Intellectually, I'm going to say the protagonist is Will. The nemesis in the love story is Wessex but I'm not sure there's really a nemesis for Will in the story writing - except maybe the writer's block itself (which I guess would really be him, standing in his own way). The attractor would be Viola. Are there any true mentors? It seems like a lot of the other characters fall into the Trickster role: Marlowe, Henslowe, Fennyman. But after all this, I still have the suspicion that Viola is the protagonist. I don't think Will changes all that much - a lot of things happento him and his growth will truly be seen in the future, past the film's ending. Viola is the one who makes decisions and instigates change. She decides to become Thomas Kent and she decides to flee her wedding and go to the theater. Ultimately, she decides to accept her fate and go with Wessex. Through it all, I think she discovers herself and her womanhood...and I think we actually see that change in the script. She grows from child to woman. Does Will really experience these sorts of profound changes?

On a different subject, I have never cared much for this film. In reading the script, I realized one main reason is that I find Viola's behavior inauthentic for the time period. Specifically it's that they have a full-blown affair...but would a innocent young woman of the upper middle class (upper class?) in that era really lose her virginity before marriage? I don't buy it - and that seems like a flaw in the writing of the character. It's just way too modern and ultimately unnecessary (really, they just needed to meet at night, share some passionate kisses, fall in love, and work on the play). I also think it lowers her to the level of the other mistresses when she's supposed to be his goddess/muse. Does anyone else have thoughts on this? I also have a hard time sympathizing with Will. As previously mentioned, I think he's a little weak as a protagonist. But I also dislike what he does to Viola - hiding his married state which falsely leads her on - but that's ultimately swept under the rug because it's "true love." His conduct is generally awful but yet he ultimately gets rewarded for it by going on to massive success. (Yes, he loses Viola but that was a given.) The funny thing is, I'm generally not that conservative...but these things really bug me here!

I think it's certainly plausible to look swap around the character functions based on your protagonist... Here's what it might look like with Will as the protag:

Protagonist: Will Attractor: Viola Mentor: Marlowe Trickster: ???The Queen??? Nemesis: Wessex

Here's with Viola as the protag:

Protagonist: Viola Attractor: Will Mentor: Nurse Trickster: ???The Queen??? Nemesis: Wessex Kinda weird to think of it as she submits to the nemesis...so I don't know if this quite works...

L. Fernando and I are in sync with the story in terms of possible character archetypes. I will elaborate on those thoughts later tonight when I can grab a few minutes. Also magic_melinda: It's funny how movies can hit people in different ways. For instance, I didn't have a problem at all with Viola's actions mostly because she was in love with theater and said point blank, "I will have love. And poetry in my life." Clear statement of goal. But then I can see your point, too. In terms of Will's metamorphosis: My take is that he starts out basically lost, searching for his 'self' (the first image we have of him is scratching out various versions of his name) and living on the surface of his life (i.e., drinking, whoring). By the end of the story, he has dug down INTO his Self, experiencing rapturous joy through his romance with Viola and bitter sorrow through losing her. Per Jung, the universe presented Will with Viola, true love whom he would lose, precisely in order to drive him into an authentic life, not some game he was playing at the beginning of the story. He needed to feels the breadth and depth of emotions and passions in order to unleash his creativity in words. We are witness to that throughout the story as Romeo & Juliet evolves in direct relationship to his romance with Viola. And even if you look at it like this -- he starts out with writer's block, he ends up writing one of the greatest stories ever told -- that strikes me as a pretty significant sign of metamorphosis. But again, I can see your point as well. That's the thing with analysis: It's not the realm of 'right' or 'wrong,' but rather a place where impressions and insights reign, a giant smorgasbord from which we can choose all sorts of ideas to influence our understanding of any given story.

Here's my attempt at the character archetypes, for the two romantic protagonists (mosly I agree with L. Fernand, but I have a few variations here) as well as trying it out for the story of the production of the play, looking at Henslowe as the protagonist (or symbol) of that story: Protagonist: Will Nemesis: Rosaline - who he thought would be his muse, but she betrays him Wessex - who gets what Will wants Attractor: Viola Mentor: also Viola (she spurs him on, inspires him in his writing) as well as Marlowe - early on helps Will with ideas for writing of Romeo and “Ethel”, and when he dies Will acknowledges what a great writer and inspiration he was Trickster: Burbage (indirectly to Will, more through Henslowe) - was their enemy/competition and ends up saving them Protagonist: Viola Nemesis: Wessex Attractor: Will Mentor: Nurse also Queen (but I think she is more Trickster than Mentor) Trickster: Queen - in the middle, she challenges (essentially insults) Viola, and in the end she defends “Thomas” but makes Viola comply with her “duty” to Wessex Protagonist: Henslowe (the story of the play) Nemesis: Tinley - wants to shut him down Attractor: Will, through his passion for the play Mentor: I don’t think Henslowe has a mentor. Trickster: Fennyman - turns from mean guy he owes money to, to passionate supporter of (and participant in) theatre Burbage - his competition turned saviour Tranformations/Arcs It is interesting that pretty much all of the major characters experience significant transformations - other than the Queen, who has this wise, overseeing, god-like kind of role. She perceives where others don’t see, she is the only character who sees through the disguises, she can tell with a glance when Viola’s been “plucked”. And she is the arbiter of justice, who ultimately tells Viola what she must do. Will: seeds are sown for young blocked writer to become the great William Shakespeare Viola: from rash young and passionate girl to “going as a widow to these vows” to Wessex (a very sad and unsatisfying arc…!) Henslowe: not so much an arc - but he got what he wanted, the play produced Burbage: from their competition to their saviour Fennyman: from greedy guy to passionate theatre-lover