Extended Response

Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is a brilliant play, but bringing it to life in a

movie set in modern times was not an easy task for Baz Luhrmann. The two

scenes highlighted in this essay are firstly the balcony scene, where the themes

of love and the motif of water are emphasised, and secondly the death of Romeo

and Juliet, where the themes of grief are shown.

Shakespeare’s balcony scene is a pivotal point in the play because it emphasised

Romeo and Juliet’s love for each other. Shakespeare uses many different literary

devices to bring out this theme of love within this scene. An example of this

would be where Romeo uses and extended metaphor: “Her eye discourses … two

of the fairest stars in all the heaven.” Romeo says that Juliet’s eyes are as

beautiful as stars in the sky. Romeo also relates his love for her in another

metaphor “O speak again bright angel … wing-ed messenger of heaven.” Romeo

compares Juliet to an angel, which is also important in the context of the play

because it continues the religious imagery used extensively throughout the play.

Romeo again emphasises the theme of love by using personification: “With love’s

light wings do I o’erperch these walls/ for stony limits cannot hold love out.” We

can draw from tis scene the fact that Romeo and Juliet’s love is returned by both

of them. This scene contributes to the effectiveness of the play by emphasising

the theme of love between Romeo and Juliet, through figurative language.

Shakespeare’s version of the balcony scene is very different to Baz Luhrmann’s

version. Firstly, the scene is set not in an orchard, but it is set within the Capulet

mansion, beside a pool, surrounded by security cameras and security guards.

This shows the heightened danger for Romeo when he visits Juliet, and is a

reminder of the modern setting of the play.

Baz Luhrmann’s film interpretation of Romeo and Juliet brought to life the

themes of equality, love and danger, as well as the motif of water, by the

extensive use of film techniques used to convey meaning. A costuming during

this scene emphasises the main theme of love during the movie. Romeo is seen

wearing only his chainmail, and has removed his breastplate, as if he were

“vulnerable to love”. Juliet wears a simple white dress, which signifies her

innocence and purity. The idea of equality is also stressed when the mid shot

with both of the characters in shot is used next to the pool. The low-key lighting

highlights the danger for Romeo, and accentuates the shadow in the setting. This

is particularly important because the danger for Romeo would be high – he

would be killed for trespassing. Lastly, the modern setting of the play brought

special significance to the words of the play and the script of the movie. The

movie setting is next to a pool – this recurring motif of water brings special

meaning to such lines as “I’ll be new baptised”, when Romeo and Juliet fall into

the pool. This brings on a greater meaning by use of the set. These film

techniques contributes to the effect of the film by giving meaning to each of the

ideas of equality, love, danger, and the motif of water, and brings to life the play

in the movie. Shakespeare and Luhrmann’s version of the balcony scene were in

many ways different but the essence of Shakespeare’s balcony scene and the

themes conveyed can be clearly seen within Baz Luhrmann’s interpretation.

The death of Romeo and Juliet is a powerful scene in the play centred on the

themes of grief and loss, Shakespeare puts stress on the themes during Romeo’s

description of himself while he is urging Paris to be gone. He describes himself as

a “Desp’rate man” and says “A madman’s mercy bid thee run away,” and this

shows how Romeo has gone mad with grief over Juliet’s death, This themes is

further elaborated on when Shakespeare uses a number of rhetorical questions

to signify Romeo’s madness from grief: “said he not so? Or did I dream it so?”

This theme of grief is also shown by Juliet who after she cannot commit suicide

because there is not enough poison left she decides to use a dagger to commit

suicide. She uses an oxymoron: “O happy dagger” to emphasise her satisfaction

because there is a way that she can kill herself. We learn from this scene that

Romeo and Juliet’s love was so much that they could not bear to live in a world

where the other is not alive. This accentuates the main themes of the play; love.

Shakespeare’s version of Romeo and Juliet is vastly different from Baz

Luhrmann’s. Firstly, Baz Luhrmann puts special meaning into Romeo’s line “this

vault a feasting presence full of light,” and transforms the Capulet tomb into a

Cathedral radiantly lit by thousand of candles. Secondly, the modern setting is

shown by the security system that protects Juliet’s tomb. Thirdly, Romeo does

not fight or kill Paris at all; a major deviation from Shakespeare’s plot, but Romeo

seizes a hostage t o force his way into the vault.

I am yet to write my fifth paragraph on Baz Luhrmann’s interpretation of the

same scene and my conclusion.