Sabrina Hezeini
Dr. Alan F. Hickman
ENGL 103d
Drama paper III
18 April 2016
Comparison of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet to the Filmed Version
William Shakespeare is arguably one of the major English dramatists of all time. As a poet, he is credited with writing hundreds of published manuscripts, and probably more that are yet to be found. As a dramatist, Shakespeare is the author of many notable and famous plays that include Rome and Juliet, Anthony and Cleopatra, The Comedy of Errors, and thirty-five others that can be categorized into comedies, tragedies, and historical narrations. Issues addressed in these dramas included love, human greed, politics, and religion among others. It is argued that Shakespeare’s work is the most dramatized …show more content…
Like the play, the central focus of the film is love versus hatred. However, significant differences can be noted in the last scene where he cuts out plot events, inserts his own plot events, moves the final setting to another location, and cuts out the dialogue (Zeffirelli). Unlike in the original play where Paris arrives at the tomb and is killed in a fight with Romeo, Paris appears once at the beginning and Juliet only sees him in hysteria in the film. The loose knot is therefore not tied when it comes to Paris in the film. Zeffirelli also inserts some plot events into his film where we see Romeo hurling a stone against the doors of the Capulet’s family tomb (Zeffirelli). What he says to Tybalt, whom he killed, is also an addition and it shows his remorse for allowing himself to be involved in the feud. Whereas the final gathering of all families happens in the tomb in the original play, Zeffirelli moves the gathering to another place and time at the steps of the church to suit his narrative techniques. He also cuts out the Friar’s speech seeking to explain the happenings. Instead, the film shows Lawrence hurrying out of the tomb on the previous night probably out of fear of being held guilty of the occurrences (Zeffirelli). The producer also chooses to leave out the last lines of the play where the fathers …show more content…
It is found that William’s tragedy was staged in Verona, a city located in Italy. The main characters come from the Montague and Capulet families, with the lead actors being Romeo and Juliet. It is found that Zeffirelli's film adapts a significant portion of the play by retaining the language and scenes used. However, the movie’s director inserts some scenes that fit into the modern understanding of love and tragedy. An instance of one such modification is the removal of Paris’ role in the play where an enraged Romeo kills him. On the other hand, Luhrmann’s film is a marked departure from the original drama as evidenced by the attire, language, and scenes used. Therefore, it is concluded that while both films retain the tragedy’s original themes, they also contain modifications that reduce their likeness to Shakespeare’s
Dr. Alan F. Hickman
ENGL 103d
Drama paper III
18 April 2016
Comparison of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet to the Filmed Version
William Shakespeare is arguably one of the major English dramatists of all time. As a poet, he is credited with writing hundreds of published manuscripts, and probably more that are yet to be found. As a dramatist, Shakespeare is the author of many notable and famous plays that include Rome and Juliet, Anthony and Cleopatra, The Comedy of Errors, and thirty-five others that can be categorized into comedies, tragedies, and historical narrations. Issues addressed in these dramas included love, human greed, politics, and religion among others. It is argued that Shakespeare’s work is the most dramatized …show more content…
Like the play, the central focus of the film is love versus hatred. However, significant differences can be noted in the last scene where he cuts out plot events, inserts his own plot events, moves the final setting to another location, and cuts out the dialogue (Zeffirelli). Unlike in the original play where Paris arrives at the tomb and is killed in a fight with Romeo, Paris appears once at the beginning and Juliet only sees him in hysteria in the film. The loose knot is therefore not tied when it comes to Paris in the film. Zeffirelli also inserts some plot events into his film where we see Romeo hurling a stone against the doors of the Capulet’s family tomb (Zeffirelli). What he says to Tybalt, whom he killed, is also an addition and it shows his remorse for allowing himself to be involved in the feud. Whereas the final gathering of all families happens in the tomb in the original play, Zeffirelli moves the gathering to another place and time at the steps of the church to suit his narrative techniques. He also cuts out the Friar’s speech seeking to explain the happenings. Instead, the film shows Lawrence hurrying out of the tomb on the previous night probably out of fear of being held guilty of the occurrences (Zeffirelli). The producer also chooses to leave out the last lines of the play where the fathers …show more content…
It is found that William’s tragedy was staged in Verona, a city located in Italy. The main characters come from the Montague and Capulet families, with the lead actors being Romeo and Juliet. It is found that Zeffirelli's film adapts a significant portion of the play by retaining the language and scenes used. However, the movie’s director inserts some scenes that fit into the modern understanding of love and tragedy. An instance of one such modification is the removal of Paris’ role in the play where an enraged Romeo kills him. On the other hand, Luhrmann’s film is a marked departure from the original drama as evidenced by the attire, language, and scenes used. Therefore, it is concluded that while both films retain the tragedy’s original themes, they also contain modifications that reduce their likeness to Shakespeare’s