Preview

Why Is Romeo And Juliet Remained So Popular

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1218 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Why Is Romeo And Juliet Remained So Popular
For over four hundred years, William Shakespeare?s ?Romeo and Juliet? has remained one of the most popular stories and plays of all time.

Writers, literary critics and the general public all agree that ?Romeo and Juliet? is a story of the ages. ?Romeo and Juliet? is popular because it deals with a variety of issues that most people can relate to. The play deals with themes such as love, hate, death, fighting, sexual issues and friendship.

Contemporary audiences find ?Romeo and Juliet? enduring for many reasons. It deals with issues that adolescents are dealing with at that time of their lives. Adolescents also find the play appealing because of the language and how it is used, and also the sexual undertone of some of the script. Romeo and Juliet were also very young, which makes many of the characters easy to relate to.

Baz Luhrman?s film interpretation of ?Romeo and Juliet? was very different from other interpretations, such as Zefferelli?s film. Zefferelli?s ?Romeo and Juliet? was closely set to the original text. It was set in medieval times, with the script remaining basically as was originally written. In comparison, Baz Luhrman?s ?Romeo and Juliet? was set in modern times in an Hispanic city, with all the fighting done with modern day weapons instead of swords. The script also remained mostly unchanged, but the meaning behind some of the words differed slightly. Therefore, comparison and discussion about these two interpretations can be easily achieved.

Two key episodes in ?Romeo and Juliet? are Act 2, Scene 4, when Mercutio teases Romeo and the Nurse, and Act3, Scene 1, when Mercutio meets his fate. One might say that Mercutio teasing Romeo and the Nurse is not a key episode in the text, but that is not quite true. Although this scene does not have a big impact on the outcome of the play, and one does not necessarily remember this scene when one thinks of ?Romeo and Juliet?, this episode is important. It is very humourous, and provides audience with a

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Baz Luhrmann's film, Romeo and Juliet, is very successful as an appropriation of the original play by Shakespeare. Transforming the pre-16th century play into a contemporary popular culture film was done creatively by keeping the same values and language, but changing the context. This is illustrated by the use of anachronisms. For instance, daggers and swords are replaced by guns as well as cars stand in for horses. The disputes between members of the two families (the Capulets and the Montagues) evoke associations with multi-ethnic gang warfare. Their feud reflects the behaviour of mafia families. Using these modernising elements, he achieves an appeal to the contemporary teenage audience and the changes in the film create a more comprehensible meaning to the audience because people can relate to it better and this is why the film is so engaging.…

    • 1215 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Romeo and Juliet is Shakespeare’s greatest love story. Dating back to the late 1590’s, Romeo and Juliet is an icon for young love in present day generations. In the play, many characters are guilty of making hasty decisions that dictate the fate of the star cross’d lovers; death. Romeo, Lord Capulet, and Friar Lawrence all influence the direction of the play with their hasty actions.…

    • 508 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Baz Luhrmann’s film takes place in modern times in a city similar to the city of Los Angeles. The starting scene of this movie shows that this is a whole different take on Romeo and Juliet. The city setting surprisingly fits to the theme of Romeo and Juliet. The clothing of the characters does bring out their personality a lot more than than Zefferelli's version. For example, Tybalt would dress as a gang member would dress, and would have his hair in an organized fashion. This shows that Tybalt is the antagonist and might not be the friendliest person in the book. The setting of this book does not fit the book’s time period, but it is surprisingly fitting to the character’s and family’s personality of the book. In the book, there are two families which dislike each other, and in the movie there are two families which could be compared to gangs. This is because the city is split in half and fights always break out between them. The atmosphere in this version is very dramatic throughout the whole film. This is beneficial to the movie because it can help emphasize something bad that has happened more. For example, when Romeo was banished from Verona, Juliet was extremely upset, and it is really portrayed well in this movie. Overall Baz Luhrmann’s film portrays the book very well despite, it taking place in a whole different time…

    • 882 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Friar Lawrence's Mistakes

    • 473 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Romeo and Juliet is one of the most famous love plays written in the 1500's. The play is about two young teenagers who fall in love with each other, Romeo and Juliet. They come from two different families though, Montague's and Capulet's. These two families are enemies and they do not want Romeo and Juliet to get married. Friar Laurence tries to help them to get married but because of his mistakes, he is to blame for the tragic outcome between Romeo and Juliet.…

    • 473 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Love tragedies never end very happy, but some do. Romeo and Juliet is the most famous and well known Shakespeare written love tragedy ever told.The story revolves around two young,star-crossed lovers,who cannot understand the hatred of an older generation.This eventually leads to the death of them.Many things may have ended the deaths of Romeo and Juliet but ,Lord capulet and Romeo play the strongest roles in the deaths of Romeo and Juliet.…

    • 387 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Thanks to Shakespeare putting in these tragedies to poor Romeo and Juliet’s life the theme was very clear. From the hatred of the families, to Romeo’s banishment, and finally to the death of the two lovers the theme was finally shown. Even though the two lovers tried to run away from fate things just got…

    • 506 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Everything from The Cold War to melodramatic teenagers relates to Romeo and Juliet, because people don’t usually see this kind of drama in their everyday lives; they need something to feed it them. Everyone is bored with their day-to-day activities and interactions so popular stories like Romeo and Juliet are still relevant to give them something to imagine, desire and complain about. Ordinary people don’t change, so they have the same mindset they had when Romeo and Juliet was first popular.…

    • 897 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Many people see Romeo and Juliet as a tragic love story. Shakespeare writes Romeo and Juliet to show the world he lives in that love can empower and change. The death of the young couple is tragic but their death enriches and touches the lives of those who survive the violence unleashed into the society by the bitterness and vengeful circumstances surrounding them. Because of this, the love story is triumphant and not tragic. It turns the tragedy into one of gain, not lost.…

    • 782 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Romeo and Juliet is a play that appeals firstly because of the timeless story line- a play from the Elizabethan era still widely talked about and interpreted in the 21st century!…

    • 530 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare, was a timeless tragedy that focused on love despite hardships. Even though the play was written years ago, the story remains relevant to young love today. Though Romeo and Juliet made many mistakes, there was no questioning that they loved one another until the end. The main difficulties they faced in their romance were, unacceptance, death, and irresponsibility.…

    • 642 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mercutio Humor

    • 1033 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Mercutio is a very important character because he is the only obvious comedic force in the play. When Mercutio is making a joke the audience knows it, and usually laughs at his quick witted sense of humor. His sense of humor revolves mostly around punning on playing with words. The puns and jokes are usually sexually driven and very vulgar for the time period in which this play takes place. Two of the most notable instances of Mercutio's humor is when he meets the nurse and when he is trying to make Romeo angry by making fun of him over his infatuation with Rosaline after Romeo had met Juliet and had forgotten about Rosaline.…

    • 1033 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mercutio Turning Point

    • 1172 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Romeo and Juliet, Which is one of Shakespeare's most popular and well-known plays, is considered by some critics to be the first and greatest example of romantic tragedy. The play looks at two children from feuding families who, upon falling in love, disobay their parents and also there households. Their efforts have terrible results, including the deaths of Tybalt and Mercutio, as well as the tragic death of Romeo and Juliet. Some people, often focus on the main characters. Mercutio's character is very dramatic and tragic as well, as some people feel that his death creates a turning point in the play from comedy to tragedy.…

    • 1172 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Romeo and Juliet Essay

    • 460 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Another important quality Shakespeare portrays is the young characters ' love of merriment. Romeo and Mercutio have a contest of wits in Act Two, Scene Four (Shakespeare 93). Their contest of wits shows their love of merriment because it shows they love to joke around and have fun. Their puns prove they love to have fun because it shows they love to laugh. Also, Mercutio and Benvolio make fun of the Nurse in Act Two, Scene Four (Shakespeare 97). They make fun of her because they love to have fun. Their jokes show their love of merriment because it shows their humorous side. The young characters loved to have fun which makes them more interesting.…

    • 460 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Is Romeo and Juliet is it still relevant in our society? The answer is most defiantly no. Romeo and Juliet is a play written by William Shakespeare in 1564. Granted that, Romeo and Juliet is a good play and one most defiantly worth reading. It is also true that this 450-year-old play is no longer relevant in our society. Even though, young love and family feuds can still very much be a thing now as they were back then there are still many other factors in Romeo and Juliet that go against our society such as, the way we speak, their love, and the way they handle bad situations.…

    • 109 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is a cherished piece of literature that has been remade into movies many times throughout history. The 1968 version and the controversial 1996 version give different perspectives of Shakespeare's famous play. While the 1968 classical version of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet should be appreciated, the modern version portrays the complexity of love in a fast-paced society by using narrative and stylistic elements combined with energetic editing in an advanced, creative way.…

    • 1907 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays