“Shakespeare in Love” definitely felt like a 90’s movie.  Its visual quality and props were a little subpar to today’s standards, and it kind of added to the feeling of historical times.  William Shakespeare, a fledgling playwright, falls in mutual love with a rich woman by the name of Violet de Lesseps who is already arranged to marry Lord Wessex, a jerk, and move with him to the New World.  First seeing each other at a party hosted at the de Lesseps castle, the two bond through their love for poetry, as Violet is one of the few people already well versed in several of William’s works.  For several nights, Shakespeare manages to sneak his way into Violet’s room where the two enjoy their ripe fruit of intimacy.  While this showed both’s desire to be together despite being caught, it also allowed the two to wake up startled by the morning bell, which counts down the few days left before Violet is set to leave for the New World.  I liked how the imminent end of their relationship periodically presents itself throughout the movie, and how it both prevents and promotes romantic scenes.  While the couple can’t realistically expect their relationship to persevere, it makes imagining their future that much more tempting, as their dreams are the only place they can live their longterm desires.  These dreams find themselves untouched by time and by the less romantic aspects of reality, sealing the the couple’s passion for one another.

I was thinking on my way to lunch today, how much better it feels to be hungry and eating than to be full and satiated.  Throughout the movie, Violet and William are feverishly feeding their want for each other because they know they will not be able to in the future.  They are able to maximally enjoy each other at the tall peak of their love, at a height that has been set by their inability to be together later.  While relationships can and sometimes do flourish in the long run, there is a charm to being in love with someone when their presence still feels new to you.  For that reason, I don’t think their relationship is as tragic as it initially seems.