Appropriation of 'Romeo and Juliet' by Shakespeare and 'Romeo+Juliet' by Baz Luhrmann
Discuss the appropriation of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ by William Shakespeare and ‘Romeo+Juliet’ by Baz Luhrmann
Texts and ideas from texts are appropriated and transformed into other text forms and other compositions in a different context. An appropriation is a text that is appropriated or taken over by another composer and presented in a new way. ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is a well-known high culture text that is a tragedy about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. In the 1997 film, Baz Luhrmann has taken what is valued about the original play of ‘Romeo and Juliet’; the themes, evocative language and poetry, the timeless storyline and humour, and has placed it in a context which is accessible and appealing to a modern audience. This essay will demonstrate how and why Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ has been appropriated and valued for modern audiences in relation to: variations in the reactions to the text over time, differences and similarities between language, settings, prologue and chorus, themes, characterisation, techniques, values and contexts, as well as different readings of the play and other appropriations.
Shakespeare’s time was an age of great change, as the old ways were being questioned, and more than any other Renaissance figure, Shakespeare exposed an ability to use the past and shape it for his own dramatic needs. As a result of this, his ideas and storyline in ‘Romeo and Juliet’ were being questioned. The earliest registered critic of the play was diarist Samuel Pepys who, in 1662 wrote: “it is a play of itself the worst that I ever heard in my life”. Ten years later, the poet John Dryden wrote “Shakespeare show’d the best of his skill in his Mercutio”, praising the play and its comic character Mercutio. In the mid-18th century, writer Charles Gildon and philosopher Lord Kames argued that the play was a failure in that it did not follow the classical conventions of drama. However, writer and critic Samuel
Texts and ideas from texts are appropriated and transformed into other text forms and other compositions in a different context. An appropriation is a text that is appropriated or taken over by another composer and presented in a new way. ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is a well-known high culture text that is a tragedy about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. In the 1997 film, Baz Luhrmann has taken what is valued about the original play of ‘Romeo and Juliet’; the themes, evocative language and poetry, the timeless storyline and humour, and has placed it in a context which is accessible and appealing to a modern audience. This essay will demonstrate how and why Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ has been appropriated and valued for modern audiences in relation to: variations in the reactions to the text over time, differences and similarities between language, settings, prologue and chorus, themes, characterisation, techniques, values and contexts, as well as different readings of the play and other appropriations.
Shakespeare’s time was an age of great change, as the old ways were being questioned, and more than any other Renaissance figure, Shakespeare exposed an ability to use the past and shape it for his own dramatic needs. As a result of this, his ideas and storyline in ‘Romeo and Juliet’ were being questioned. The earliest registered critic of the play was diarist Samuel Pepys who, in 1662 wrote: “it is a play of itself the worst that I ever heard in my life”. Ten years later, the poet John Dryden wrote “Shakespeare show’d the best of his skill in his Mercutio”, praising the play and its comic character Mercutio. In the mid-18th century, writer Charles Gildon and philosopher Lord Kames argued that the play was a failure in that it did not follow the classical conventions of drama. However, writer and critic Samuel