Shakespeare in LUST?

Shakespeare in Love is an enjoyable movie, yes. It is very well written and acted by a respectable cast of actors. There is no doubt that most would categorize this movie as a “good” movie. I really did like it, but I had only one problem with it. My problem with the film is that the writers of the movie seem to generalize in their thinking that lust is the same thing as love. Lust and love, coincidentally, could not be more unalike.

When Shakespeare meets his “love” interest for the first time, he spots her from across the dance floor. Immediately he knows that he wants her to be his muse; the job description which basically entails sleeping with him a few times so he can write. He seems to become infatuated with her and her him. Infatuation and lust are the same things, and neither involves love. Shakespeare seems to be in love with his muse, but the only difference between his other love interests and his new one is that she is engaged rather than already married.

Judging from his past endeavors in finding muses, the problem becomes whether or not one can tell if he is actually in love or just using this new girl as a new and different muse. The play Romeo and Juliet seems to be taken almost exactly from the muse and her lover’s total experience in knowing each other. Whether or not Romeo and Juliet are in love is a whole other topic. However, Shakespeare’s “love” for this woman is mostly physical and the rest is because she adores his work. Shakespeare is not in love in this movie; he is full-blown lustful.