“O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?“
This quote might be the most famous one from the love story of Romeo and Juliet. It is known by many people around the globe and translated into various languages. It is also known, that the tragedy deals with the ideal of true love and attends to the contact with insurmountable disparities.
Down to the present day they are numerous variations of the original plot, for instance in ballet, classic theatre or movies. The tragedy´s popularity is not deniable, and wittingly or unwittingly the story seems familiar to almost every reader or viewer. This has the cause that in almost everybody´s life there is or was at least one point, where most of the people can relate their personal love-fate to this of Romeo´s and Juliet´s; A loving couple separated by the hate-filled relationship of their families.
At that point, it is nonessential if the separating barrier is represented by parental home, origin, social class, religion, or financial background. Due to this, Romeo and Juliet still is of current interest and affects readers emotionally even centuries after its publishing. This is, for me personally, fascinating, and I want to research into the play to understand Shakespeare´s way of thinking and intentions as well as to explore the limitations and possibilities when it comes to transfer this demanding work by Shakespeare into twenty-first century scenarios.
Table of Contents
1. The tragedy “Romeo and Juliet“ at a glance
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Personal constellation
1.3 Summary
1.4 Staging
1.4.1 The original tragedy
1.4.2 In the Film
2. Analysis of two key-scenes, comparison between the Book and the Film
2.1 Scene 1 “love“ (Act 1, scene 5)
2.1.1 Content
2.1.2 Comparison of the two stagings
2.1.3 Use and importance of language
2.1.4 Message of the scene about the tragedy in general
2.2 Scene 2 “perspective“ (Act 5, scene 3)
2.2.1 Content
2.2.2 Comparison of the two stagings
2.2.3 Perspectives of the protagonists
3. Interpretation of the selected scenes, conclusion
3.1 Content
3.2 Current reference
3.3 Conclusion / Epilogue
4. List of literature
Objectives and Themes
This comparative study examines the central motifs of "love" and "perspective" in William Shakespeare’s original tragedy "Romeo and Juliet" and Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 film adaptation. The work explores how the modern cinematization decodes the original subtext and language to ensure the play's relevance for a 21st-century audience.
- Comparison of Shakespeare’s literary devices with modern cinematic techniques.
- Analysis of two key scenes: the first encounter (Act 1, scene 5) and the death sequence (Act 5, scene 3).
- Examination of religious and cultural leitmotifs used to bridge the gap between Elizabethan and modern eras.
- Assessment of character development and the role of the parent’s feud as a barrier to love.
Excerpt from the book
2.1.3 Use and importance of language
This scene is by far the most significant and sophisticated scene of the whole play. Shakespeare wants to show several things through the language. As it is with the whole play, the original tragedy tries to generate emotions trough speaking, in this case especially verse forms. It shows specific shifts that the characters go through. The second thing is the leitmotif of religion, implemented in the language. When Romeo and Juliet meet for the first time, they speak, like I mentioned before, in a religious term. The lovers show us with their vocabularies, that their first-sight-love cannot be described with profane, secular words, but only with religious phrases, which can be associated with peak of perfection, truth and purity.
Romeo´s first words to Juliet refer to profoundly religious images.
“If I profane with my unworthiest hand
This holy shrine, the gentle sin is this,
My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand
To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss.“5
He maintains this for four lines, which rhyme alternately (abab). Juliet does the same (cbcb). A third quatrain which is shared by the two lovers also rhymes alternately (dede), followed by a couplet, completing a sonnet - a sophisticated verse form, used to express love in poetry. The fact that they create a sonnet together shows us, the lovers are a perfect, complementary couple. It also shows that they are separated from the normal society and share, at the first go, the same way of thinking.
Chapter Summaries
1. The tragedy “Romeo and Juliet“ at a glance: Provides an overview of the play's themes, character constellation, and a chronological summary of the tragedy's five acts.
1.4 Staging: Compares the original theater-based staging requirements with the modern cinematic approach used in the 1996 film.
2. Analysis of two key-scenes, comparison between the Book and the Film: Focuses on the "love" scene and the "perspective" scene, analyzing how staging differences affect viewer interpretation.
3. Interpretation of the selected scenes, conclusion: Synthesizes the findings and discusses the lasting topicality of the tragedy in modern society.
Keywords
Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare, Baz Luhrmann, Love, Perspective, Staging, Leitmotif, Foreshadowing, Tragedy, Film Adaptation, Religion, Elizabethan Theatre, Society, Subtext, Modernization
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this study?
The work investigates how the central themes of love and perspective are portrayed in Shakespeare's original play compared to Baz Luhrmann’s film version.
Which key scenes are analyzed?
The analysis concentrates on the first meeting of the lovers in Act 1, scene 5, and the climactic death sequence in Act 5, scene 3.
What is the primary goal of the author?
The author aims to demonstrate how modern cinematic techniques can decode Shakespeare’s sophisticated language for a contemporary audience.
Which scientific method is utilized?
The study employs a comparative literary and media analysis approach to identify similarities and differences between the written text and the film.
What does the main part cover?
The main section details the character constellations, provides a scene-by-scene narrative summary, and conducts a deep analysis of staging, language, and symbolism.
What characterizes this study?
The study is characterized by a focus on the topicality of the conflict, the use of religious leitmotifs, and the "maximum of life in a minimum of time" concept.
Why did Luhrmann use guns and modern settings?
The filmmaker used these elements to translate archaic concepts into a modern context, ensuring the story remains relatable to a younger generation.
How does the author interpret the ending of the tragedy?
The author sees the tragedy as a tragic irony where only the death of the lovers can resolve the long-standing family feud.
What significance does the religious leitmotif have in the film?
The recurring religious imagery highlights the inseparable connection between the family's beliefs and the societal structures of Verona Beach.
- Quote paper
- Sammy Arab (Author), 2014, The Two Central Topics “Love“ and “Perspective“ in "Romeo and Juliet". A Comparative Study of the Film and the Play, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/279263
