Ghost character that when Shakespeare dramatised the poem and expanded Mercutio's role, he introduced a brother for him in order to suggest a more fraternal character. Shakespeare appears to be the first dramatist to have used the name Valentine prior to "Romeo and Juliet", but he himself had actually used the name previously. In "Two Gentlemen of Verona", a play about two brothers and also set in Verona, Valentine is a true and constant lover and Proteus is a fickle one. While not primarily based on it, "Two Gentlemen of Verona" adapts several incidents from Brooke's poem, and in all these instances
Shakespeare in Love Shakespeare in Love Shakespeare in Love is a 1998 American romantic period comedy-drama film directed by John Madden, written by Marc Norman and playwright Tom Stoppard. The film depicts an imaginary love affair involving playwright William Shakespeare (Joseph Fiennes) and Viola de Lesseps (Gwyneth Paltrow) while Shakespeare was writing "Romeo and Juliet". Several characters are based on historical figures, and many of the characters, lines, and plot devices allude to Shakespeare's plays. "Shakespeare in Love" received favorable reviews from critics and was a box office success, grossing $289.3 million worldwide and was the ninth highest-grossing film of 1998. The film