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Romeo And Juliet Comparison Essay

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Every time a movie is remade, there are bound to be differences between the original and the new versions. Romeo and Juliet has been adapted into multiple movies, each portraying the tragic play in the director’s own way. In the 1967 version of Romeo and Juliet, directed by Franco Zeffirelli, portrays Romeo and Juliet in a lighthearted manner. In the 1996 version, directed by Baz Luhrmann, is more violent and filled with action. In the 1967 Romeo and Juliet movie, the fight scene between Mercutio and Tybalt is portrayed in a jesting manner based on the light-hearted personality of Mercutio whereas, in the 1996 version, the battle scene is dark and violent due to the brooding and notoriously problematic personality of the modern Mercutio. In the 1996 version of Romeo and Juliet, directed by Baz Luhrmann, the fight scene between Mercutio and Tybalt is …show more content…

In the 1996 version, Mercutio is angry and filled with hate. In the 1997 version of Romeo and Juliet, Mercutio is a joyful and humor-filled individual who has no intention of harming anyone. The the newer adaption of the Mercutio vs Tybalt fight scene, the mood quickly turns dark to Mercutio’s eagerness to enact violence and carry out a contemptible act upon a member of the opposing family. Mercutio in the older adaption of the play does not show this same mindset when in contact with Tybalt. Mercutio makes light of the situation at hand, his own death. The older Mercutio draws attention away from his fatal injury with humor and pretends that everything is okay. In the newer version of the play, Mercutio is dramatic and is filled with rage. He looks at Tybalt with disdain whereas the 1967 Mercutio sees the event of his death as an incidental occurrence. The joyful Mercutio allows the fight scene to be shown in a light-hearted manner which brings on light-hearted fighting. The 1996 Mercutio brings on hate and violence, which is what the battle scene

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When analyzing the different versions of Mercutio’s death scene from several films, I believe Franco Zeffirelli’s rendition, made in 1968, best illustrated the way I visualized the event when reading Shakespeare’s script. From the script, I understood that Mercutio planned to fight Tybalt, but it ended when Tybalt struck Mercutio on his side as Romeo stepped in, in attempt to split the pair apart. Zeffirelli executed that element of the scene clearly as he demonstrated the way Romeo could have hindered Mercutio’s sight of Tybalt to the point where Tybalt could hit him without any act of defense from Mercutio. The director of this scene also illustrated Mercutio’s progression of emotions from the initial stab, until his death. The viewer could

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In the play Romeo and Juliet, he called out, "O calm, dishonorable, vile submission" (III.1.72). Mercutio demonstrates his loyalty and courage when he takes up Tybalt's challenge to defend his Romeo’s name. Being the relative of the prince makes him have a strong amount of respect for himself, so he thinks Romeo is a coward for not taking up the challenge. Mercutio shows that he is a good friend and that he is courageous by fighting Tybalt in place of Romeo, which in turn leads to his death. If he didn't put himself in that situation than he wouldn’t have been

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Connor Flanigan Mr. Zamanis English 9 6 March 2024 Romeo & Juliet Few characters are capable of bringing comedy and truth into a play like Mercutio can. Mercutio is one of the key characters in Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. This play is a tragedy of two young starstruck lovers, in the midst of a family rivalry that causes them to inevitably die together. Mercutio, Romeo's best friend, is viewed by many as one of Shakespeare’s greatest characters. He is one of Shakespeare’s greatest characters because of his loyalty, humor, and confidence.

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Even after Romeo's efforts to calm things down and make peace, Mercutio keeps on fighting, ignoring Romeo's attempts to stop him because he wants to stand up for his friend’s honor. This stubbornness from Mercutio leads to him being killed by Tybalt. Romeo, feeling furious and hurt by Mercutio's death, decides to take revenge on Tybalt by killing him. This connects their loyalty with the theme of conflict in the play because it is their allegiance to each other that causes their tragic

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Although, the consequences might be death, since they were threatened by Prince in the previous scene if they started another brawl. Shakespeare characterizes Mercutio as very childlike and violent through the use of tone and conflict, in Act 3 Scene 1 of Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare makes Mercutio seem like free spirited person, not knowing what to expect out of him next. With this in mind, the way Mercutio expresses himself tells it all. For example, when Mercutio explains how Benvolio has two sides to him, as well, he over exaggerates like a child would do to a parent.

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It seemed that the whole world shook and things bent to make it seem much more intimidating. The noises in the background paired with Mercutio's fit of screams made it seem like the world was truly ending and as if Mercutio had gone fully mad at the viewers. While in the 68 version, more people were listening in close, listening to his story as if he was trying to warn Romeo. These scenes made the viewer have very different emotions, on the side of the 1968 version, it was very clearly a warning to Romeo about the story of Queen Mab. But on the 1996 side, it was more as if Mercutio had gone mad while trying to taunt Romeo instead of warning.

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Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is a play which explores oppositional ideas throughout the story. Mercutio is a minor character in the play. However, Mercutio plays a vital role in the play, he acts as a comedic foil to Romeo, his loyalty to Romeo brings him closer to the storyline and helps to set up the story. His death signifies a complete tonal shift towards tragedy from romance and his role, both regarding his characterisation and the significance of his death, serves to develop the opposing themes and genres within the play such as Love & Violence and Fate & Destiny. Mercutio’s character is used to develop the primary themes, such as the horrific consequences of mindlessly-preserving honour and reputation, shown through his meaningless death.

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Director Franco Zeffrilli is credited with creating the most accurate and unrivaled adaptation of the classic poem Romeo and Juliet originally written by William Shakespeare. This romantic tragedy was filmed in 1967 and published in 1968. The cast members that worked on this motion picture came together in order to redefine the romantic tragedy genre and create something brand new. Franco Zeffrillis take on this film included a level of realism not seen in prior versions; this could be the main reason for the amount of praise obtained throughout this film's lifetime.

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While Mercutio is doing his best to defend Romeo, he notices Tybalt grab a piece of glass with the intent to get either one of them and moves Romeo away from getting injured. Tybalt's intent was clear in the 1996 film that he wanted to hurt Romeo. The differences between who Tybalt began going after and his intent in the 1996 and 1968 versions is important because in the first film he unintentionally took Mercutio's life when it all started as a show off, while in the second film Tybalt’s intent was to get Romeo to duel him and Mercutio got involved to protect Romeo which lead to his death. A final difference between the 1996 and 1968 film is the level of emotion in each scene after Mercutio's death. In the 1968 version of the film, Romeo’s initial reaction to Mercutio’s death was shock and disbelief.

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2469 Words | 10 Pages

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The classic Romeo and Juliet play, originally written by William Shakespeare, portrays the idea of individuals and society. The play tells the story of the main characters, Romeo and Juliet, and their tragic love story caused by a family feud. Shakespeare's original play was written in 1591-1596, since then many have created remakes of his story. In 1968, Franco Zeffirelli created his own adaption, Romeo and Juliet starring Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey. In 1996, Baz Luhrmann took a modern take on the story and created Romeo + Juliet, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes.

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