William Shakespeare's tragedy play Romeo and Juliet (1597) explores the experiences caused by love and violence, capturing what it would be like during his time. Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet during the Elizabethan era with the place set in Verona, Italy. The Elizabethan era was a patriarchal and violent time. Baz Luhurmann’s film Romeo + Juliet (1996) captures the same ideas and experiences but modernises it for a contemporary audience.
During Shakespeare's play, he expresses the theme of courtly love and its transformative nature. During the Renaissance, love was seen as a courtly act. Shakespeare challenged this idea in his plays, suggesting that love is instead strong enough to transform society. Courtly love is seen at the beginning
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Violence was a very big component in people’s lives during the Elizabethan era as seen in Romeo and Juliet. Consequences of conflict are seen in Act 3 scene 1 where Mercutio is killed by Tybalt, before Mercutio tragically dies he says " A plague o’ both your houses!’ This statement demonstrates the result of the feud between both families as Mercutio died although he was not part of either family. After Mercutio’s death Romeo exclaims ‘ This day's black fate on more days doth depend; this but begins the woe others must end.’ The technique used is foreshadowing as it foreshadows the tragic events to unfold and that Mercutio's death was only the beginning. Another consequence of conflict is seen in Act 4 when Juliet visits Friar Lawrence after finding out she has to marry Paris and Romeo was banished because he killed Tybalt, Juliet pleads to Friar Lawrence "O, bid me leap, rather than marry Paris... Give me some present counsel; or, behold, 'Twixt my extremes and me this bloody knife." This uses the language of desperation to showcase the extreme measures Romeo and Juliet will go to be with each other and what their family's grudge has made them do. Consequently, Shakespeare displays the consequences of hate and violence in his play and how it can lead to