How Can Baz Luhrmann Interpret Romeo And Juliet

Baz Luhrmann’s film developed a stronger interpretation of Shakespeare's text though imagery, symbolism, and with effective evidence to support the theme: perseverance is necessary for both love and hate and without it, death and despair seeks to overlook the outcome. Unlike Franco Zeffirelli’s 1968 Romeo and Juliet, which demonstrates the situation through the actions that Shakespeare wrote, Luhrmann’s film of 1996 interprets what Shakespeare was trying to convey to the audience in a different way. Luhrmann’s depiction included more meaning, exaggerated the mood, and provided a different time era in which allowed a better understanding of the scenes.
When Romeo was describing Juliet’s beauty, he states, “it is the east, and Juliet is the sun. Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon” (Shakespeare 2. 2).

However, exaggerating the mood, Luhrmann’s movie allowed the audience to easily understand and grasp the big idea that Shakespeare is trying to convey. For example, Luhrmann causes the audience to feel more pity towards the lovers by showing Romeo drinking the poison and dying right after Juliet wakes up. Through this, Luhrmann inclines the audience to think ‘oh if Romeo just waited three more seconds, they both could have lived.’ From this exaggeration in time frames, the 1996 film focused on Shakespeare theme on the importance of perseverance, for with it, both lovers could have lived. Also, Luhrmann exaggerated the fighting scene by changing it to a modern version of violence. Considering the idea that readers may not feel as much sympathy when people are fighting with sword because of the difference in time period, Luhrmann replaced the sword to guns to give more lively scene for fighting. This exaggeration of the fighting scenes highlight how crucial perseverance is for those violent fighting and death would not have occurred if the characters were patient and thought about the situation one more