PERSONS REPRESENTED.* Ferdinand, king of Navarre. Biron, Longaville, } Dumain, lords, attending on the king. } lords, attending on the princess of France. Don Adriano de Armado, a fantastical Spaniard. Holofernes, a schoolmaster. Costard, a clown. Moth, page to Armado. A forester. Officers and others, attendants on the king and princess. SCENE, Navarre. * This enumeration of the persons was made by Mr. Rowe. Johnson. LOVE'S LABOUR'S LOST.' ACT I.....SCENE I. Navarre. A Park, with a Palace in it. Enter the King, BIRON, LONGAVILLE, and DUMAIN. King. Let fame, that all hunt after in their lives, The endeavour of this present breath may buy That honour, which shall bate his scythe's keen edge, Therefore, brave conquerors!-for so you are, And the huge army of the world's desires, You three, Birón, Dumain, and Longaville, Your oaths are past, and now subscribe your names; If you are arm'd to do, as sworn to do, 1 I suspect that there is an error in the title of this play, which I believe, should be-" Love's Labours Lost." M. Mason. 2 - your deep oath,] The old copies have-oaths. Corrected by Mr. Steevens. Malone. Dum. My loving lord, Dumain is mortified; Biron. I can but say their protestation over, King. Your oath is pass'd to pass away from these. Biron. Let me say no, my liege, an if you please; I only swore, to study with your grace, And stay here in your court for three years' space. Long. You swore to that, Biron, and to the rest. Biron. By yea and nay, sir, then I swore in jest.— 3 With all these living in philosophy.] The style of the rhyming scenes in this play is often entangled and obscure. I know not certainly to what all these is to be referred; I suppose he means, that he finds love, pomp, and wealth, in philosophy. Johnson. By all these, Dumain means the King, Biron, &c. to whom he may be supposed to point, and with whom he is going to live in philosophical retirement. 4. C. ▲ Not to see ladies, study, fast, not sleep.] The words as they stand, will express the meaning intended, "if pointed thus: Not to see ladies-study-fast-not sleep. Biron is recapitulating the several tasks imposed upon him, viz. not to see ladies, to study, to fast, and not to sleep; but Shakspeare, by a common poetical licence, though in this passage injudiciously exercised, omits the article to, before the three last verbs, and from hence the obscurity arises. M. Mason. |