Love’s Labour’s Lost · Chapter
Scene I explained
Holofernes, Sir Nathaniel, and Dull engage in pedantic wordplay.
What happens
Holofernes, Sir Nathaniel, and Dull engage in pedantic wordplay. Armado, Moth, and Costard join them, and they discuss arranging an entertainment for the princess, deciding to present the Nine Worthies.
Themes in this chapter
Wit and Language
The scene is filled with elaborate wordplay, puns, and pedantic corrections, showcasing the characters' obsession with linguistic cleverness.
Artifice vs. Nature
The planned pageant of the Nine Worthies represents artificial performance, contrasting with natural behavior, as seen in the characters' affected speech.
Characters to notice
- Holofernes
Engages in pedantic discourse and proposes the Nine Worthies pageant.
- Sir Nathaniel
Praises Holofernes' wit and converses about Armado.
- Anthony Dull
Remains silent until the end, offering to dance or play the tabour.
- Don Adriano de Armado
Seeks Holofernes' help for a pageant to present to the princess.
- Moth
Engages in witty banter with Holofernes and Costard.
- Costard
Exchanges jests with Moth and mentions the remuneration from Armado.
Key passages
“Satis quod sufficit.”
Enough is as good as a feast.
Holofernes opens with a Latin proverb meaning 'enough is sufficient.'
“He draweth out the thread of his verbosity finer than the staple of his argument.”
He uses more words than necessary to make his point.
Holofernes criticizes Armado's overly elaborate speech.
“They have been at a great feast of languages, and stolen the scraps.”
They have picked up bits of foreign languages without truly understanding them.
Moth mocks the pedantic conversation between Holofernes and Nathaniel.