The snake bangle is a key element to the film's plot -- Will Shakespeare's search for his lost muse, and for love. At the beginning of the film, Will struggles to write his new play Romeo And Ethel, he realises he must...find my muse, and tells the Apothecary...I have lost my gift..., the Apothecary, taking the snake bangle from a drawer, tells him...Here is a bangle found in Psyche's temple on Olympus...write your name on paper and feed it into the snake...the woman who wears the bangle will dream of you and your gift will return.... Doing as the Apothecary instructs Will takes the bangle to his lover Rosaline, and slipping it onto her wrist tells her...I need you to be my muse..., however, it is not until he meets Viola de Lesseps [played by Gwyneth Paltrow] that his inspiration is restored and he writes Romeo And Juliet, a copy of which he later presents to Viola (see lot 4).