Known as the greatest, and most Tragic love story of all time, Romeo and Juliet has captivated and entertained audiences since the late 1590s. Following the story of an ‘ill-fated’ and ‘star-crossed’ love, Shakespeare used strong themes of love, hate, punishments, and rebellion, in an Elizabethan Era context. However, as society has changed, the story of Romeo and Juliet quickly becomes more and more irrelevant. The language has become difficult to understand, and themes such as the importance of a family name become less important in the current society. As this makes it difficult for the audience to relate towards, the play becomes quite quickly less capable of speaking to a modern audience. Although the play of Romeo and Juliet may have captivated the audience …show more content…
In the opening scene, it is made clear that of the long standing hatred, ‘From ancient grudge break to new mutiny…where civil blood makes civil hands unclean’. In the Elizabethan Era, the importance of your family name was extremely important. We see this throughout the story, Juliet stating ‘tis but thy name that is my enemy’ and ‘Romeo would, were he - not Romeo called, retain that dear perfection which he owes without that title’. As she constantly begs for Romeo not to be a Montague, the audience often cannot relate to this as it is not as relevant in today’s society. Although often many families will carry on the father’s family name, it is not at all enforced. People are rapidly becoming more independent, and making decisions based on what they believe, in contrast to what is expected. People can now, upon marriage, join last names, or choose to keep their own. In Romeo and Juliet, with the distinct hatred and separation between the two families, the possibilities to possibly do this were unthinkable. The irrelevance of this theme to a modern audience makes it hard to connect and engage with the
Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet – popularly considered by many to be the quintessential love story of all time – is a play that we are all familiar with in one way or another. Whether it be through the plethora of portrayals, adaptations and performances that exist or through your own reading of the play, chances are you have been acquainted with this tale of “tragic love” at some point in your life. Through this universal familiarity an odd occurrence can be noted, one of almost canonical reverence for the themes commonly believed to be central to the plot. The most widely believed theme of Romeo and Juliet is that of the ideal love unable to exist under the harsh social and political strains of this world. Out of this idea emerge two
“My bounty is as boundless as the sea, my love as deep; the more I give to thee, the more I have, for both are infinite”. Good morning Class, today I will be exploring the human relationship of love in modern interpretations of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ written by William Shakespeare. Shakespearean time was between the middle Ages and the Industrial Revolution and it was branded by religious changes. William Shakespeare is widely known as the greatest dramatist of all time. Born April 1564, Shakespeare’s play ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is no doubt one of his most famous pieces. ‘Romeo and Juliet’ was first published in 1597 and its tragic story of banned love still captures the creativity of its audience today. ‘Romeo and Juliet’, although not confined to, is an illustration of three aspects of human relationships; family, love and conflict. These features are still relevant in our modern lives because they are so relatable and the majority of individuals experience them. While Shakespeare dealt with these characteristics of human relationships modern transformations of Romeo and Juliet have recontextualized the play into the Twenty First Century. In 1995 the Australian director Baz Luhrmann transformed love in ‘Romeo and Juliet’ to a modern version while keeping the dialogue the same. Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ has inspired many interpretations of the play as it contains the human relationships of love, conflict and family that can be understood by different audience.
William Shakespeare wrote many plays, including Romeo and Juliet. The real title of the play is The Extraordinary and Lamentable Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. Romeo and Juliet takes place Verona in the mid-1300’s. The idea of identity heavily impacts the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. By the end of the play, family affiliation, gender, social class, and age all contribute to the tragedy of the play. Today’s idea of identity is drastically different than the 1300’s, but at the same time, they are very much fraternal.
‘Romeo and Juliet’ is an Elizabethan tragedy, telling the story of ‘two star-crossed lovers who take their life’ due to a family feud as old as time. Over the course of the three-act play, Romeo, the tragic hero, develops from being impulsive and reckless to a more mature individual, beginning to understand the real notion of love. Through this, Shakespeare enlightens the audience about the difference between unrequited, immature love and true love and ultimately encourages them to pity the lovers as they succumb to the inevitable tragedy of their fate . Shakespeare initially presents Romeo as a courtly lover, his immaturity highlighted through his initial unrequited love for Rosaline. Romeo’s first words of the play are ‘Is the day so young?’, revealing there is still time for him to continue mourning over his love
‘Romeo and Juliet’ is considered to be one of the most distinguished love stories ever to be told. The classic idea of love is embodied throughout the play particularly centralizing Romeo and Juliet as both of their personas shape and develop around the powerful and poignant theme of romantic love. Shakespeare presents this as a force of nature, so strong that it transcends societal conventions; their love can overturn the social boundaries of ‘fair Verona’. The normality, in contrast to the type of love that Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is regarded as the love story of the ages, its tale of lust and tragedy a classic in the literature world. The Shakespearian writing has been changed and shaped over many centuries in to multiple different ways over its 500 years of creation. Two examples of adaptions of this iconic play are Baz Luhrmann’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and Wise and Robbins ‘West Side Story’. All three of these directors created a modernised version to suit their individual time zones of eras in order to appeal to their target audience at the time. There are many aspects that help Baz Luhrmann and Wise/Robbins modernise the legendary tale of ‘Romeo and Juliet’.
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.
‘Romeo and Juliet’: Shakespeare 's was written in the period of 1594-1596. The text is about two “star crossed lovers”; a fictitious world of Verona Beach Turbulent; two families; both the Capulet and Montague share an entity that has become birthright. The scaffolding of a tragic love story was made into a modern classic in the year 1996 by director Baz Luhrmann. Shakespeare 's play “Romeo and Juliet” will be analysed for its relevance to be upheld in 21st century’s school curriculum due to its relation to issues dealing with characters, plot/storyline, and use of language that incorporates fate, revenge, love and loyalty.
Considered one of William Shakespeare’s most prominent plays, The Most Excellent and Lamentable Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet is often thought of as the classic and tragic love story, the tale of “star-crossed lovers.” Yet pigeon-holing such a play to a mere love story undermines the complexity which distinguishes Shakespeare’s work. The characters developed throughout the play are much more than simple participants in a tale of calamitous love. Often, because of her young age, Juliet is characterized as merely a youthful and naive girl, the object which receives Romeo’s affections. In another extreme, Juliet is the young and rebellious teenager who defies all social norms and the demands of her controlling parents to pursue her true love, only for her attempts at freedom to end in disaster.
Romeo and Juliet is a plat set in Verona, which is about two young, star-crossed lovers, whose love was immediately destined for destruction and tragedy. This ending was anticipated, particularly due to the conflict conveyed between the two feuding families-the Montague’s and the Capulet’s. Due to this, it is undeniable that the theme of hate, conflict and fate are significant in the play as the plot is partially driven by these key ideas. However, the strong and overpowering theme of love is a factors which overrides and has the ability to manipulate the outcomes and events within the play.
The account of Romeo and Juliet has been depicted in various ways but, it is a romantic performance. At its core, there are parts that show it as a tragedy but, the majority of the play revolves around the love of the two teenagers. These two so called enemies, would rather never see their feuding families again than have to bare with not being together. After a few unfortunate series of events, including a past corral, the pair’s destiny has been sealed, but not before putting themselves through turmoil to be together.
There are many versions of William Shakespeare’s famous Romeo and Juliet dramatic tragedy; Carlo Carlei has a modern approach to the famous drama. Carlei keeps the traditional Shakespeare setting of the Renaissance period in Italy. Moreover, he also is true to the romantic, passionate, yet unfortunate tone that Shakespeare wrote of in the mid-15th century. Some of the beautiful poetry and wording that Shakespeare’s original play contains is transformed by Carlei to reach out to a modern day audience. While I personally love the poetic language of Shakespeare; nevertheless, I do believe that this change may appeal to a broader audience. Perhaps, even enticing some audiences that have avoided reading
It is the influence of generational conflict in Romeo and Juliet that causes the death of the ‘star crossed’ lovers. Through the analysis of William Shakespeare play, the audience gains a greater understanding of the significance of generational conflict in the text and its impact This can be seen through the parental conflict, the secrecy of the duo’s romance, and the resulting deaths.
William Shakespeare wrote his allegorical novel Romeo and Juliet in iambic pentameter so his words flew smoother making them sound beautiful and essentially making the love appear more romantic. The series of stressed and unstressed syllables create an appealing flow to the ear putting the audience in a somewhat trance like state allowing the words to manipulate its meaning. In one of the most romantic scenes of the play, Romeo approaches the balcony of Juliet and begins a soliloquy made up of Iambic verse. As Romeo looks upon the balcony Juliet appears and begins to speak for “It is my[Romeo’s] lady. O, it is my[Romeo’s] love!” and the iambic rhythm rolls off the tongue and has a softer feel to it completely drawing the audience away from
Romeo and Juliet is a true lovers’ tragedy, an epic masterpiece written by William Shakespeare in the peak of his creativity. It bears the existential dilemma of how to chase true love when all the odds are undeniably stacked against the seeker. The original play, first published in 1597, features the troubled paths of two star crossed lovers whose families despise each other with passion in deep extents. Over the centuries, there have been many interpretations of this play in various forms ranging from children’s books to movies, but the focus of this essay is in one movie in particular. In 1996 Baz Luhrmann released a movie interpretation of Romeo and Juliet, which added some interesting changes, to say the least, to the well renowned