Shakespeare in Love - "It's a Mystery"

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"Shakespeare in Love" review

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YouTube is selective about which videos are reproduced, so this video selection was not my first choice!
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In John Madden’s film Shakespeare in Love, the idea of Gwenyth Paltrow convincingly dressing like a man may unbelievable. However, as the story to unfolds, many seemingly implausible components of the film coalesce, creating a plausible vision of Shakespeare’s life. In conjunction with playwright Tom Stoppard, Maddon creates a successful love story between William Shakespeare (Joseph Fiennes) and Viola de Lesseps (Gwyneth Paltrow). The interplay of fact, fantasy, humor, and allusion create a portrait of Shakespeare and his environs.
In Shakespeare in Love, Madden blends fact and fantasy with the characters in the film. Such characters as Christopher Marlowe, Philip Henslowe, Will Kempe, John Hemings, Augustine Philips, and Richard Burbage were all characters in William Shakespeare’s life.

In the movie, the roles they played in Shakespeare’s life are altered to further the plot. One example is Philip Henslowe, who was in debt to loan shark Hugh Fennyman. In exchange for a partnership in the comedy "Romeo and Ethel, The Pirate’s Daughter", Henslowe is able to absolve himself of his debt because he is sure the comedy will be a hit. Henslowe was unaware that the play would be renamed Romeo and Juliet, and would end in a tragedy. The ensemble of characters in the story worked together to create something extraordinary.

Shakespeare maintains undertones of comedy in Romeo and Juliet, such as the character of the Nurse. Stoppard and Maddon retain the same undertones, and inject present-day humor in Shakespeare in Love. The presence of a coffee mug marked “A present from Stratford-on-Avon” gives the viewer the first clue to many other humorous subtleties to come. Madden brings smiles to viewers when Shakespeare jumps into the ferry and says “Follow that boat!”; and the often said phrase, “It’s a mystery,” keeps the unique lighthearted feeling alive as the audience compares the parallel plots of Shakespeare in Love and Romeo and Juliet.

The parallel plots uniquely endear William Shakespeare to the viewers. Initially, as the film establishes its own plot, Madden uses fact, fantasy and humor to captivate the audience. As Gwyneth Paltrow’s character disguises herself as Thomas Kent, romantic comedy emerges. The clever allusion to Romeo and Juliet within the plot of the actual film delights the fans. For example, Will and Viola are making love and reciting the lines from Romeo and Juliet, lines which Will includes in his current play. The film volleys back and forth between Will and Viola to characters, Romeo and Juliet.

John Madden’s Shakespeare in Love not only demonstrates how the interplay of fact, fantasy, humor, and allusion create a portrait of Shakespeare and his environs, but enthralls the audience. The successful love story of Romeo and Juliet haunts the minds of most Shakespeare fans, and finds ways into the hearts of viewers everywhere, through Shakespeare in Love.




Work Cited
Shakespeare in Love. Dir. John Madden. Perf. Gweneth Paltrow, Joseph Fiennes, Judi Dench, Geoffrey Ruch, Colin Firth, and Ben Affleck. Videocassette. Miramax, 1998.

~Dana