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  • Title: Love's Labor's Lost (Quarto 1, 1598)
  • Editor: Timothy Billings

    • Copyright Timothy Billings. This text may be freely used for educational, non-profit purposes; for all other uses contact the Editor.
    Author: William Shakespeare
    Editor: Timothy Billings
    Not Peer Reviewed

    Love's Labor's Lost (Quarto 1, 1598)

    called Loues Labor's lost.

    Fayth infringed, which such zeale did sweare.
    How will he scorne, how will he spende his wit?
    1485How will he triumph, leape, and laugh at it?
    For all the wealth that euer I did see,
    I would not haue him know so much by mee.
    Bero. Now step I foorth to whip hipocrisie.
    Ah good my Leidge, I pray thee pardon mee.
    1490Good hart, What grace hast thou thus to reproue
    These Wormes for louing, that art most in loue?
    Your eyes do make no couches in your teares.
    There is no certaine Princesse that appeares.
    Youle not be periurde, tis a hatefull thing:
    1495Tush, none but Minstrels like of Sonnetting.
    But are you not a shamed? nay, are you not
    All three of you, to be thus much ore'shot?
    You found his Moth, the King your Moth did see:
    But I a Beame do finde in each of three.
    1500O what a Scaene of foolrie haue I seene,
    Of sighes, of grones, of sorrow, and of teene:
    O mee, with what strickt patience haue I sat,
    To see a King transformed to a Gnat.
    To see great Hercules whipping a Gigge,
    1505And profound Sallomon to tune a Iigge.
    And Nestor play at push-pin with the boyes,
    And Crittick Tymon laugh at idle toyes.
    Where lies thy griefe, o tell me good Dumaine?
    And gentle Longauill, where lies thy paine?
    1510And where my Liedges? all about the brest.
    A Caudle hou!
    King. Too bitter is thy iest.
    Are we betrayed thus to thy ouer-view?
    Ber. Not you by mee, but I betrayed to you.
    1515I that am honest, I that holde it sinne
    To breake the vow I am ingaged in.
    I am betrayed by keeping companie
    With men like men of inconstancie.
    When shall you see mee write a thing in rime?
    1520Or grone for Ione? or spende a minutes time,
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