A Woman's World: Queen Elizabeth's Influence on "Shakespeare In Love"

The Academy Award winning movie, "Shakespeare In Love" tells a love
story in Elizabethan times between an illusory Will Shakespeare and a female
character, Viola. While the movie is meant to show a fictional, Hollywood
version of William Shakespeare's writings, in particular Romeo and
Juliet, "Shakespeare In Love" accurately portrays Queen Elizabeth's
personality, as well as the non-fictional accounts of the love and loyalty her
subjects had for her. In addition to Queen Elizabeth’s role in the movie,
another strong-willed character, Viola, exemplifies the roles and statuses of
other women during the time. The creators of “Shakespeare In Love” display
Queen Elizabeth's ambitious personality, and the tremendous influence she had
on 16th century England.

Queen Elizabeth played the role of a woman in a man's world, but she
ruled England with an iron fist by demanding respect from all her subjects and
standing by her beliefs. She chose to remain a virgin and not marry during her
rein. Normally, at that time, a woman who refused to marry and produce heirs
would have been looked down upon. Nevertheless, Elizabeth was strong-willed
and stubborn and she refused to let other people's expectations of her get in
the way of how she planned to rule England, a life she willingly chose.
Elizabeth "retained an important kind of social power only as long as she was
an object of desire" (Longman 1021) and consequently, she received respect
from England.

In the movie, “Shakespeare In Love,” Gweneth Paltrow plays Viola, an
unusually ambitious woman for the times. Viola is required to marry Wessex and
move to Virginia with him. However, she falls in love with Will Shakespeare
while performing as a man in his play. Because a woman's place was not in the
theater, Viloa had to disguise herself as a man in order to do what she loved:
perform and read poetry in front of an audience. When Viola and Will's love
for each other is discovered, Queen Elizabeth insists Viola keep her vows to
Wessex and go to Virginia with him. Although Elizabeth herself promoted a
woman's right to choose whether or not to marry, she knew that Viola had
already said her vows in God's presence. This exemplifies the Queen's
integrity and ambition in the movie, which is parallel to her real life
decisions not told in the Hollywood version. When Elizabeth discovered that
her cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots, gave the throne to her son, James VI,
Elizabeth was understanding and courageous in allowing Mary to escape to
England. However, when she later learned that Mary had planned to assassinate
The Queen and convert England back to Catholicism, Elizabeth regretfully
ordered the execution of her own flesh and blood. (Longman 1023) In doing so,
Elizabeth made an example of Mary, and proved that even though she was a
woman, she was still the Queen of England and would uphold the law of the
land. Clearly, Elizabeth was a stern and loyal Queen, but she also had a
softer side that the movie doesn’t divulge, but can be exposed through reading
her speeches and poetry.

Queen Elizabeth was a poet and she valued the arts and culture of the world so
much that she wanted England to be influenced by things like literature and
poetry. Elizabeth wrote poetry about love and politics, and her place as a
woman in the world. In a poem entitled "On Monsieur's Departure" she wrote
about her melancholy because she was not able to marry the Duke d'Alencon:

"I grieve and dare not show my discontent,
I love and yet am forced to hate,
I do, yet dare not say I ever meant,
I seen stark mute but inwardly do prate."
(Longman 1024)

This typifies how Elizabeth struggled with her feelings of love as well as her
position of power. During "Shakespere In Love" a wager is made
between "Wilhelmina" (Will Shakespeare in disguise) and Wessex for 50 pounds
to conclude if any plays can show the "very truth and nature of love." Queen
Elizabeth seems eager to see the results of this wager and insults Wessex to
many people's delight. Queen Elizabeth's clever character and her interest in
the arts are believable in the movie because Elizabeth "succeeded in
commanding the attention of her subjects by transforming her court into a
center of literary and artistic activity." (Longman 1023) Like the creators of
the movie, we can only imagine how Queen Elizabeth would have reacted towards
Will Shakespeare's play, and the portrayal of her character seems to relate
very well to aspects of Queen Elizabeth that we have learned thus far in
readings about her.

"Shakespeare In Love" was a movie that not only provided entertainment for
movie lovers of the twentieth century, but it also provided an insightful look
at a very important aspect of the 16th century. Queen Elizabeth is considered
by many to be the greatest monarch England has and will ever know. She ruled
like no other monarch because she had to overcome other's doubts and
reservations due to her sex. However, as shown in the movie, Queen Elizabeth
eventually did command her subject's utmost respect with her beauty, wit, and
power that made many people envious. She, like Viola, defied society's
expectations of women in every aspect from vocation to love and marriage. She
was a deeply intelligent and amazing woman, as shown by her ability to write
poetry and give speeches that moved her country. Elizabeth is an example of a
woman who broke all the rules and succeeded in doing so, which is why she is
personified in movies like "Shakespeare In Love."

The Academy award winning movie, Shakespeare In Love, swept the Oscars
in 1999 with a fictional story about Will Shakespeare that contained non-
fictional information about Queen Elizabeth, the status of women, and the
politics in England during the Renaissance time. Many of the details in the
movie can be related to aspects of the texts we have read thus far this
quarter. Our texts hold our attention with both Romance and historical
references. Is it the Romantic love story between Will and Viola that attracts
the average audience member to Shakespeare In Love, or is it a fascination
with the true details of Renaissance England included in the movie that
everyone enjoys? Our text about Queen Elizabeth and England during
Shakespeare's time argue for both.

Although Elizabeth was a severe Queen who "retained an important kind
of social power as long as she was an object of desire, " (Longman 1021) she
did have an attraction to literature and the arts. Elizabeth was interested in
Romance, and this is displayed in the movie when she attends Will
Shakespeare's play to see if any performance can show the "very truth and
nature of love." In our texts, Elizabeth's poems about her passion for the
royal crown and her love for the male figures in her life tell us that she was
a romantic at heart and was inspired by Renaissance art. In a poem
entitled "On Monsieur's Departure" she wrote about her melancholy because she was unable to marry the Due d'Alencon:

"I grieve and dare not show my discontent,
I love and yet am forced to hate,
I do, yet dare not say I ever meant,
I seen stark mute but inwardly do prate." (Longman
1024)

Here, Elizabeth expresses the conflict between her love for a man and her
position of power. By showing Elizabeth's interest in theater and eagerness to
see Shakespeare's play performed, the movie parallels historical facts about
her interests during her reign. "Elizabeth succeeded in commanding the
attention of her subjects by transforming her court into a center of literary
and artistic activity."(Longman 1024) Facts about the political history of
England coincide with Elizabeth's story and play a large role in Shakespeare
In Love.

During the Renaissance, the term "new world" was used to describe the
new found land of America, and the meaning of the term represented a new
beginning for England and other parts of Europe. The goal of England, and one
of Queen Elizabeth's aims, was to expand England's territory in order to
pursue the political and economic interests of the country. English were
heading to America to colonize and create a "new world" for themselves, which
is why the movie portrays Wessex and Viola heading to Virginia. Because Wessex
is broke, the queen offers him a spot of land in the new world and Wessex is
hoping he can turn it into a profitable business. Harvesting crops and
inhabiting the land was important for England to prosper in the new world.
Unfortunately for Viola, she had to marry Wessex and travel with him to
Virginia because of her duty to her family, and because women of the higher
classes hardly ever chose for themselves whom they would marry.

The Status of women during the 16th and 17th centuries was far
different than that of women today, yet Queen Elizabeth was definitely a
modern woman with no intentions of letting other people's expectations of her
get in the way of how she planned on ruling England. Elizabeth chose to remain
a virgin and not marry during her reign. This decision caused conflict in
England because she wouldn't be producing heirs; however Elizabeth was
stubborn and advocated her own right to chose. Other non-royal women of these
times were not so fortunate when it came to choosing their future. Marriage
between a man and a woman was arranged if it was for the good of the family or
the good of England. Almost all women were not allowed to choose a profession,
and if they desired to perform, like Viola in Shakespeare In Love, they
couldn't do so on a stage in front of an audience because women actors were
strictly prohibited.

Shakespeare In Love was a movie that provided not only entertainment
for movie lovers of the twentieth century, but also an insightful look at a
few important aspects of the Renaissance. If Will and Viola fell in love in
the twenty-first century, no one would have stopped them from marrying, but
because it wasn't Viola's decision, because the "new world" awaited
colonization by Europeans, and because Queen Elizabeth desired England to
develop in the Americas, their love affair had a tragic ending. Such love and
tragedy mixed with historical events that grasp the attention and interest of
audiences is the formula for an Academy Award winning movie.

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