EC - Shakespeare in Love

When we think about Shakespeare, we think of a Romeo and Juliet, Henry V, Macbeth, Julius Caesar and so many more of his dazzling works filled with true action, wit, and amazing quotes. But for many years now he has only existed on paper, as a reflection of his work. Shakespeare in Love tries to recreate this, showing us what William Shakespeare’s life and ambition for living could have been.

The main thing that stuck out to me in the movie is how Shakespeare was able to accommodate everyone. Shakespeare managed to include cheap humor to satisfy the masses without tarnishing the overall quality of the play; he had Queen Elizabeth believe that his plays were written with her in mind and Henslowe believing he’d get to produce a pirate story. Viola (and Rosalyn) had plays written for them, Alleyn (Ben Affleck’s character) thought Romeo and Juliet was written for him to star in, and even the financial backer found himself playing a role that he deemed important. Shakespeare seems to have disproved the age-old adage; you can’t please everyone, at least when it came to his writing.

As for the story though, no matter how talented he was with words, it’s hard to believe that he could speak of love so powerfully without a model to project his words upon. Lines like And for a woman wert thou first created/Till nature as she wrought thee fell a-doting and Let not my love be called idolatry/Nor my beloved an idol show go to prove that Shakespeare was not only in love with a woman, but he literally worshipped her. What was this woman like and what did she do that caused such infatuation in Shakespeare? Did she dress up like a boy to more truly express her love, giving him inspiration for Twelfth Night? Doubtfully. But whatever trick she used, she managed to catch him hook, line, and sinker, reeling him into her heart and possibly inspiring some of the most beautiful poetry and prose available to speakers and readers of the English language. Shakespeare had to have a model for this grand affection. No one is talented enough to produce such quality work out of thin air… or is there?