Shakespeare’s plays were written to be heard as an auditory experience and were viewed by an audience on a bland stage with minimal sets, costuming and props. In order to successfully communicate the storyline, Shakespeare relied on the actors’ dialogue to convey all the necessary information. In the death scene, Shakespeare explores the idea that Romeo has no desire to live without Juliet. The use of a metaphor is evident in this text “oh my love! My wife! Death, that hath suck’d the honey of thy breath” outlines the fact that her death has taken all the sweetness out of his life and he therefore cannot find happiness without her. The repetition in the line “here, here will I remain,” is successful in emphasising the line, bringing attention to the fact that he will not leave Juliet as he cannot go on without her.
Luhrmann’s movie is structured much unlike Shakespeare’s play and utilizes the various techniques that are offered in the film-making industry to convey Romeo and Juliet in a modernised light. In the death scene, Luhrmann forms the idea of a fairy tale ending for Romeo and Juliet in the sense that although they both kill themselves, they are going to live happily ever after together in heaven. The use of a raising camera shot of Romeo and Juliet lying in each other’s arms extends on this feeling that although their lives on Earth are over, they are now going together to live in the heavens above. The camera angle in this same shot also develops the idea that there is happiness to come for them as it is looking downward on the horribly torturous lives they had and therefore implying that where they are now is superior and brings them much more joy.
Baz Luhrmann’s appropriation of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is successful in interpreting the timeless themes that belong to the story. Both texts are effective in using what resources that were available to them to express the heartbreaking story in the context it was written.
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