The King of Navarre and his three lords, Berowne, Longaville, and Dumaine, swear an ambitious oath to turn their court into an academy of strict study and fasting for three years. Crucially, this vow bans the sight of any woman on pain of severe punishment. Their grand intellectual isolation is immediately threatened and upended by the arrival of the Princess of France and her three ladies, who come on a diplomatic mission concerning the province of Aquitaine.
Despite their initial resolve to bar the women from entering the palace, the lords instantly fall in love with the visitors. The King is captivated by the Princess, Longaville by Maria, Dumaine by Katharine, and Berowne by Rosaline. Each man secretly writes poetry and love letters to his chosen lady, inadvertently exposing one another's hypocrisy until they all confess their perjury and agree to abandon their austere academic vows in favor of romance.
To bridge the gap between the courtiers and the ladies, various local figures attempt to provide entertainment. Don Armado, a fantastical Spanish visitor who is himself helplessly in love with a country wench named Jaquenetta, joins forces with the schoolmaster Holofernes and the curate Nathaniel to stage a pageant of the Nine Worthies. Alongside these learned men, the clown Costard and the constable Dull bumble through misunderstandings of language, law, and letters, adding a layer of earthy humor to the aristocratic court.
When the lords disguise themselves as Russians to visit the ladies in a masque, the women learn of the plan beforehand and swap their tokens. The courtiers end up wooing the wrong disguised partners, leading to sharp verbal sparring and playful humiliation. Once the masks come off, the ladies mock the men for their fickle affection and elaborate, insincere poetry.
The festive atmosphere is abruptly shattered near the end by the arrival of a messenger bearing news that the Princess's father has died. The sudden reality of mortality halts the impending marriages and lighthearted revelry. Rather than accepting the men immediately, the ladies impose a twelvemonth trial of penance and self-reflection. The romantic comedy concludes not with wedding bells, but with the men dispatched to hospitals and harsh environments to test their true devotion before any final union can be considered.
