...was only just a teenager, and together they had three children: Hamlet, Susanna and Judith. Shakespeare has written many plays, and some have been re-made into famous movies such as Romeo and Juliet, McBeth and Hamlet. These show us that in today’s modern society, Shakespeare is still relevant, even if his language may not be heard or spoken. Characters We see supernatural characters in many modern movies today, such as Paranormal Activity, Wicked the musical and True Blood. Shakespeare uses Ghosts, Witches and Fairies as main stars of a few of his most famous plays: McBeth, Hamlet and A Midnight Summers Dress. With the use of these...
Words: 725 - Pages: 3
...Analysis of the Function of Speed in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Romeo and Juliet is an avalanche. As a loose pebble in the snowcapped mountain wobbles in the wind, Romeo yodels to Juliet in the cliffs just to send it tumbling, lightly, down a vertical abyss. It does not end there, of course, for this pebble held back the rocks and boulders constituting the height of the peak, and the reaction now begins as each individual stone rolls with momentum. They pick up speed and snow, growing in velocity and size until the inevitable occurs and Romeo and Juliet are engulfed in the upheaval and finished forever. William Shakespeare’s version of the play Romeo and Juliet, taken from Arthur Brooke’s play similarly titled Romeus and Juliet, is a fast paced tragedy in which a boy and girl from two feuding families meet, fall in love, bond in matrimony, and commit suicide in a matter of four days. Compared to the nine-month romance that takes place in Brooke’s play, Shakespeare’s version is a consciously hastened piece of work during which the most significant parts of a young couple’s lives begin and end in less than one week. Speed, a well-utilized literary tool in Shakespeare’s play, serves to emphasize emotion, as opposed to reason, in the characters’ decisions. Through this device, Shakespeare demonstrates his skills as a playwright by showing control of time in the play. Perhaps the most well known episode in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, the balcony scene is a prime example...
Words: 2118 - Pages: 9
... He will most likely do the first thing that pops into his head. A shoe. Person B is also going to get a tattoo and has thought of getting one for over two years now. He knows exactly what he will get. He has finally perfected his design and decided today was the day. His tattoo is very meaningful and he will not regret it later. Both are going to get a tattoo and believe it is the right choice. Who is the adult and who is the teenager? While William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet suggests that teenagers in the 1600s made impulsive decisions, many teenagers today still struggle with that issue. Shakespeare’s...
Words: 863 - Pages: 4
...There are many themes in Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet; the most important themes are love, death and grief. These themes are displayed in the play in a number of scenes and incidents. Romeo and Juliet is the most famous and oldest recorded love story in the English literary tradition. Love is naturally the play’s dominant and most important theme this play may be over 400 years old but, is still relevant today due to popular and common themes in modern times. Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet is about two teenagers who fall in love at first sight, but is forbidden and unrequited because the two families (Capulet and Montague) are feuding. The lack of communication between the two in this play leads to both of the lovers taking their own lives so they can be eternally together. Love is unsurprisingly the play’s most overriding and most significant theme. The love that Shakespeare ultimately portrays in the play is a youthful lust that the kind of love that Romeo and Juliet display leads the star crossed lovers to enact a selfish isolation from their parent’s demands and expectations around them. Romeo and Juliet avoid their commitments to anyone else and choose to act selflessly only towards one another. Romeo and Juliet’s youthful lust is one of many reasons why their relationship grows so intense so quickly. Throughout the play, Shakespeare only describes Romeo and Juliet's love as a short-term burst of youthful passion. In most of his work, considering that no other relationships...
Words: 456 - Pages: 2
...could be argued that his sonnets (166 and 130) and the play Romeo and Juliet best represents his exploration of strong feelings and of love. Romeo and Juliet is a love story written by Shakespeare, it is the most famous tragic love play. It is about “two star-crossed lovers” in different households both alike in dignity which is where the scene begins. At the beginning of the play, there’s a feud going on between the Capulet and Montague families. People involved in the feud have to defend their families and friends, even if that means bloodshed. The main thing is that Shakespeare was trying to describe an exotic place where the audience could believe a tragic love story might happen. Romeo and Juliet are about two households in Verona which is where the scene begins. Throughout the play Romeo and Juliet Shakespeare presents love as a strong and passionate emotion. He generally links love and religion in his play. The prologue is a 14 line sonnet. This describes two families that are both ‘alike in dignity’ and live in Verona; this also tells us that from each household ‘a pair of star-cross’d’ lovers will appears. Their lives are taken to mend the hatred between their families. In Act 1 Scene V takes place at the Capulet’s party. At this point of the play the audience is aware of the fierce rivalry between the two households. In this scene Romeo and Juliet meet each other for the first time. Line 44 is the first extended metaphor relating to light and darkness. “O, she doth...
Words: 1395 - Pages: 6
...Jade Tate Broadford secondary college Jade Tate Broadford secondary college Year Ten English Romeo and Juliet Comparative Essay Year Ten English Romeo and Juliet Comparative Essay Romeo and Juliet is one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays, known for its tragic storyline. There are many interpretations of Romeo and Juliet, one of the most widely recognised being Baz Luhrmann’s version. In comparing the Shakespearean Romeo and Juliet to Luhrmann’s version there are many similarities and differences. These are in relation to many aspects of the play including; the setting, costume and props, sound and visual effects and the script itself. Baz Luhrmann has made these changes to the original play to help modern audiences understand ‘Romeo and Juliet. Setting is a key element in both the original and modern version. While the original Romeo and Juliet is set in Verona, Italy, the modernised version sets the film in Verona Beach, California. Despite having the same name, there is a substantial difference in the location of the sets. The depiction of what Mantua and the kind of location is another key difference in terms of the set. Shakespeare portrays Mantua as another city in his play where in Baz Luhrmann’s version Mantua is shown as an isolated barren location. This assists in making it clear as to why Romeo doesn’t want to go there, being an essential element in the modern version to indicate that banishment is worse than death rather than just moving to another city...
Words: 944 - Pages: 4
...The Hidden Secrets of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet Forcing people to do things against their will is never a good idea. For instance when i was younger my dad forced me to play golf and I didn’t want to and it kind of ruined our relationship at the time due to force and poor planning. In Shakespeare’s famous Romeo and Juliet play there is an instance of doing things against people’s will like Lord Capulet forcing Juliet to marry Paris which then sadly led to her death. In Shakespeare’s play, Lord Capulet and the Nurse are responsible for the young and innocent lives of Romeo and Juliet due to Lord Capulet’s will to force Juliet to marry Paris and the Nurse poor planning and trust in keeping secrets. Furthermore Lord Capulet had to claim...
Words: 522 - Pages: 3
...Luhrmann’s Modern Day Shakespeare The 1996 film adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet provides viewers with the same theatrical influence as the original play. Baz Luhrmann was able to accomplish this through modern filmmaking techniques and visual imagery. Luhrmann’s adaptation maintains much of the same elements of the original play. However, Luhrmann was able to make it more appealing to modern audiences by integrating modern elements into the film, thus turning Shakespeare’s original love story into a more modern yet controversial, interpretation of the original love story. In today’s society Shakespeare’s poetic language would leave viewers perplex. Luhrmann is able to keep Shakespeare’s original language by incorporating creative cinematography, editing, and style. Luhrmann recognizes early on that it is imperative to modernize the prologue in order for viewers to fully comprehend the film’s plot; any misperception would leave viewers confused and not emotionally involved. He is able to accomplish this through the use of dialogue, written text, and visual images. In order to reach modern audiences, Luhrmann has to be inventive in his filmmaking techniques; therefore he integrates modern-day media language. By adding news media and displaying selected pieces of text onscreen he is able to intensify the romantic teen tragedy, thus turning Shakespeare’s original play into a distinguishable film for modern audiences. Luhrmann’s use of visual imagery...
Words: 1232 - Pages: 5
...After watching Romeo and Juliet and Much Ado About Nothing, I noticed lots of differences and similarities. Some similarities I noticed were that the main characters fall in love with each other and they are too scared to confess it to others. When Claudio and Hero meet, they fall in love with each other, then break apart, then fall in love again. Romeo and Juliet and Much Ado About Nothing are both love stories written by William Shakespeare, but they are portrayed very differently. Romeo and Juliet are constantly struggling with their love and Beatrice and Benedict are tricked into falling in love. Shakespeare’s plays both involve characters falling in love at first sight, manipulation of love, and other extra details. But Romeo and...
Words: 305 - Pages: 2
...Emma Breitenstein Miss Raub 9 Honors English 16 May 2014 The Utter Infatuation of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet Over time, writing has become exceedingly prominent, and throughout generations it has tremendously improved, leaving behind some of the best literature pieces in history. Since writing began, many great authors, playwrights, and poets have emerged, contributing to the literary society and producing countless works of literature, some that are still read today. A few notable composers that left behind numerous classics include Charles Dickens, Edgar Allen Poe, and William Shakespeare. William Shakespeare is considered to be the greatest playwright of all time due to his many great plays and his vast contribution to the English language. Some of his works include Hamlet, Othello, and the infamous Romeo and Juliet. Wrote in 1597, the tragic comedy tells the story of young Romeo and Juliet, who find themselves “in love at first sight”. Unfortunately for them, their love story goes awry when they learn their parents are mortal conflict between their parents, which ultimately caused their demise. Woven throughout the plot, many examples become present that show that the star-crossed lovers are not in love. It becomes clear Romeo and Juliet are merely infatuated with each other. The ill-fated couple focus only on each other’s physical appearances and are severely impulsive throughout the tragic story. “The play then impresses upon us the intensity of youthful love, at...
Words: 1621 - Pages: 7
...Post-modernism in Baz Luhrmann’s film adaptation of William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet: a comparison of two creative works from two different periods. In 1996, Baz Luhrmann directed “Romeo + Juliet”, a modern twist on the famous tragedy play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare in 1597, in which the main characters Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet where portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes. While some praise the strange interpretation of the old tale, there are also those who condemn the rendition as destructive and disrespectful to the great work of Shakespeare. There will always be two sides to every story and this study will take that into consideration as well as comparing the two different yet similar works to see how post modernism has played a role in Luhrmann’s version of Romeo and Juliet. Postmodernism has been given many definitions. Some say it’s simply the outlook that the generation of late twenty first century has on life which entails the mistrust and dismissal of theories that existed before such as religion, ethics and law. According to these youths, the difference between right and wrong or what the meaning of life is based solely on that individual’s perspective. In film, the idea of postmodernism is somewhat similar as it’s an artist medium in which to undermine social norms and present one’s individual belief. The difference lies in that postmodernism in film concerns bringing in many aspects of popular culture to produce something...
Words: 3545 - Pages: 15
...farmers and glove makers didn’t know that his entertain plays for Elizabeth I would one day become a masterpiece in English literature. It was in the 1500 when the Renaissance was in its initiation. The entire world was going through this moment where the rebirth of cultural ideas such as the study of literature and ancient values brought interest to the people living in this era. William Shakespeare became one of the most respected playwrights for his famous plays such as Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth among other respected and famous works. (www.britannica.com/ebc/article-9376718, www.britannica.com/shakespeare) Born the 23rd of April 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, Shakespeare has captivated reader’s hearts by his romantic, humerous, and historic plays. During the 1500s, the Renaissance was a massive curiosity for everyone. Renaissance era was a period where everyone was interested in the affairs of the Greek and Roman cultures and when William Shakespeare was born. Being the middle brother of the Shakespeare’s, William son of John Shakespeare and Mary Arden was interested in writing since he was a child. Baptized in the Holy Trinity Church, William was raised in a family of seven children in the town of Stratford. Shakespeare attended the Local Grammar School, a free school located in a town in where Shakespeare and his brothers and sisters learned Latin and Greek until he was thirteen. Shakespeare did not go to the university, and it was certainly...
Words: 2013 - Pages: 9
...swoon as they read Romeo and Juliet for the first time. The girls wish for a boy like Romeo to spot them in a crowded room and instantly fall in love, and even though they would never admit it, young men probably wish for the same. Even the students who scoff at Romeo’s flowery language and the dramatic irony secretly wish for the kind of overwhelming passion Romeo and Juliet share. However, the same students tend to overlook the warning Shakespeare has within the first page of the play. In the prologue, Shakespeare writes that Romeo and Juliet tells the tale of two families with such an intense hatred toward each other that it takes a child from each of the families committing suicide for the...
Words: 1452 - Pages: 6
...ROMEO AND JULIET Submitted by: John Hansenn M.Ravara II-Humility Submitted to: Mrs.Abiol William Shakespeare The Chandos portrait, artist and authenticity unconfirmed. National Portrait Gallery, London. | Born | Baptised 26 April 1564 (birth date unknown) Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire,England | Died | 23 April 1616 (aged 52) Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire,England | Occupation | Playwright, poet, actor | Nationality | English | Spouse(s) | Anne Hathaway (m. 1582–1616) | Children | * Susanna Hall * Hamnet Shakespeare * Judith Quiney | Relative(s) | * John Shakespeare (father) * Mary Shakespeare (mother) | SUMMARY: We meet our hero, Romeo, after a duel between the servants of two enemy families of Verona: the Montagues and the Capulets. Romeo Montague is pining away for Rosaline, a girl we never see. Juliet Capulet, age thirteen, has just heard that Paris, Verona's attractive young bachelor, would like to marry her. The two will meet that night at a masquerade ball at the Capulets' house. Romeo and his friends have decided to crash the Capulet ball – in costume – because Rosaline is on the guest list. Romeo meets Juliet there instead, and they fall madly in love. Afterwards, they discover they are members of rival families, but they are still in love. Romeo stays after the party under Juliet's balcony, and the two use this romantic meeting to plan their marriage. Hasty, but genuine. Juliet hears from the Nurse that...
Words: 898 - Pages: 4
...This story of star-crossed lovers is one of William Shakespeare’s tenderest dramas. Shakespeare is sympathetic toward Romeo and Juliet, and in attributing their tragedy to fate, rather than to a flaw in their characters, he raises them to heights near perfection, as well as running the risk of creating pathos, not tragedy. They are both sincere, kind, brave, loyal, virtuous, and desperately in love, and their tragedy is greater because of their innocence. The feud between the lovers’ families represents the fate that Romeo and Juliet are powerless to overcome. The lines capture in poetry the youthful and simple passion that characterizes the play. One of the most popular plays of all time, Romeo and Juliet was Shakespeare’s second tragedy (after Titus Andronicus of 1594, a failure). Consequently, the play shows the sometimes artificial lyricism of early comedies such as Love’s Labour’s Lost 1594-1595, . 1598) and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (. 1595-1596, . 1600), while its character development predicts the direction of the playwright’s artistic maturity. In Shakespeare’s usual fashion, he based his story on sources that were well known in his day: Masuccio Salernitano’s Novellino (1475), William Painter’s The Palace of Pleasure (1566-1567), and, especially, Arthur Brooke’s poetic The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet (1562). Shakespeare reduces the time of the action from the months it takes in Brooke’s work to a few compact days. In addition to following the conventional...
Words: 1214 - Pages: 5
