William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet has been one of the most influential pieces of literature. Baz Luhrmann, a film director, is one of many who have attempted to recreate Shakespeare’s famous Romeo and Juliet. Luhrmann has added numerous changes to the film as can be expected however, throughout many of his scenes there is the element of water which leads to the question, what does water symbolize? Luhrmann has never told the viewers the importance of water, yet water is in almost every important scene.
One of the most important scenes in Romeo and Juliet is the Balcony scene in Act Two. It is this scene that Romeo and Juliet declare their love for each other. However, Luhrmann puts a twist in this famous scene by replacing the balcony
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We first see Romeo walking along a beach next to the water as he mourns the fact that his love, Rosaline will go out with him. Juliet is originally in a reluctant relationship with Paris and we first see her in a bathtub filled with water. Both of the main characters destined to love each other are first seen with water, therefore water must have something to do with their love.
Paris is another figure of love in Romeo and Juliet. The entire play Paris tries desperately to marry Juliet. We first open on a scene of Paris, when he is in a sauna with Lord Capulet. In this scene he asks Lord Capulet if he could have his daughter’s hand in marriage. This display of love takes place with steam everywhere so water or love is in the air.
The beginning of Romeo and Juliet is filled with hate. The Capulets hate the Montagues and a battle ensues, and in the end a gas station goes up in flames. Fire is the opposite of water just as hate is the opposite of love. At the end of the movie, as Romeo and Juliet are dying, their closing scene is water which symbolizes the bond of love that forms between the two houses in the end. Water is shown in the end but remains absent in the opening scene just as love exists in the end, but not the