ACT II
SCENE I. The King of Navarre's park.
Enter KING FERDINAND, LONGAVILLE, DUMAIN, and BEROWNE, with COSTARD.
KING FERDINAND
You are arrested for a woman? For a wench?
Our laws are broken, our academe profaned!
COSTARD
It was a simple thing, my lord. No harm was done.
Love is a powerful thing, stronger than law.
BEROWNE
Hear, hear! The clown doth speak a noble truth!
Love is no crime, but a natural, honest urge.
KING FERDINAND
Silence, Berowne! The law is absolute!
Costard, you shall be punished. Armado shall decide.
Enter ARMADO, full of passion.
ARMADO
My liege, a terrible thing has happened!
I love a maid, a base, low maid, a country wench!
My heart is bleeding, like a stuck pig's heart!
The law doth break my spirit, crush my soul!
KING FERDINAND
You too, Armado? The very man who should
Uphold our law? This is a mockery!
ARMADO
The Princess waits without, my liege. A glorious sight.
I saw her from afar, a sun in winter's sky.
KING FERDINAND
We must meet them for the treaty. A plague on women!
Exeunt.
SCENE II. The field where the Princess's camp is set up.
Enter THE PRINCESS OF FRANCE, ROSALINE, MARIA, KATHARINE.
PRINCESS
They come, the King and his sad, fusty lords.
They mean to treat with us from afar, like lepers!
We shall use our wits, our charm, our gentle mockery,
To make them break their vow.
ROSALINE
I know Berowne, a man of wit and fire.
He loves the chase, the battle of the minds.
I shall ensnare him with my clever talk.
MARIA
And Longaville is mine. A serious man,
Who needs a touch of mirth to light his life.
KATHARINE
Dumain is strong and silent. A challenge I accept.
PRINCESS
Behold, they come!
Enter KING FERDINAND, LONGAVILLE, DUMAIN, and BEROWNE.
KING FERDINAND
Madam, we greet you from our humble court.
The treaty waits, the debts of state need settling.
PRINCESS
Your Grace is kind, but cold. We hear you fast,
And shun the gentle company of maids.
Is study all that matters in Navarre?
BEROWNE
Madam, our eyes are dry from dusty books,
Our hearts are cold from lack of woman's fire.
We are but simple scholars, full of woe.
PRINCESS
Then let us teach you, sir. A woman's eyes
Are the true books, the academies,
From whence all learning, beauty, truth is drawn.
Break your sad vow, and join the human race!
KING FERDINAND
We cannot, madam! The law is set in stone!
PRINCESS
Then all our labour here is done in vain.
The treaty cannot be discussed with men
Who fear the life, the love, the joy of being human.
Exeunt PRINCESS and LADIES.
ACT III
SCENE I. The King of Navarre's park.
Enter KING FERDINAND, alone, reading a love letter.
KING FERDINAND
A letter from the Princess! O, what a fool I am!
My heart doth beat a traitor's tune, my blood doth warm
At her sweet words, her wit, her gentle mockery.
The vow is broken, the law is but a jest.
I love her, yes, I love her with all my soul!
Enter LONGAVILLE, also with a letter.
LONGAVILLE
My liege, I cannot keep the oath. Maria's eyes
Have pierced my heart with Cupid's sharpest dart.
Enter DUMAIN, also with a letter.
DUMAIN
And I, Dumain, have fallen for the charm
Of Katharine, a beauty and a wit.
BEROWNE
And I, the last to fall, have fallen hardest
For Rosaline, that dark and clever maid.
We are all forsworn, all fools, all men in love!
KING FERDINAND
Then let the vow be broken, let the law be changed!
We shall have love in Navarre, not dusty books!
BEROWNE
We'll woo them, win them, with our hearts on fire!
The labour of our love shall not be lost!
Enter COSTARD and ARMADO.
COSTARD
The Princess's ladies plan a masque tonight,
A Russian masque, to mock us and our vow.
ARMADO
A masque of mockery! The very thing we need
To show our love, our folly, and our joy!
KING FERDINAND
We'll play the game, we'll wear the Russian garb,
And prove to them that we have learned our lesson:
The eye of woman is the best academy!
Exeunt, full of mirth and purpose.
ACT IV
SCENE I. The field where the Princess's camp is set up. Evening.
Enter THE PRINCESS OF FRANCE, ROSALINE, MARIA, KATHARINE.
PRINCESS
The King and his lords have broken their sad vow.
They sent a message they would join our masque,
Dressed as Russians, to woo us with a show of wit.
We must confuse them, switch our favours, mock their haste.
ROSALINE
We'll wear each other's masks, and let them woo
The wrong lady. A merry jest for us to laugh at!
Enter the KING FERDINAND, LONGAVILLE, DUMAIN, and BEROWNE, disguised as Russians.
KING FERDINAND
Madam, we come as strangers from the cold, cold north,
To warm our hearts at your most radiant fire.
We speak in silence, only with our eyes.
PRINCESS
Your silence speaks of folly and a broken vow.
We know you, sirs, the scholars of Navarre!
You cannot hide your hearts behind a mask.
BEROWNE
We own the truth, the vow is broke, the heart is won.
We love you, ladies, with a passion true and deep.
Rosaline, my love, my life, my soul!
ROSALINE
You choose the wrong, sir! I am Katharine, a maid
Who scorns your easy love.
(The lords are confused, having picked the wrong lady due to the switched masks.)
KING FERDINAND
This is a game of wit we cannot win.
Our hearts are true, though we do lose the jest.
We love you, ladies, by whatever name you bear
PRINCESS
Then prove your love, not with a masque of fools,
But with a year of service to the poor,
A year of honest labour, true and hard.
If after that, your hearts still beat for us,
We shall consent, and love's labour shall be won.
KING FERDINAND
A year of labour? 'Tis a hard command!
ROSALINE
A year of test for a lifetime of true love.
Exeunt ladies. The men stand defeated but resolved.
ACT V
SCENE I. The King of Navarre's park. One year later. Winter has turned to spring.
Enter KING FERDINAND, LONGAVILLE, DUMAIN, and BEROWNE, dressed simply, tired but content.
KING FERDINAND
The year is done, the labour is complete.
We have fed the poor, we have tilled the land,
We have learned the lessons of the heart and hand.
And still, our hearts beat only for our loves.
Enter THE PRINCESS OF FRANCE (now Queen), ROSALINE, MARIA, KATHARINE.
PRINCESS
The year is done, the test is over, sirs.
We have observed your labour from afar,
And seen the change within your honest hearts.
KING FERDINAND
My Queen, my love, my life! We kept our word.
We learned the lesson that a woman's eye
Is the true book, the only academy.
ROSALINE
And we have learned that men can change their ways,
And keep a promise, though it costs them dear.
My Berowne, my wit, my love!
MARIA
My Longaville, my quiet, gentle man!
KATHARINE
My Dumain, my strong and silent love!
PRINCESS
Then let the weddings be prepared at once!
Love's labour's won, the game is at its end.
The Winter's Tale hath turned to Spring's delight,
And all Navarre is filled with joyful light!
Enter COSTARD and ARMADO, also happy, arm in arm with their wenches.
COSTARD
We too have found our loves, my lord the King!
The law is dead, long live the law of love!
ARMADO
A glorious end to all our woes and fears!
The pen is dropped, the sword is sheathed, the heart
Is full of song, and all the world is bright!
KING FERDINAND
Let music play, let all the people cheer!
A triple wedding on this perfect day!
The labour's done, the victory is clear,
Love reigns in Navarre, for ever and a year!
A grand flourish of trumpets.
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