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SPORT IS BY SPORT OVERTHROWN

What were the main events of the last Act and of this one, and how do they bear upon one another? Why is the revenge planned by the Princess both fair and prudent? Are the men more in earnest than they seem? Do the women seem less in earnest than they are? Which man first draws a lesson from being outwitted, and how is it justified? Show how this lesson suits the trend of the Play, and advances upon the outcome of the preceding Act. To whom is Berowne's line (V, ii, 477)--"Speake for yourselves, my wit is at an end"--addressed? How is the King brought to confusion? Is the Princess too hard upon him? Why does Berowne scoff so fiercely at Boyet?

Is the presentation of the Nine Worthies too absurd in itself to mix well with the courtliness, learning, and elaborate wit of the rest of the Play? Note Berowne's defence of it (V, ii, 569-571) and his rebuke to the King for despising it? The Princess's defence of it and its correspondence with that of Theseus for the show of the "base mechanicals" in the "Midsommer Nights Dreame." How does Berowne's humility in accepting the parallel with their own wit-overthrown mask agree with his boisterous jeering at the mask of the Nine Worthies later? How does the attitude of the ladies toward it compare with that of the men and what comment upon it does it constitute in your opinion? How does it all prepare the way for the sudden sad message, and also for the decision of the Ladies to rebuff love that is not serious? What special point is there in the kind of trial Rosaline and her mistress each specially propose for Berowne and the King? Has it any relation to what has just been shown of each of them in their attitude towards others with respect to the humble performers of the Mask of the Nine Worthies? What makes wit an unalloyed pleasure?

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