Parallel Between Romeo and Juliette and Shakespeare in Love :: Free Romeo and Juliet Essays

During the part of Shakespeare’s life portrayed in Shakespeare in Love, he is writing the play Romeo an Juliet. He based his play on the things that happened to him during that time and therefore there are many comparable between the two films. Shakespeare had fallen in love with Viola, a royalty, but the fact that he was already married and very poor prevented him from marrying the rich Viola. Romeo was a Montaque and Juliet a Capulet. Because of the feud between the two families, Romeo and Juliet were not able to marry as well. Furthermore Viola’s father signed a sealed contract with Lord Wessex, promising Viola to him as wife so that they could have titled offspring. In Romeo and Juliet, Juliet’s father had also signed a contract with Paris and Juliet had to marry him. Lord Wessex had threatened to kill Shakespeare and, protecting himself, Shakespeare said his name was Christopher Marlow, his friend. Later on Marlow was killed and Shakespeare felt responsible. In Romeo and Juliet Romeo’s best friend, Mercutio is killed because he defended Romeo’s name. Shakespeare and Viola only made eye contact once during a play and later, when she was disguised as a boy, she played the leading role in his play and he was attracted to her, but he did not know it was her until much later. Romeo and Juliet fell in love at a mask-ball, therefore also unaware of each other’s identities at the time. Only later they discovered that they were from different families. In both films the nurse of Juliet and Viola respectively, served as go-betweens and knew everything about the secret relationships. Viola’s nurse stood watch at the door when Viola and Shakespeare were making love, Juliet’s nurse stood guard at the door when Romeo and Juliet were married in secret. In the beginning of the film Shakespeare is in a state because he needed a muse to be able to write and was involved with a Rosalyn, thinking she might help him restore his ability to write.