Free Essay

Shakespeare in Love

In: Film and Music

Submitted By smann92
Words 563
Pages 3
Movie Critique: Shakespeare in Love
On Monday, April 23,2012 I watched a movie called Shakespeare in Love. This movie is fictional written about the great writer and poet, William Shakespeare. The story is of a young William Shakespeare barely making ends meet and trying to write a play for the local theatre. However, Shakespeare is suffering from writer's block, and is seeking inspiration by having a muse. A muse is a power, in this case a female, used to inspire a poet. Of course, a love story proceeds. Although fictional, the real story line is the writing of "Romeo and Juliet" by Shakespeare. The story line is wonderful. In addition, there are very educational aspects to the movie, which focuses on theatre in the days of William Shakespeare. The theatre life is educational and the reflection of scenery in theatres of this time seems well depicted. The theatre life of these times is called Elizabethan. In the sixteenth century the most powerful form of literature or drama was non-religious and more concerned with the inner workings of the human personality. Shakespeare's writings were tragedies that focused on human actions without thought to the consequences of these actions. There are two examples in this movie that come to mind illustrating this humanistic approach. First, Shakespeare falls in love with Viola, his muse, and follows his heart knowing that she has already been promised to marry someone else. Second, is the theatrical representation of Romeo and Julie and the tragic love story it entails. The dramatic style and preparation of theatre in this movie is of the baroque style. The Baroque style is a period following the Renaissance, from 1600 to 1750, and is characterized by a dramatic expression and performances or theatrical shows. There are several examples of dramatic expression during the movie. During the preparation of the play, there is a fight. For example, when Mercutio fights with Romeo. The poetic verse of the love affair between Romeo and Juliet is dramatic. During Elizabethan times women were not allowed to act in the theatre. However, Viola, the character, wants to act and auditions for a role in the production. When it is found out there is a female working on the production, the theatre is shut down. In my opinion, the most dramatic part, is at the end of the production of Romeo and Juliet, where Shakespeare is acting opposite his muse and she wakes up to find his character laying beside her dead and she stabs herself. Also, the costumes are beautiful and reflect an ornate detail. The movie was a wonderful display of the sixteenth century theatres and their production's. The reviews of the movie "Shakespeare in Love" were differing, either it was seen as an outstanding piece of work or overrated. Sometimes, Shakespeare can be a little hard to watch because of many peoples unfamiliarity with the prose, however, I think the movie did a wonderful job of helping literally anyone comprehend the poetic verse. The movie also gives you a sense of the Baroque style and the dramatic expression during these times. While the movie is fictional, it is absolutely an educational tool in helping depict the theatre and drama of these times. Although nothing can compare to a live production of a Shakespeare play, Hollywood's interpretation of Shakespeare was educational and a joy to watch.

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Shakespeare in Love

...The movie Shakespeare in Love was a very good movie. At first I thought the movie was going to be too silly and I would not enjoy it. However, I soon realized it was more funny and quirky, rather than silly. I was definitely surprised by all the other aspects the movie had. It had comedy, but it also had romance, tragedy, lust and sadness along with it. There was one scene which was particularly sad. On her way to church Viola is told that William is dead. The look of devastation on her face is undeniable. She loves William so much and to be told that her love is dead was unbearable. She was so distraught that her nurse had to hold her up in order for her to walk into the church. The love between Viola and William was all consuming for them and to be told of his death by a man that she dislikes but is to be married to, makes it even worse. William and Viola shared their love and passion for each other and the poetry of the play. When Viola discovers that William is alive you can actually feel the relief coming off of her. This point in the movie changes their love. They shared a love of each other and the play, as their love grew, so did the words of the play. They both discover after the misunderstanding of his death that they loved each other more than they love the play. Voila says to William “When I thought you dead, I did not care about all the plays that would never come, only that I would never see your face.” This part was very touching part of the movie, unfortunately...

Words: 739 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Shakespear

...Shakespeare in Love is a fictional story about the writing of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare, played by Joseph Fiennes, is in the middle of what could be a disastrous writer's block. His idea for the play, which should be completed, is a pirate comedy entitled Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate's Daughter. But Will is stuck, his shrink asks him how long it has been since he has been with a woman and advises him that that is what he needs. Auditions are held since the players' troup is out on tour. All the not so actors are pitiful. Except for Thomas Kent, the alias given by Viola, played by Gwyneth Paltrow. Women at this time are not allowed on stage in public. After Shakespeare shows interest, this character runs away to her estate where a party is being held. He follows Thomas into this party to later find love at first sight in Viola. Thomas once again shows up to receive her part in the play as Romeo. While Will and Thomas are talking, Shakespeare pours his heart out, telling about this wonderfully beautiful woman, Thomas's cousin. Somehow, they end up kissing. Now that Will has this woman, his writers block is cured, he goes on to write Romeo and Juliet through his true-life actions in his affair with Viola. At the end of the movie they put on the play through all the hardships, in the company of Queen Elizabeth. I greatly enjoyed this movie, even though it is not a typical movie of my preference. The truth is that I would have never...

Words: 430 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Riam Shakespeare Theme Of Love

...Love is an emotion that can withstand difficult obstacles if their passion for eachother is meant to be. When two people meet and have affection towards eachother, nothing can take away the beauty and chemistry they have towards each other away. In the three poems Sonnet 18 written by William Shakespeare, The Prologue to Romeo and Juliet written by William Shakespeare, and “Annabel Lee” written by Edgar Allan Poe, all introduce that love can be shown from different perspectives including death. In the poem, Sonnet 18 written by William Shakespeare, the speaker expresses his deep compassion for his lover by comparing her beauty and presence to summer. In he prologue to the play Romeo and Juliet written by William Shakespeare, the poet portrays...

Words: 1436 - Pages: 6

Free Essay

The Different Flavors of Love by Shakespeare

...The Different Flavors of Love Presented By Shakespeare Madhumeta Ganesh @30024 We believe love to be a pure and sweet emotion/virtue shared between two or more creatures; compassion, self-sacrifice and a strong connection between a couple represent the love involved in a relationship. However, in the plays Much Ado About Nothing and Antony and Cleopatra, Shakespeare shows that either man uses love to achieve his own goals (like Claudio who wants to marry Hero as she is the perfect Elizabethan woman) or love is influenced in man by other people (like Beatrice and Benedick) or the intensity of love even brings about the death of lovers (as in Antony and Cleopatra). In addition, some characters explain their actions by professing or implying that they did them out of love (or heart-break due to lost love) when that is not actually the case. A key scene in Much Ado About Nothing occurs when Claudio publicly declares Hero to be sexually promiscuous just because he apparently saw her speaking to a man outside her bedroom window; Claudio’s tries to redeem his honor in the eyes of the public while giving people the impression that he is a betrayed and heart-broken lover who is shaming Hero. Similarly, in the Battle of Actium which takes place in Antony and Cleopatra, we see Caesar making a grave mistake of following Cleopatra when she sails away mid-battle. “Egypt, thou knew’st too well My heart was to thy rudder tied by th’ strings, And thou shouldst tow me after.” (3.12.60 – 62) ...

Words: 3779 - Pages: 16

Premium Essay

How Does Shakespeare Present Love in Othello?

...and the general hierarchy within Venetian society men hold all the power and women are considered to be of low intellect. Yet it is the women that speak the most sense throughout the play and it is also the women that are able to trust other characters in the play. Each woman represents a different social level, Desdemona being the highest and Bianca being of the lowest. Each sexual relationship in the play provokes some jealousy between the couple. Bianca does not appear in the play as much as the other female characters yet her presence is key to the death of Desdemona as well as other play themes. Iago often refers to her as a prostitute, "A house wife that by selling her desires, Buys herself bread and clothes". She has fallen in love with Cassio, yet he does not speak of his returned affection for her due to his desire for status, and her social standing would affect this dramatically. She is the jealous partner in this relationship and expresses this when Cassio produces Desdemona's handkerchief, which Iago has planted in Cassio's room. Iago uses Bianca's name to cause the great perplexity in the play, which eventually leads to the horrific ending. While Othello hid, listening to the conversation between Iago and Cassio he remained convinced that it was Desdemona that Cassio spoke of. Iago has no respect for her when he also blames the fight between Iago and Roderigo on Bianca's "Whoring" As Iago's wife and Desdemona's lady in waiting...

Words: 827 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Compare Voice of Love and Loss Between Bryon and Shakespeare

...Comparing the voice of love and loss in Bryon’s “When We Two Parted” and the Balcony Scene in Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” Lili Mutyambizi From the beginning of Act 2 scene 2 it is evident that Romeo conveys a different voice of love and loss compared to Bryon. Because at this point, he knows that he has no other company and so therefore does not restrict any of his feelings or thoughts that go through his mind. So in the first part of his monologue, the language in this monologue includes phrases that are associated with subjects that are essential tot he human body as he expresses:: “It is the east and Juliet is the sun, arise far sun and kill the envious moon” this signifying that he needs Juliet to come out for him to ‘live’ and destroy the feelings he has for Rosaline ‘kill the envious moon’. This showing that Romeo’s voice of love is immature as he quickly wants to diminish his previous love of Rosaline and replace with Juliet as “kill” causes a fast action of death. However when comparing the first stanza of Byron’s “When We Two Parted” the mood of this is regretful as he reflects on past events:”Pale grew thy cheek cold colder thy kiss” as this effect is reinforced by the use of enjambment that is a common theme in the poem. This signifying that Bryon’s voice of loss is mature as he is accepting that what he thought was love was growing to be non existent which Romeo does not acknowledge as in this play he thinks that his and Juliet’s love will always be there as...

Words: 1382 - Pages: 6

Free Essay

Love or Rebellion: Explore How Shakespeare and Orwell Present Forbidden Love in Romeo and Juliet and 1984

...he ends up betraying Julia once their relationship was put to the test and he saw that his life had been threatened by O’Brien; if Winston was put in Romeos position, he probably would not have committed suicide for Julia. As the mask came towards him and time was mocking him, he wished Julia could be in his place instead of him, he could of wished for it just to stop, but as well as the thought of her being there he also ‘shouted frantically’ . To shout it frantically meant that there was no hesitation in this order and he added that he wouldn’t care if they wanted to ‘tear her face off’, so he knew that she would suffer because of her crime and for his too. This seems to be the transaction period at which Winston’s learns to believe and love in Big Brother, in saying this I believe that Winston had realised that all of his thoughts of defeating big brother was not worth him dying and he had already converted. After Julia had recovered, her glance at Winston was full of hatred and ‘dislike’, it is not clear why but after they had confessed to betraying each other she gave him another look of dislike. I think Orwell planned this conversation to occur, to signify the moment they realised it was not worth them loving each other, Julia says that during the torture ‘all you care about is yourself’ but they were quite selfish throughout the whole of the book because they both new that if they were...

Words: 407 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Compare the Ways in Which Shakespeare and Marvell Have Used Poetic Form, Structure and Language to Present Their Thoughts and Feelings of Love

...ways in which Shakespeare and Marvell have used poetic form, structure and language to present their thoughts and feelings of love Both Shakespeare and Marvell present a vast array of thoughts and feelings regarding love. Shakespeare makes his true thoughts and feelings apparent through a declaration in ‘Sonnet 116’ by stating how love cannot be shaken by adversary or changed by time. However, in Marvell’s ‘To his Coy Mistress’ the speaker is more impatient, presenting a sense of carnal desire to fulfil his sexual desires rather than true love. Where Shakespeare is influenced by the concept of romantic love in the Elizabethan era and follows traditional sonnet formats to create passion, Marvell creates a satirical tone to comment on romantic love through the conventions of a metaphysical poem. Despite this difference, time is personified in both poems to represent an enemy of all lovers. Shakespeare is inspired by his era and is more sincere and passionate in his portrayal and belief of true and constant love in ‘Sonnet 116’, whereas in Marvell’s ‘To his Coy Mistress’, the speaker is driven by passion and desire to fulfil lust, that could potentially turn into love. Marvell’s representation may be harsh, but it is more considerate of a harsher reality. Through structure, Shakespeare defines his true feelings of love – by telling the reader what love is, and what it isn’t. It presents the extreme ideal of romantic love and insists that this is the only love that can be ‘true’...

Words: 2153 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

Compare and Contrast the Poem ‘Sonnet Cxxx’ by William Shakespeare and an Extract Describing Iranian Love Poetry from the Book Censoring an Iranian Love Story by Shahriar Mandanipour Published in 2009.

...Compare and Contrast the poem ‘Sonnet CXXX’ by William Shakespeare and an extract describing Iranian love poetry from the book Censoring an Iranian Love Story by Shahriar Mandanipour published in 2009. The poem and text are connected the the techniques used by the poets to describe women in love poetry. Shakespeare’s sonnet, written for his mistress the Dark Lady is part of his sequence parodies of Petrarchan blazon objectification of the female form, similarly the extract from Censoring an Iranian Love Story explores the technique used by Iranian Sufi poets in the past, the humour here is also tongue in cheek as the narrator makes reference to body parts that were ignored in comparisons as their use would be considered inappropriate. The form and structure of of both texts vary, Text A is a Shakespearean sonnet with a abab, cdcd, efef, gg rhyme scheme with a volta before a couplet, whilst using iambic pentameter in a first person setting. Text A additionally uses caesurae to present stereotypical images of idealised beauty. Text B on the other hand is a single paragraph of continuous prose and detailed descriptions which similarly are used to portray the ideals associated with Iranian beauty, Text B however uses a third person narration. Text A written for Shakespeare’s mistress uses comparative nouns to describe desired qualities of an Elizabethan woman, and the qualities which have been bestowed own his mistress. He does this by pairing nouns such as “red”,“coral” as...

Words: 702 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

William

...Top of Form Bottom of Form Rate this book 1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars Shakespeare's Sonnets by William Shakespeare 50,445 ratings, 4.23 average rating, 557 reviews Shakespeare's Sonnets Quotes (showing 1-30 of 72) “Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate: Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer's lease hath all too short a date: Sometimes too hot the eye of heaven shines, And too often is his gold complexion dimm'd: And every fair from fair sometimes declines, By chance or natures changing course untrimm'd; By thy eternal summer shall not fade, Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest; Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou growest: So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long lives this and this gives life to thee.” ― William Shakespeare, Shakespeare's Sonnets tags: love, shakespeare, youth 1092 likes Like “Love is not love Which alters when it alteration finds, Or bends with the remover to remove. O no, it is an ever-fixed mark That looks on tempests and is never shaken; It is the star to every wand'ring bark, Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken." (Sonnet 116)” ― William Shakespeare, Shakespeare's Sonnets tags: constancy, love, poetry, sacrifice 647 likes Like “Sonnet 130 My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun; Coral is far more red than her lips'...

Words: 4598 - Pages: 19

Premium Essay

Romeo and Juliet Essay

...Shakespeare was a writer that explored a range of emotions in both is drama and his poetry. His presentation of strong feelings, most particularly his presentation of love and passion, is a piece of his writing that has fascinated audiences and critics alike for centuries. It could be argued that his sonnets (166 and 130) and the play Romeo and Juliet best represents his exploration of strong feelings and of love. Romeo and Juliet is a love story written by Shakespeare, it is the most famous tragic love play. It is about “two star-crossed lovers” in different households both alike in dignity which is where the scene begins. At the beginning of the play, there’s a feud going on between the Capulet and Montague families. People involved in the feud have to defend their families and friends, even if that means bloodshed. The main thing is that Shakespeare was trying to describe an exotic place where the audience could believe a tragic love story might happen. Romeo and Juliet are about two households in Verona which is where the scene begins. Throughout the play Romeo and Juliet Shakespeare presents love as a strong and passionate emotion. He generally links love and religion in his play. The prologue is a 14 line sonnet. This describes two families that are both ‘alike in dignity’ and live in Verona; this also tells us that from each household ‘a pair of star-cross’d’ lovers will appears. Their lives are taken to mend the hatred between their families. In Act 1 Scene V takes...

Words: 1395 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Shakespeare Sonnet 130

...How does the poet present love? Many poets through history have written about love, this essay will examine how love is presented in 2 poems. In 16 century William Shakespeare wrote Sonnet 130(1564-1616) sonnet 130 is one of Shakespeare’s most famous conventional and traditional love sonnets. He wrote a series of love poems to a woman named Laura. The scholars imagined the poem as "The Dark Lady." This poem is a love poem, the first 12 lines are described about her hair, the colour of her skin being negative, then on the last 2 lines he admire he loves her no matter how she looks. When we talk about “love” poem, the first thing come up from your mind is something like cajolery you'd find in a Valentine's Day card. Old love poems bring to mind flowery language and the kind of unrealistic glop that you could never bring yourself to say with a straight face. However sonnet 130 uses honesty to present the woman he loves, unlike other sonnet uses excessive or insincere praise to present love. Shakespeare presents love by metaphor He starts the poem out with a simile comparing his mistress' eyes to the sun. He then quickly switches over to using the metaphors to compare the rest of his mistress' characteristics, such as her breasts to snow and hair to wires. The rhyme scheme for the poem is “ababcdcdefefgg” The stress pattern in weak, strong, weak, and strong and Shakespeare. Also uses long vowel sounds. In line 4 the poet says "If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head...

Words: 937 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

How Satisfying Is the Resolution at the End of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" for the Audience and to What Extent Does It Restore Harmony?

...How satisfying is the resolution at the end of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" for the audience and to what extent does it restore harmony? Much like the ancient Greek comedies, Shakespeare uses a combination of comic conventions such as stock characters, green worlds and natural fools in order to produce a satisfying play of the 16th century. With audience in mind, Shakespeare utilizes these concepts of comedy in this five act play to ensure the ending would be considered harmonious as a comedy has often been described as 'beginning in turmoil but ending in harmony'. The play begins with the classical typography of a ancient Greek comedy; the promise of a wedding. The "nuptial hour" of Theseus and Hippolyta is used as the time frame for this play. The harmony between this royal couple illustrates to the audience that there is an order to return to which is why by the end of the play the two are wed to signify a restoration of harmony in order to assure the audience that everything of discord has been "amended". Hippolyta, who was "wooed" by a sword, seems quite content to marry the man who had "won" her love by "doing [her] injury" as she consoles Theseus with the notion that the time before their wedding will be "quickly dream[t] away". This insinuates that Hippolyta is in love with Theseus regardless of the language that suggests she was forced into the marriage, which wouldn't allow for a satisfying ending, especially to that of a modern audience. However, it may depend...

Words: 1568 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Shakespeare My Mistress Eyes Are Nothing Like The Sun

...Symbolism “Shakespeare My Mistress Eyes are Nothing Like the Sun” On a closer reading of "My Mistress' Eyes are Nothing Like the Sun,” the lyricist tone appears agitated by the worlds unjust comparisons of human likenesses to Gods’, objects and abstracts. Yet, he assures readers of his love on behalf of his mistress. The poet reveals an inner peace toward love by use of concrete and abstract symbols. Focusing on Symbols leads to Shakespeares’ poem “My Mistress' Eyes are Nothing Like the Sun,” as he downplays love, in contrast to Elizabeth Barret Browning symbolism as she uplifts love, while Robert Burns try reassuring love. Shakespeare symbolizes his love using a form of figurative speech, paradox, in depicting his frustrations of disproven...

Words: 313 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Dead Poets Society

...DeadPoetsSociety DeadPoetsSociety DeadPoetsSociety DeadPoetsSociety DeadPoetsSociety DeadPoetsSociety DeadPoetsSociety DeadPoetsSociety DeadPoetsSociety DeadPoetsSociety DeadPoetsSociety DeadPoetsSociety DeadPoetsSociety DeadPoetsSociety DeadPoetsSociety Poetry Poetry Poetry Poetry Poetry Poetry Poetry Poetry Poetry Poetry Shakespeare Shakespeare Shakespeare Shakespeare Shakespeare Shakespeare Shakespeare Shakespeare Shakespeare Shakespeare Love Love Love Love Love Love Love Love Love Love Meetings Meetings Meetings Meetings Meetings Meetings Meetings Meetings Meetings Meetings Suicide Suicide Suicide Suicide Suicide Suicide Suicide Suicide Suicide Suicide Perspective Perspective Perspective Perspective Perspective Perspective Perspective Perspective Perspective Perspective Fear Fear Fear Fear Fear Fear Fear Fear Fear Fear Academy Academy Academy Academy Academy Academy Academy Academy Academy Academy Individuality Individuality Individuality Individuality Individuality Individuality Individuality Individuality Individuality Individuality TornBook TornBook TornBook TornBook TornBook TornBook TornBook TornBook TornBook TornBook Acting Acting Acting Acting Acting Acting Acting Pillars Pillars Pillars Pillars Pillars Pillars Pillars English English English English English English English Books Books Books Books Books Books Books Statement Statement Statement Statement Statement Statement Statement Dishonesty Dishonesty Dishonesty Dishonesty Dishonesty Dishonesty Dishonesty Captain...

Words: 270 - Pages: 2