Serious Literature!
It doesn't get any more serious than Shakespeare! Except that this is a comedy. Oh well!
35. Shakespeare, Love’s Labour’s Lost
In this early comedy, the king of Navarre and three of his noble friends swear an oath that they will study in strict seclusion for three years. They will fast, stay within the court at all times, and, most importantly, see no women in that time. This last vow, however, is necessarily broken when the princess of France and three of her ladies come to Navarre on political business. Naturally, love immediately strikes all eight of them, and the men must figure out how to woo the women they love without breaking their oaths.
This play is interesting because it’s rather dark for a comedy and the ending is ambiguous. However, it’s definitely not my favorite Shakespeare work, because most of the characters are very undeveloped. In addition, it’s not really that funny. A couple of times I laughed aloud, but there were a lot of passages where I was totally confused - I think there were a lot of inside jokes and references that would have been understood by Shakespeare’s contemporaries but not by modern readers.
Be that as it may, I’m still glad I read it, because I absolutely love the Kenneth Branagh film adaptation. It’s an amazing, almost laughable concept - the setting has been changed to 1939 Europe, and the movie is a musical (a MUSICAL!!!) featuring songs by the Gershwins, Cole Porter, and the like. There’s also some truly bizarre casting - Alessandro Nivola, Alicia Silverstone, Matthew Lillard and Emily Mortimer all appear (with singing and dancing roles, no less!), not to mention Nathan Lane, who does a brilliant stint as the fool Costard. For some reason, though, it all works, and in my opinion the result is delightful. I would highly recommend the movie to anyone who likes Shakespeare and/or musicals, and if you like the movie, the play is worth a read.