Here is the line-by-line paraphrase of this monologue from Love’s Labour’s Lost:

Original: Good Lord Boyet, my beauty, though but mean,
Modern: Good Lord Boyet, my beauty, though it’s nothing special,

Original: Needs not the painted flourish of your praise:
Modern: Doesn’t need your fancy, flowery compliments:

Original: Beauty is bought by judgement of the eye,
Modern: Beauty is valued by what the eye sees,

Original: Not utter’d by base sale of chapmen’s tongues:
Modern: Not by cheap words from smooth-talking salesmen:

Original: I am less proud to hear you tell my worth
Modern: I take less pride in hearing you praise me

Original: Than you much willing to be counted wise
Modern: Than you are eager to be thought clever

Original: In spending your wit in the praise of mine.
Modern: By using your intelligence to compliment mine.

Original: But now to task the tasker: good Boyet,
Modern: But now let me give you a job: good Boyet,

Original: You are not ignorant, all-telling fame
Modern: You’re not unaware that widespread rumors

Original: Doth noise abroad, Navarre hath made a vow,
Modern: Are spreading everywhere that Navarre has sworn an oath,

Original: Till painful study shall outwear three years,
Modern: That for three long years of difficult study,

Original: No woman may approach his silent court:
Modern: No woman may come near his quiet court:

Original: Therefore to’s seemeth it a needful course,
Modern: Therefore it seems necessary to us,

Original: Before we enter his forbidden gates,
Modern: Before we enter his off-limits palace,

Original: To know his pleasure; and in that behalf,
Modern: To find out what he wants; and for that purpose,

Original: Bold of your worthiness, we single you
Modern: Confident in your abilities, we choose you

Original: As our best-moving fair solicitor.
Modern: As our most persuasive and charming representative.

Original: Tell him, the daughter of the King of France,
Modern: Tell him that the daughter of the King of France,

Original: On serious business, craving quick dispatch,
Modern: On urgent business, needing a quick response,

Original: Importunes personal conference with his grace:
Modern: Demands a private meeting with his highness:

Original: Haste, signify so much; while we attend,
Modern: Hurry, tell him this; while we wait here,

Original: Like humble-visaged suitors, his high will.
Modern: Like humble-looking petitioners, for his royal decision.

In Act II, Scene 1 of “Love’s Labour’s Lost,” the Princess of France arrives at the court of Navarre with her three ladies-in-waiting: Rosaline, Maria, and Katherine, accompanied by the lord Boyet. The Princess has come on a diplomatic mission regarding Aquitaine, a territory that the King of Navarre claims belongs to him due to unpaid debts owed by the Princess’s father, the King of France. However, the King of Navarre cannot receive the Princess and her entourage at his court because of his recent oath to avoid the company of women for three years while pursuing scholarly studies with his three lords: Berowne, Longaville, and Dumaine.

The Princess and her party are therefore required to lodge in the field outside the court. When the King arrives to meet with the Princess, their discussion centers on the territorial dispute over Aquitaine and the financial obligations between their kingdoms. The Princess presents documentation challenging the King’s claims and questioning the amount of debt supposedly owed. Meanwhile, the King’s three lords become immediately smitten with the three French ladies, despite their vows of celibacy and scholarly devotion. Boyet observes the lords’ obvious attraction to the ladies, noting how quickly their scholarly resolutions begin to waver in the presence of the beautiful French women. The scene establishes the central conflict between the men’s vows and their growing romantic interests.

“Love’s Labour’s Lost” opens with Ferdinand, the King of Navarre, and his three courtiers—Berowne, Longaville, and Dumain—taking a solemn oath to dedicate three years to scholarly pursuits while forswearing the company of women, fasting, and sleeping only three hours per night. Their noble intentions are immediately complicated by the arrival of the Princess of France and her three attending ladies—Rosaline, Maria, and Katharine—who come on a diplomatic mission regarding Aquitaine. Despite their vows, all four men quickly fall in love with the visiting ladies, though they initially attempt to hide their feelings from one another.

The romantic complications intensify when each man tries to secretly woo his chosen lady while believing himself to be the only oath-breaker. Comic relief is provided by a cast of eccentric characters including Don Armado, a bombastic Spanish knight who loves the country wench Jaquenetta; Costard, a simple clown; and the pedantic schoolmaster Holofernes. The ladies, aware of the men’s affections, decide to test their suitors’ sincerity by disguising themselves at a masque, leading to a delightful scene of mistaken identities where each man woos the wrong woman.

The play builds toward what seems like a conventional comic resolution with multiple betrothals, but Shakespeare subverts expectations in the final act. News arrives that the Princess’s father, the King of France, has died, casting a somber shadow over the festivities. The ladies impose a year-long trial on their suitors—the men must prove their love’s constancy through a period of good works and patient waiting. The play concludes unusually for a Shakespearean comedy, with promises of future union rather than immediate marriages, ending with the famous songs of Spring and Winter that celebrate the eternal cycle of seasons and human nature.