Shakespeare in Love: The Love Poetry of William Shakespeare

by William Shakespeare

Tom Stoppard's screenplay of the film "Shakespeare in Love," strongly tipped to win an Oscar in 1999. It is 1593 and Will Shakespeare - rising young light of the Elizabethan stage - struggles with writer's block.

Genres: Poetry, Classics, Shakespeare, Romance, Literature

Paperback

Published December 4, 1998

About the author

William Shakespeare was an English playwright, poet, and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon" (or simply "the Bard"). His extant works, including collaborations, consist of some 39 plays, 154 sonnets, three long narrative poems, and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. Shakespeare remains arguably the most influential writer in the English language, and his works continue to be studied and reinterpreted.
Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Sometime between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part-owner ("sharer") of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men after the ascension of King James VI and I of Scotland to the English throne. At age 49 (around 1613), he appears to have retired to Stratford, where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare's private life survive; this has stimulated considerable speculation about such matters as his physical appearance, his sexuality, his religious beliefs, and even certain fringe theories as to whether the works attributed to him were written by others.
Shakespeare produced most of his known works between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were primarily comedies and histories and are regarded as some of the best works produced in these genres. He then wrote mainly tragedies until 1608, among them Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth, all considered to be among the finest works in the English language. In the last phase of his life, he wrote tragicomedies (also known as romances) and collaborated with other playwrights.
Many of Shakespeare's plays were published in editions of varying quality and accuracy during his lifetime. However, in 1623, John Heminge and Henry Condell, two fellow actors and friends of Shakespeare's, published a more definitive text known as the First Folio, a posthumous collected edition of Shakespeare's dramatic works that includes 36 of his plays. Its Preface was a prescient poem by Ben Jonson, a former rival of Shakespeare, that hailed Shakespeare with the now famous epithet: "not of an age, but for all time".

Reviews

[Anima · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sonnet: 116
"let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments; love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O, no, it is an ever-fixèd mark,
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wand'ring bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his heighth be taken."

[Lena · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is about as nerdy as it can get. Shakespeare poetry with beautiful black and white pictures from the movie adaptation Shakespeare in Love.

[Jamilla Smith-Joseph · Rating 3 out of 5]

I personally could have done without the sepia-filtered stills from ‘Shakespeare in Love’, but it is a sort of tie-in book for the film so I don’t know what I expected. Other than that, this has little to do with the film itself, so make of that what you will. I wouldn’t have minded knowing who exactly said what extracted lines from the plays, same for the song selection. But the selection of sonnets is good, and it’s nice to have a collection of a variety of Shakespeare’s writing. Sometimes I think a whole play of his can be a bit intimidating, so this is something nice to dip into or get started with. It’s Shakespeare at the end of the day, so there’s always going to be something of value.

[Bella · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is compilation of poems and songs written by William Shakespeare that have to do with the subject of love. It tells you how love can be a blessing or a curse. In this book you can flip to any page and read from any point from the book. There's a different story/emotion on each page. What I enjoyed the most about this book was the poem style writing because, in my opinion, I find it a little easier to read. I overall enjoy reading Shakespeare's plays. What I didn't really like about this book was that on some of the passages/songs it didn't have the name of the play it came from, but that's just a minor thing. Overall I enjoyed reading this book and I recommend to anyone who enjoys reading Shakespeare, romance, and/or poems. I give this a 8/10 review.

[Betty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zo ik heb ook eens een Shakespeare gelezen ;)
De opzet van dit boekje was leuk; ene bladzijde de originele Engelse taal en daarnaast het Nederlands. Zo kreeg ik het gevoel mee, kon ik het beter begrijpen en goed voor mijn Engels.

[Siobhan · Rating 4 out of 5]

“O, love’s best habit is in seeming trust, And age in love loves not to have years told. Therefore I lie with her and she with me, And in our faults by lies we flattered be.”

[Panda · Rating 4 out of 5]

basically just Shakespeare quotes and black-and-white photos from Shakespeare In Love

[Nele · Rating 4 out of 5]

De Nederlandse vertaling naast de gedichten maakt ze veel toegankelijker, maar Shakespeare klinkt zoveel mooier (en verrassend genoeg ook simpeler) in het Engels.

[Marilyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 1/2 ⭐️

[Kayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this. Poetry is exactly what I needed today.

[stevie__reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I will have poetry in my life. And adventure. And love. Love above all. No...not the artful postures of love, not playful and poetical games of love for the amusement of an evening, but love that...over-throws life. Unbiddable, ungovernable like a riot in the heart, and nothing to be done, come ruin or rapture.
Love—like there has never been in a play.”

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Curiously Goodreads has the Screenplay for Shakespeare In Love and this tie-in selection of his sonnets listed as being 2 different editions of the same book. Try 2 different books, guys.
I'm reviewing the poetry selection.
So, I've never seen the film Shakespeare In Love. (I know, I know) I really don't have the strong desire to watch it, either. Why did I pick this up, then? It was at a Library book sale, it was in brand new condition, it was 25 cents, and I love Shakespeare. Honestly, this is a really lovely compilation of some of his most romantic sonnets and quotes from his plays. So many of my Favourites are in here, and it's really nice to have them all in one place and easily accessible. Also, the photos of Joseph Fiennes are a bonus.

[Kimberly Wolfe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love it.

[Tailsmo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful poetry, beautiful images.

[Indah Threez Lestari · Rating 3 out of 5]

731 - 2013

This is not a movie tie-in novel.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

cool, but not my favorite book in my Shakespeare collection