited, not accelerate my words.

What do I need to work on Physically?

Things I would need to work on physically to play the role of the Princess during the monologue is my posture. I have the habit to slouch sometimes during my performance which alters my voice and generally makes the performance lack energy. Since my Character is a Princess during the 16^th Century, posture and body control is an important thing since during that time period young woman would wear corsets which would force them to sit up straight and have a good posture. Also, since I have to play a quite excited character I have to make sure that my body is loose but, with a good control. It would be difficult to play excitement through a wooden body and a wooden performance.

What would I have to work on Emotionally?

I’m not too sure what I would have to work on emotionally apart from the general excitement that she Is feeling during the monologue when she is going to visit King Ferdinand of Navarre. There isn’t any intense emotions that I would have to work to play this part. The monologue is quite a light, comical part which doesn’t take much empathy or self discipline to play. I think the only emotional connection that I have to play is her excitement about her visit.

What background research would I need to do?

The research that I would have to do would to research how Royals would be doing the 16^th Century; how they walked, acted, spoke etc. Since I already know about how the Character would perform it since reading the play itself, I would need to research how realistic Princesses would react is situations to make the monologue more realistic and natural.

What impact should it have on the audience?

Since the monologue and play is a comedy, I assume the impact that it should have on the audience should be comedic. I would enjoy the audience to laugh and enjoy the monologue itself as much as I praise it and like it.