The Academy
At the beginning of the play, the King details his plans for the transformation of his court into a scholarly haven. He says to his lords, "Navarre shall be the wonder of the world; / Our court shall be a little academe, / Still and contemplative in living art" (1.1). Here, the King uses a metaphor to refer to his court as a "little academe," or academy, in which the only activity that takes place is scholarly learning. It soon becomes clear that the King perceives this figurative idea as literally attainable, and he lays out a complex plan of temperance and abstinence in order to achieve it.
Don Armado's Love
When Don Armado falls in love with Jaquenetta, he confesses his feelings to her by saying, "I will hereupon confess I am in love; and as it is base for a soldier to love, so am I in love with a base wench" (1.2). Here, Don Armado uses a complicated simile to compare himself to a soldier whose love renders him "base," or morally low. He argues that that is an appropriate description of himself in this case, as he has fallen in love with Jaquenetta, whom he also considers "base" for her lower-class status (the term "wench" was also used interchangeably with prostitute at the time).
Love's Danger
Elaborating on his love for Jaquenetta, Don Armado launches into a lengthy speech about the nature of love, in which he asserts, " Love is a familiar; love is a devil" (1.2). Here, he uses a metaphor to compare the power of love to a "familiar" (supernatural entity) and a devil. These metaphors, while melodramatic, point toward the same perception of love that Biron expresses later on, referring to it as a plague or infection. Both men perceive that love is dangerous and mysterious.
Cupid
When Biron realizes that he is in love with Rosaline – after previously disparaging love among the lords – he delivers a soliloquy, much like Don Armado, about the vulnerability he now feels. He portrays Cupid as a military commander, saying, "O my little heart! / Am I to be a corporal of his field / And wear his colors like a tumbler’s hoop!" (3.1). Here, Biron implores whether he is truly bound to Cupid – to love – like a soldier whose army has been defeated. He is shocked by this sudden feeling of submission but he eventually resigns to fulfill his role as a lover and woo Rosaline.
The Plague
As Biron continues his lament for his lovesick state, he questions what his future will now look like, saying, "I love, I sue, I seek a wife? / . . . It is a plague / That Cupid will impose for my neglect / Of his almighty dreadful little might" (3.1). Here, Biron refers to love as a "plague," a recurring motif in the play that emphasizes the complicated experience of love as something that both excites and terrifies. Biron sees love as an infection that has attacked him, rather than something that comes from within himself.
