Shakespeare in Love: A Screenplay

I've seen many books that excerpt Will's love sonnets and dialogues, and this one is no different--except for one thing. It includes wonderful pictures from the movie--mostly of Joseph Fiennes and Gwyneth Paltrow. If you're a fan of the movie Shakespeare in Love (I am!!!!), you'll definitely love this book; however, if you're looking for a more complete verion of the Bard's work, you'd be better investing in an anthology.

Stoppard and Norman have interwoven a screenplay worthy of it's phenomenal acclaim. It was easily the finest and wittiest montage of iambic pentametre, puns, and one-liners I have ever experienced . . . especially on screen. Bravo once again to one of the finest dramatists of this century! Believe me, like the show, I could . . .GO ON!

The movie was so great, and mostly on the strength of it's terrific script, so could this book be anything but a great read? I loved, absolutely LOVED this movie, went to see it four times and I'm eagerly awaiting the release of the video. This is very much worth the read, because there is just such a volume of literary and historical allusions that's its impossible to catch all of them at the theater, especially if you only see it once, since all you end up doing is trying to keep up with the plot, which moves at such excellent speed. Reading the screenplay allows you to catch many of the subtler jokes you may miss even upon repeated viewings. Thank you Shakespeare In Love! You have renewed my belief in the capability of the language of movies to be as meaningful and sublimely beautiful as any found in literature ("Love knows nothing of rank or riverbank! It will spark between a queen and the poor vagabond who plays the king, and their love should be minded by each, for love denied blights the soul we owe to God!") (Viola as Thomas: ....Tell me how you love her, Will. Will: Like a sickness and its cure together. Viola as Thomas: Yes, like rain and sun, like cold and heat. (collecting herself) Is your lady beautiful? Since I have come from the country I have not seen her close. Tell me, is she beautiful? Will: Oh, if I could write the beauty of her eyes! I was born to look in them and know myself. Viola as Thomas: And her lips? Will: Oh Thomas, her lips! The early morning rose would wither on the branch if it could feel envy!") Etc.

This book feels as good in your hands as the film felt in your heart. Wonderful sepiatone photographs from the film are intertwined with passages from Shakespeares's sonnets, plays and poems. Read it from front to back, open it anywhere, it's a "little touch of Shakespeare in the night" when the night was made for lovers.

Though definitely not the definitive source of a collection of Shakespeare's work, this little anthology is a handy pocket version of the best and best-known selections which go hand-in-hand with some very lovely pictures from the acclaimed movie, "Shakespeare in Love". While the love of my own life may be no Joseph Fiennes, I found this book to be a terrific answer to that old rhetorical comment, "You want me to recite what???" Aah well, some just have poetry in their veins.