Shakespeare in Love is a movie that made me remember why, after 400 years, we are still reading, enjoying, watching and reciting the words of The Bard. The premise of the movie is that Shakespeare’s experiences, in this case with love, gave him inspiration to write his plays. Here, his love for Gwynth Paltrow’s character is his inspiration for Romeo and Juliet. Paltrow’s Oscar-winning performance is riveting as her precise pronunciation keeps the audience hanging on every one of Shakespeare’s words.
Sara asked us to ponder possible inspirations behind the writing process, and to consider whether or not a script can truly express the feelings of love to its audience. In this case, I believe the answer is a resounding YES! The layers of the true actor, playing the stage actor who is Shakespeare, inspired by falling in love and playing Romeo, to convey love to his stage audience as well as to the movie audience, stretches the concept a bit far. However, it enforces the idea that the conveyance of the meaning of love to the audience really comes from the viewer’s interpretation through his/her own emotions and experiences, much like Shakespeare’s character in the movie conveyed his experiences through his writing. In his own words, “Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind.”
Lastly, the movie did leave me wondering if all of Shakespeare’s plays were inspired by real events or people in his life. If so, his must have been a crazy life!