How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from Shakespeare in Love.
Quote #1
PURITAN: The theatres are handmaidens of the devil! Under the name of the Curtain, the players breed lewdness in your wives, rebellion in your servants, idleness in your apprentices and wickedness in your children! And the Rose smells thusly rank by any name! I say a plague on both their houses!
This quote doesn't just serve as the inspiration for Shakespeare's famous line "A plague on both their houses!" It also shows us that despite how popular the theatre is, there are still some who denounce it. This early in the film, it seems like it might be foreshadowing a scandal, but it really doesn't. Yes, the Master of Revels is scandalized by Viola… but no one else seems to be.
Quote #2
NURSE: Playhouses are not for well-born ladies.
The Nurse explains to us the class differences in effect at this time. Mostly common folk attend the playhouses, in the cramped standing-room only pits and uncomfortable wooden benches in the balcony. Viola, as a lady, may only see plays performed when the Queen does, at her various estates.
Quote #3
NURSE: Well-monied is the same as well-born and well-married is more so. Lord Wessex was looking at you tonight.
This line is a bit of foreshadowing that Lord Wessex will likely make a bargain for Viola, whether she wants it or not. She may be upper class, but in a way, that gives her even less power as a woman. She is merely a bargaining chip.