"Shakespeare in Love", apart from being outrageously entertaining and somewhat far-fetched in places does do a terrific job in showing the roles of women in Shakespearean times. This is not only made evident by the characters, but by the plot and the various actions and attitudes all match those of Elizabethan London.

In the times of Queen Elizabeth the First women were harshly seen as an accessory for men. There was no feminine independence as such. Women would be married, and obey their husbands. Jobs for women were restricted, and any woman of independence would usually be working as a prostitute or something of lower importance. The only one true woman with power was the Queen herself, but if there was also to be a king, then similar rules would apply. It was very much a mans world.

From the very start of the movie we are shown...