We have changed our privacy policy. In addition, we use cookies on our website for various purposes. By continuing on our website, you consent to our use of cookies. You can learn about our practices by reading our privacy policy.

Shakespeare in Love Scene 22 Summary

  • The actors take their bows to a happy house.
  • But they're interrupted by Master Tilney, the censor, who plans to arrest them all.
  • But, in a shocking reveal, the Queen stands up in the audience.
  • She approaches the stage, and says this play was not an exhibition of "public lewdness." If it were, the Queen herself wouldn't be there, now would she?
  • She demands to look at Master Kent, and Viola bows like a man in front of the Queen.
  • The Queen says the illusion is remarkable.
  • "If only Lord Wessex were here," the Queen says, and Wessex tries to flee before the rat boy rats him out.
  • The Queen tells him that he lost his wager, and this play shows the very essence of true love.
  • Before she leaves, the Queen welcomes Shakespeare to Greenwich to speak with her again. We think that means she liked the play.
  • Wessex intercepts the Queen as she departs.
  • She taunts him for losing his bride so soon.
  • She tells Wessex to pay the wager of fifty pounds to Master Kent, and the Queen tells Kent to go fetch Wessex's bride from inside the playhouse.
  • Then she boards her carriage to depart.