Romeo and Juliet is one of the most famous love story that had ever written , As Shakespeare said , " For never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo ". Shakespeare is a well known writer and his plays , especially Romeo and Juliet. People who haven't read or seen his plays even know what the plot is about. From the year 1936 , there have been many movie adaptations of the same play. But one of the best and creative adaptations is of Baz Luhrmann's Romeo and Juliet. Baz Luhrmann's adaptation of Romeo and Juliet is a new and fresh take of the centuries old cursed romance. It is an effective adaptation that is meant to involve the general audience and to show the beauty of the play though visual features and symbolism.This will be shown by examining two classic scenes from the play and the movie ; one being the first time they met and the other the balcony scene. We will be looking at the settings , costume , symbolism , opposites , religion . We will be comparing this with an older version of the same play , in 1964.
Firstly , we will be looking at the scene where Juliet and Romeo met for the first time. They first met at the party , thrown by the Capulets. The first time they saw each other was through an aquarium , in which Romeo and Juliet was gazing at the fishes. The fishes in the tank was not some ordinary fishes. They were delicate , like Romeo and Juliet. Since they saw each other though the aquarium of beautiful and delicate fishes , it is a symbolic representation of their hearts.
The water has symbolic meaning throughout the movie. We see it when we first see Juliet , where she was doused in water.We see it when Mercutio dies. We see it when Tybalt dies.The water is a representation of love , that from all the gloomy , repugnant ,atmosphere love still lights like a candle shining through the darkness. The water puts out the fire , and there are times that the water would evaporate due to the heat of the fire.The fire represents the feud , the hatred of the two families. Romeo and Juliet's love for each other stopped the feud but at a great cost : Death
Furthermore , for the party the main characters were dressed like what they believe they were inside , for e.g , Lady Capulet was dressed like Cleopatra , showing that she thinks she is a great lover.Some of the characters are dressed up like what the audience perceived them. Tybalt , prince of cats , was dressed up like the devil , showing he thinks himself as evil and villainous like the devil. Romeo was dressed as a Knight in shining armor ,showing he is noble and virtues. Juliet was dressed up as an angel , pure and sweet. Capulet was dressed up as an emperor , powerful , commanding and won't take a no for an answer. Luhrmann wants to show from his point of view of how he looks at the characters that is even understandable to little child
Speaking about dresses , we don't know exactly what they actually wore , but there are many movie versions of the play around the same theme. In the 1964 version of the play ,the actors dressed up for the party like the Jokers from a card set , Literally. Meanwhile , the characters in Luhrmann's version , the actors were dressed and acting like the unstable teenagers of the present with the voice and language of the past. For e.g. Mercutio was first introduced with a rather stunning vision of him wearing skimpy clothes and talking in Shakespearean English. In the very first scene of the fight we see the contrast of the dressing in the two houses;Montagues wearing hawaiian shirt and shorts , showing their easy going, fun and immature nature while the Capulets wearing sophisticated and stylish clothes , representing power , beauty and danger-opposite of the Montagues.
Now , we will be looking at the balcony scene. In the Shakespeare version , it is shown that the Juliet was standing in the balcony , in the sky , while Romeo was waiting down , in the earth. This is a perfect scene for Romeo 's own quote , how Juliet was a holy temple where Romeo was an unworthy pilgrim to enter.It is kind of like showing how Juliet is more important or greater than Romeo , almost like her grace and beauty is equal to the celestial planets and goddess. In Luhrmann's adaptation , it was completely different. There was no showing of how much greater Juliet was then Romeo ; both were on the same ground or level. This shows gender equality : no one gender is greater than the other when under the rule of love. Many times we see , in movies or otherwise , where the guys asking girls to marry them while Kneeling ; a form of submission. Luhrmann shows us that in love , you don't have to value one lover over other.Next the balcony was a swimming pool , another symbolism of water. Juliet and Romeo were basically drenched in water before Romeo went away ; they were drenched in love , metaphorically speaking. Additionally , religion is heavily used on the movie , especially Christianity. For e.g. At the near end of the balcony scene in the movie , Juliet gave Romeo her necklace-which had the sign of the Holy cross. Jesus Christ was crucified and nailed to a cross. It is now used has a sign of devotion by his followers. In this case , Juliet's devotion to Romeo.In another example , when Tybalt was killed at the hands of Romeo , he fell back into a fountain of water-symbolism of how the water extinguishes fire. Also , as he fell, he fell down to the feet of Jesus Christ-the "devil" died at the feet Of Messiah.
To conclude , Baz Luhrmann's adaptation of the play is a new and fresh look of the text and the characters, reinforcing certain ones and portraying the beauty of the play. He directs the play in a way to involve the general audience and make it understandable.
Firstly , we will be looking at the scene where Juliet and Romeo met for the first time. They first met at the party , thrown by the Capulets. The first time they saw each other was through an aquarium , in which Romeo and Juliet was gazing at the fishes. The fishes in the tank was not some ordinary fishes. They were delicate , like Romeo and Juliet. Since they saw each other though the aquarium of beautiful and delicate fishes , it is a symbolic representation of their hearts.
The water has symbolic meaning throughout the movie. We see it when we first see Juliet , where she was doused in water.We see it when Mercutio dies. We see it when Tybalt dies.The water is a representation of love , that from all the gloomy , repugnant ,atmosphere love still lights like a candle shining through the darkness. The water puts out the fire , and there are times that the water would evaporate due to the heat of the fire.The fire represents the feud , the hatred of the two families. Romeo and Juliet's love for each other stopped the feud but at a great cost : Death
Furthermore , for the party the main characters were dressed like what they believe they were inside , for e.g , Lady Capulet was dressed like Cleopatra , showing that she thinks she is a great lover.Some of the characters are dressed up like what the audience perceived them. Tybalt , prince of cats , was dressed up like the devil , showing he thinks himself as evil and villainous like the devil. Romeo was dressed as a Knight in shining armor ,showing he is noble and virtues. Juliet was dressed up as an angel , pure and sweet. Capulet was dressed up as an emperor , powerful , commanding and won't take a no for an answer. Luhrmann wants to show from his point of view of how he looks at the characters that is even understandable to little child
Speaking about dresses , we don't know exactly what they actually wore , but there are many movie versions of the play around the same theme. In the 1964 version of the play ,the actors dressed up for the party like the Jokers from a card set , Literally. Meanwhile , the characters in Luhrmann's version , the actors were dressed and acting like the unstable teenagers of the present with the voice and language of the past. For e.g. Mercutio was first introduced with a rather stunning vision of him wearing skimpy clothes and talking in Shakespearean English. In the very first scene of the fight we see the contrast of the dressing in the two houses;Montagues wearing hawaiian shirt and shorts , showing their easy going, fun and immature nature while the Capulets wearing sophisticated and stylish clothes , representing power , beauty and danger-opposite of the Montagues.
Now , we will be looking at the balcony scene. In the Shakespeare version , it is shown that the Juliet was standing in the balcony , in the sky , while Romeo was waiting down , in the earth. This is a perfect scene for Romeo 's own quote , how Juliet was a holy temple where Romeo was an unworthy pilgrim to enter.It is kind of like showing how Juliet is more important or greater than Romeo , almost like her grace and beauty is equal to the celestial planets and goddess. In Luhrmann's adaptation , it was completely different. There was no showing of how much greater Juliet was then Romeo ; both were on the same ground or level. This shows gender equality : no one gender is greater than the other when under the rule of love. Many times we see , in movies or otherwise , where the guys asking girls to marry them while Kneeling ; a form of submission. Luhrmann shows us that in love , you don't have to value one lover over other.Next the balcony was a swimming pool , another symbolism of water. Juliet and Romeo were basically drenched in water before Romeo went away ; they were drenched in love , metaphorically speaking. Additionally , religion is heavily used on the movie , especially Christianity. For e.g. At the near end of the balcony scene in the movie , Juliet gave Romeo her necklace-which had the sign of the Holy cross. Jesus Christ was crucified and nailed to a cross. It is now used has a sign of devotion by his followers. In this case , Juliet's devotion to Romeo.In another example , when Tybalt was killed at the hands of Romeo , he fell back into a fountain of water-symbolism of how the water extinguishes fire. Also , as he fell, he fell down to the feet of Jesus Christ-the "devil" died at the feet Of Messiah.
To conclude , Baz Luhrmann's adaptation of the play is a new and fresh look of the text and the characters, reinforcing certain ones and portraying the beauty of the play. He directs the play in a way to involve the general audience and make it understandable.
