# Jaquenetta — Love’s Labour’s Lost character guide

> Jaquenetta in Love’s Labour’s Lost by William Shakespeare.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Jaquenetta Man

**First appearance:** 0001-act-i

## Snapshot

A country wench whose unlettered simplicity turns the court's lofty vows into farce, she carries letters she cannot read between lords and clowns.

## Who they are

Jaquenetta moves between the court's scholarly seclusion and the working countryside, courted at once by the bombastic Spaniard Armado and the clown Costard. When a letter meant for a lady of the French court falls into her hands, she innocently hands it to Holofernes to read aloud, exposing what was meant to stay secret. Her plainness is the play's quiet rebuke to the elaborate oaths and rhetoric swirling around her.

## In the story

### [Scene II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/love_s_labour_s_lost_se/chapters/act-i-scene-ii)

Mockingly responds to Armado's declarations of love and is assigned as day-woman at the park.

### [Scene I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/love_s_labour_s_lost_se/chapters/act-iii-scene-i)

Jaquenetta is the intended recipient of Armado's letter, referred to as the 'country maid.'

### [Scene II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/love_s_labour_s_lost_se/chapters/act-iv-scene-ii)

Brings the letter from Armado to Holofernes for reading.

### [Scene III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/love_s_labour_s_lost_se/chapters/act-iv-scene-iii)

Jaquenetta brings Biron's letter to the king, claiming it is treason, and exits with Costard.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/love_s_labour_s_lost_se/characters/jaquenetta
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/love_s_labour_s_lost_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/love_s_labour_s_lost_se/characters