Shakespeare’S Play ‘Romeo And Juliet’ Essay Paper Example For Students

Shakespeare’S Play ‘Romeo And Juliet’ Essay Paper Shakespeares play was written to entertain the people of 1600, Franco Zeffirellis film was set at the same time as Shakespeare play, and set in Verona, where as Baz Luhrmanns was set slightly into the future, Baz Luhrmanns film was set at Verona Beech, in America, this is aimed to interest the younger generations of today who might not want to watch a film which is based on a play written 400 years ago by Shakespeare. Both Franco Zeffirelli and Baz Luhrmann have made the connection with the idea courtly love written about in Shakespeares play, which wasnt traditional when the films were made. Courtly love is where a young man would fall in love with a woman of higher social class, or married, either way unattainable to the young man. The whole point of Rosline in the play was to illustrate/demonstrate courtly love to the audience, but then Romeo falls in love with Juliet, a true love. Courtly love was a middle age and Elizabethan, European tradition. Even though Baz Luhrmanns is set in America, it still carries the tradition. Both plays miss out parts which was in Shakespeares play, Franco Zeffirelli misses out the apothecary, this is to show his focus on getting to Juliets tomb. In Baz Luhrmanns he overlooks the fight between Romeo and Paris this is because if he killed Paris and dragged him into the church to lie next to Juliet it would take the focus of Romeo and Juliet when they are dead and lying next to each other. Act five, scene one, in Shakespeares play is set in a street in Mantua, and its Thursday, in Franco Zeffirellis sets this scene similar to how you would imagine it, its set in a big house, its dull, and sets the mood of sadness. But in Baz Luhrmanns film sets the scene one, in a squatters camp in the desert, and its sunny. Shakespeares play has an apothecary in, where Romeo gets the poison Baz Luhrmanns film also has this in, but Franco Zeffirellis film has no apothecary in, Romeo just produces the poison when it is needed. Scene two in Shakespeares play was set in Friar Lawrences cell, its approximately dusk on Thursday. In Franco Zeffirellis film scene two is missed out, the two Friars do not have a conversation, Franco Zeffirelli shows this scene by Romeo and Balthasar passing Friar John on his donkey. In Baz Luhrmanns film the post office replaces Friar John. Baz Luhrmann also uses juxtaposition of scenes to show it is all starting to go wrong. It quickly switches from scene to scene to show the Friar panicking that Romeo hasnt got the letter, then the scene switches to Romeo and Balthasar being chased by the police. This creates urgency and chaos, it gives you the feeling the plan is going to go wrong. Scene three in Shakespeare play is set in a churchyard, outside the tomb of the Capuletts, its Thursday evening. Both Franco Zeffirelli and Baz Luhrmann didnt include the fight between Romeo and Paris in their films, Baz Luhrmanns ending to the film is totally different to how you would imagine it to be. In Baz Luhrmanns film, the police are chasing Romeo as soon as he enters Verona, In neither Shakespeares play or Franco Zeffirellis film is Romeo known to be in Verona, until the end, when he is found dead. In Baz Luhrmanns film there is no fight with Paris, but when he is going into the church he has a hostage, who he threatens with a gun and says the famous quote tempt not a desperate man Once he gets to the door of the church he lets the hostage go, the hostage is a random person which was coming out of the church. Once Romeo gets into the church the police seem to fade away, this is because Baz Luhrmann used the idea of sanctuary to connect the film with Shakespeares play, and beliefs of the time. on Caesar In Shakespeare's play of Caesar EssayIn Franco Zeffirellis film she cries about Romeo killing himself then she talks to the dead body after that she kill herself, the actor doesnt seem to fully take on the role of Juliet and seems to some extent lack emotion. She seems to have just followed the directors said to do and not acted to her full ability. This is also the same for Romeo, his character comes across as fake, the actor doesnt act as you would expect Romeo to behave. In Baz Luhrmanns film there are gaps in-between when she cries, talks, and kills herself, giving you time to think about what is happening, so you get the full impact of what is happening. Romeos character is acted well, he behaves as you imagine Romeo to behave, sincere and full of emotions. This is shown in his childish love for Rosline and his true love for Juliet. Another difference is that in Shakespeares play you would have probably seen Juliet kill herself, in Franco Zeffirellis you see her kill herself, but in Baz Luhrmanns you dont see her kill herself, it jumps to a different scene, outside the church, where you hear the gun shot. The scene of the church is from the sky, where the church looks big and daunting, its dark outside, then you realise just how important the church is to the rest of the town. After you hear the gun shot the scene jumps from outside the church to inside the church, were you see Juliet and Romeo are dead, the alter where they lie is in the shape of a cross, with candles around them, so you could say that they were sacrificed for the peace of the families. And it goes to flashbacks of when they was happy and together Shakespeare backs of when they was together and happy. They are taken out of the of the church on stretchers, covered by a white cloth, as this is happening, captain prince makes a speech, to the families, people standing by and the cameras this is the speech the prince makes in the tomb in Shakespeares play, and in Franco Zeffirellis is, again, made by the prince, standing on some stairs at the end of the death march, where the death bell is rang, but in Baz Luhrmanns film it is made by the prince first then subsequently by a news reader. As the newsreader is reading the speech the television starts to shrink. The language in Baz Luhrmanns film was similar to the language used in Shakespeares play, and was easy to understand because of the way it was acted out more clearly. Baz Luhrmanns film had much more Shakespearean in than Franco Zeffirellis, Franco Zeffirellis film was a bit harder to understand because you was trying to work out what the actors were doing.