Costard
Encyclopedia
Costard is a comic figure in the play Love's Labour's Lost
by William Shakespeare
. A country bumpkin, he is arrested in the first scene for flouting the king's proclamation that all men of the court avoid the company of women for a year. While in custody, the men of the court use him to further their own romantic endeavors. By sending love notes to the wrong women and blurting out secrets (including that of an unplanned pregnancy
), Costard makes fools of the royal court. Along with Moth the page
and Jaquenetta, a country wench, Costard pokes fun at the upper-class. While mocking a pedantic schoolmaster, Costard uses the word honorificabilitudinitatibus
, the longest word by far from any of Shakespeare's works.
He makes many clever puns, and is used as a tool by Shakespeare to explain new words such as remuneration. He is sometimes considered one of the smartest characters in the play due to his wit and wordplay.
Costard's name is an archaic term for apple
, or metaphorically a man's head. Shakespeare uses the word in this sense in Richard III
.
's novel Q & A (on which the film Slumdog Millionaire
is based). In the twelfth question, the hero, Ram Mohammad Thomas is asked to name which play Costard appears in. He doesn't know, and uses a lifeline to call an English teacher to whom he had recently given all his money so that the teacher, Utpal Cahetterjee, could buy rabies medication for his sick son. Chatterjee is not sure, but hazards a guess of Love's Labour's Lost. Of course, he is right.
Love's Labour's Lost
Love's Labour's Lost is one of William Shakespeare's early comedies, believed to have been written in the mid-1590s, and first published in 1598.-Title:...
by William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
. A country bumpkin, he is arrested in the first scene for flouting the king's proclamation that all men of the court avoid the company of women for a year. While in custody, the men of the court use him to further their own romantic endeavors. By sending love notes to the wrong women and blurting out secrets (including that of an unplanned pregnancy
Pregnancy
Pregnancy refers to the fertilization and development of one or more offspring, known as a fetus or embryo, in a woman's uterus. In a pregnancy, there can be multiple gestations, as in the case of twins or triplets...
), Costard makes fools of the royal court. Along with Moth the page
Page (servant)
A page or page boy is a traditionally young male servant, a messenger at the service of a nobleman or royal.-The medieval page:In medieval times, a page was an attendant to a knight; an apprentice squire...
and Jaquenetta, a country wench, Costard pokes fun at the upper-class. While mocking a pedantic schoolmaster, Costard uses the word honorificabilitudinitatibus
Honorificabilitudinitatibus
Honorificabilitudinitatibus is the dative and ablative plural of the mediæval Latin word honorificabilitudinitas, which can be translated as "the state of being able to achieve honours". It is mentioned by the character Costard in Act V, Scene I of William Shakespeare's Love's Labour's Lost...
, the longest word by far from any of Shakespeare's works.
He makes many clever puns, and is used as a tool by Shakespeare to explain new words such as remuneration. He is sometimes considered one of the smartest characters in the play due to his wit and wordplay.
Costard's name is an archaic term for apple
Apple
The apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family . It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits, and the most widely known of the many members of genus Malus that are used by humans. Apple grow on small, deciduous trees that blossom in the spring...
, or metaphorically a man's head. Shakespeare uses the word in this sense in Richard III
Richard III (play)
Richard III is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1591. It depicts the Machiavellian rise to power and subsequent short reign of Richard III of England. The play is grouped among the histories in the First Folio and is most often classified...
.
Q&A
Costard is also noted in Vikas SwarupVikas Swarup
Vikas Swarup is an Indian novelist and diplomat who has served in Turkey, the United States, Ethiopia, the United Kingdom, South Africa and Japan, best known for his novels Q & A and Six Suspects.-Early life:...
's novel Q & A (on which the film Slumdog Millionaire
Slumdog Millionaire
Slumdog Millionaire is a 2008 British epic romantic drama adventure film directed by Danny Boyle, written by Simon Beaufoy, and co-directed in India by Loveleen Tandan. It is an adaptation of the novel Q & A by Indian author and diplomat Vikas Swarup...
is based). In the twelfth question, the hero, Ram Mohammad Thomas is asked to name which play Costard appears in. He doesn't know, and uses a lifeline to call an English teacher to whom he had recently given all his money so that the teacher, Utpal Cahetterjee, could buy rabies medication for his sick son. Chatterjee is not sure, but hazards a guess of Love's Labour's Lost. Of course, he is right.