The Effectiveness of Zeffirelli's Interpretation of the Death Scene in Romeo and Juliet

The Deaths of Romeo and Juliet Romeo and Juliet "From forth the fatal loins of these two foes A pair

When telling the tragic, but beloved story of Romeo and Juliet from one of William Shakespeare’s many plays there are several characters in the story that could possibly be held responsible for the star-crossed lovers deaths. Three of those many characters should stand out more than others to blame for the beloved main characters deaths. These three characters are the Feud, Lady Capulet, and Fate. The Feud is one choice to blame because it it the cause of many other conflicts that take place in the story. While Lady Capulet does not cause as many conflicts as the Feud she does present one main problem to Juliet by pressuring her to get married to Paris as soon as possible. Lastly Fate is used many times in the play to explain why Romeo and

Romeo and Juliet, the Shakespearean playwright of two star crossed lovers, ends in two tragic deaths of both Romeo and Juliet. Who can be hold responsible for their deaths, when so many things went wrong along the way? Many could be held responsible for the deaths of the two lovers, but Romeo himself deserves to carry the heavier load of responsible for not only his death, but the death of his lover, Juliet as well. The young boy’s acts of irresponsibility, impulse, belligerence, immaturity, and streak of bad decisions only brought definite consequences to both himself and Juliet.

Contrasts between Zeffirelli and Luhrmann’s Romeo and Juliet There are many differences, large and small, between Zeffirelli and Luhrmann’s version of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. After seeing the first scene of both of these films, some notable contrasts became clear. The props used in both films differ greatly, in the 1967 version, very dated costumes were used, it looked like the director wanted a medieval style to be shown in the film judging by the costumes and props used. Real swords were drawn by the Capulet's and the Montague’s as the play suggests but the fighting seemed quite unbelievable to a modern day viewer as did some of the stalls used in the small market surroundings.

Long ago in the white-walled city of Verona lived a pair of young lovers, torn between a strife held by their families, a strife that splattered the streets of the previously immaculate city with blood. The tale of Romeo and Juliet is the popular Shakespearean play chronicling the tragic events of the two beloved, including their meeting, marriage, and eventual death. Over the course of the play, a total of six characters meet their demise, whether by poison, blade, or broken heart, but who is responsible for these untimely fatalities? Some suggest that this was simply an unfortunate occurrence of happenings, however, evidence suggests Romeo is to blame for his and Juliet’s death because of his impaired judgement, measly self control, and his

Throughout Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare presents many different aspects of Death in many different ways.

Romeo was exiled because he killed Tybalt. The actin of being exiled means to be permanently banned from a specific area . Back in these times , this was a common punishment for a broken law . If one who was exiled returned back to that area , the typical reaction of authority would be death .

Mercutio’s death scene is arguably one of the most iconic scenes from Romeo and Juliet, following the balcony scene. Personally, I prefer his death scene in the 1996 adaptation directed by Luhrmann over the 1968 adaptation by Zeffirelli. The first reason for this is due to the casting. Harold Perrineau plays Mercutio and Leonardo DiCaprio is casted as Romeo. Their actions and how the scene is set up is more entertaining than the 1968 version. For instance, Romeo is more involved in the battle between Mercutio and Tybalt unlike in the Zeffirelli adaption where he is held back most of the time. I believe it expanded the fight and made it more intense. Also, throughout the 1996 edition, the director allowed the viewers to connect and learn more

“I do protest I never injured thee But love thee better than thou canst devise Till thou shalt know the reason of my love. And so, good Capulet, which name I tender As dearly as my own, be satisfied.” (Act 5 Scene 1) Romeo refuses to fight Tybalt because he's just married to Juliet, Tybalt's cousin. According to Tybalt, Romeo has dishonoured himself by refusing to fight.

Love is the only force capable of turning enemies into friends(Martin Luther King Jr.).The tragic death of Romeo and Juliet was the combination of bad actions and mad love. Although there was many other characters that could be blamed for the death of Romeo and Juliet the three that have clear evidence are Lord Capulet, Tybalt, and finally Friar Lawrence.

During Father Laurence's monologue where he is offering Juliet the sleeping potion, the concept of mortality is expressed through Shakespeare's use of literary techniques. While Friar Laurence offers Juliet the potion, he mentions, “When thou drench this distilled liquor, thine vessel shalt stiffened as though a log, it shalt turned stony as ice and thine breath shalt not eschew thine rosy lips.” Father Laurence's contrast of Juliet to non-human objects is a personification that features the effects of this medicine to Juliet's body. Although it is not a literal death, Shakespeare still incorporates that mortality can develop as a result of willfulness. Moreover, the Friar advances and declares to Juliet that Romeo and she were destined to

Romeo and Juliet Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is a tragic tale about two teenagers who would rather commit suicide than live without each other. Romeo and Juliet’s parents forbade them to be together, due to the fact that their families were enemies. Rather than marry the man that Juliet’s father plans, Romeo and Juliet secretly elope. When Juliet’s father plans the wedding, Romeo and Juliet decide they would rather kill themselves than spend their lives apart. Although committing suicide to be with the one that you love is a very bold decision, it is very realistic and does in fact happen in everyday life.

In conclusion, Romeo and Juliet is a tragic love story which ended with the death of young Romeo and Juliet which overall ended up punishing all. Romeo and Juliet lost the greatest price with their lives and ended up punishing all who were close to them. Their love was cursed from the moment they met which ended with the ultimate sacrifice. Friar Lawrence inspired Juliet to fake her own death which lead to an unimaginable event. Friar must live with the guilt of the deaths and suffer through his punishment. The Montague and the Capulet families both lost their greatest treasure, their first born children, because their hatred for one another was far too great and ended up poisoning their minds. Therefore, when the Prince of Verona exclaimed

I prefer the Franco Zeffirelli version because it stayed a little more true to the story and it had better acting for when it was made. They were similar and different in a lot of ways. Some ways are for the better, and some not so much.

Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is arguably the most well known and well-read play in history. With its passionate and realistic treatment of universal themes of love, fate, war, and death, it’s not difficult to see why. However, most people don’t realize that there are several versions of the play, each with their own unique additions and/or changes to the plot, dialogue, and characters. After thumbing through the texts located here on this website, you can see even at a glance the distinct differences between the versions of Romeo and Juliet. This essay will explore how people dealt with death during the Renaissance in context to Shakespeare’s Tragedy of