Shakespeare in Love Art and Culture Quotes

How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from Shakespeare in Love.

Quote #4

VIOLA: You would leave us players without a scene to read today?!

This is a humorous line as Viola kicks Will out of bed, but it shows us that she still wants to be an actor more than anything else, which she can be if she stays in bed with the playwright all day. She can't act without scenes, so he needs to get his knickers on and start writing.

Quote #5

VIOLA: I love poetry above all.

QUEEN: Above Lord Wessex?

One of the reasons Viola is such a fantastic actress is because of her powerful love for art and poetry. She is probably a person who reads it often, and studies and— most importantly for an actor—feels it. She is able to convey these lines on stage. And as the Queen quips, Viola definitely loves poetry more than stodgy old Wessex, who doesn't have a poetic bone in his body.

Quote #6

QUEEN: Playwrights teach nothing about love, they make it pretty, they make it comical, or they make it lust. They cannot make it true.

The Queen seconds Viola's remark about plays not portraying true love. Being the Queen, she is much blunter with her remarks.