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Family Conflict In Romeo And Juliet

Decent Essays

William Shakespeare’s 16th century play “Romeo And Juliet” successfully develops the themes of love,violence and family rivalry. Shakespeare has effectively conveyed these themes into the play through the conflict which constantly occurs between two wealthy and powerful families (known as the Capulets and Montagues) and also the love between Romeo and Juliet. Baz Luhrmann's version of the original play of “Romeo And Juliet” is modernized to meet the interests of a new audience. The prologue and the opening scene of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, develops the themes of family rivalry and violence. Shakespeare establishes these themes through the conflict between the two powerful families in the city of Verona whilst Luhrmann takes this same concept of family rivalry and adapts it for a modern audience by using corporations as symbols of the families power. The play’s plot has cleverly establishes that these two families, the Capulets and the Montagues, have been in conflict for many generations. Luhrmann adapts Shakespeare’s evolution of the powerful noble families for a modern audience through suggesting that these families are massive and strong corporations with symbolic power and influence among the modern city and audience. Shakespeare establishes the power of the families in the prologue by describing as being “ Two households” . The word “households” works as a metaphor for the families and everyone that might be associated with them or working alongside them. The prologue also explains the nature of their rivalry and conflict between them through “ From ancient grudge breaks new munity”, the phrase “ancient grudge” is a description of how deep their rivalry goes and until it can be broken and no one knows what started this ancient grudge between the families. The film adapts the concept of the powerful families into a modern context by making the Capulets and Montagues strong corporations. In a modern setting, corporate and financial power is something a modern audience and society would understand. The “ ancient grudge” suggest that these two families have been in competition for wealth and power over years and years and have a significant influence on all citizens in life. The film highlights the

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