Week 4 Assignment- Essay - Play Analysis
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Dec 19, 2024
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1Week 4 Assignment: Essay – Play AnalysisRomeo and Juliet | Romeo + JulietNerison MirandaChamberlain UniversityHUMN 303N: Introduction to HumanitiesFrank PisanoJanuary 30, 2022
220th Century ShakespeareFor this Assignment, I have chosen "Romeo + Juliet" (1996), a 20th Century Fox's adaptation of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" (1591-1595), with the first edition print of the play printed in 1597 (Hooks, 2020). "Romeo and Juliet" is one of Shakespeare's most recognizedworks. Most of Shakespeare's works are considered comical, historical, tragic, or poetic. "Romeoand Juliet" is one of the tragic plays of Shakespeare (Hylton, 1993). The first scene in the play is staged with a dispute between the Montague and Capulet servants, as it carries on between the families. Recreating this play would be a challenging task, hence, the 20th Century Fox’s adaptation consists of as many similarities as differences.SimilaritiesThe plot between the original and the adopted version remains the same, using the same language and the scenes in the adapted version fit the timeline properly. Although the adapted version started a bit strange but later on picked up similarities. Different, but similar, and added crisp to the adapted version. The motion picture version refurbished Shakespeare’s magic and reintroduced it to the modern audience. The adapted version sets the scene with a frame-by-frame representation of the significant scenes from the original play, such as the words “In fair Verona” written on the screen as the frame pans through bits and pieces of the Verona scene from the original play. The actors did an outstanding job reenacting the scenes from the 15th century and incorporating it into the modern age. As stated by Martin and Jacobus (2018), the leading character, the protagonist, is considered the most influential in tragedies, flops as fate imposes, which is a commanding force in Greek thought, but also due to a flaw in character, a disregard of human restrictions. The actors are destined to fail, yet, gave their roles justice.
3DifferenceAs stated, the introduction added that crisp differs from the original. The motion picture also is filmed in the modern age story while the original play is portrayed to be in the 15th century. The adaptation is packed with action scenes, while the original play is more of a drama theme. The actors’ representations of the characters they portray also differ from the original play as they portray their roles appropriate to the era their characters live in. The utilization of the modern age also differs from the original, such as cars, guns, televisions, clothing, and the obvious existence of air transportation. There are also characters missing from the original play. The significant difference between the original and the adaptation is the dynamics and background of the lead characters. The original revolves around the rivalry between the two families, whereas in the film, the dynamic of the rivalry is more leaning into a business perspective.EffectivenessThe adaptation version effectively portrayed how the original would be in the modern age. The tragedy, rivalry, and love are all evident in both versions. I believe that the "Romeo + Juliet" adaptation has successfully rekindled the love and admiration that people have for Shakespeare and his work. Considering the differences, they do signify how the story would have taken place had it happened during the modern age.Why Shakespeare?One of the most adapted works is William Shakespeare's. This is probably due to his outstanding vision and imagination, whether it be comic, tragic, or poetry, it presents inspiration and courage. In this specific adaptation, the main plot of forbidden love attracts many audiences regardless of era. The film took us back to the 15th century without taking us back to the 15th
4century. The clothing in the film has to be appropriate for the period. The rivalry is also suitable for the era, business rivalry is more relevant in the modern age as compared to what it would be in a 15th-century setting. Overall, the movie captured its audience by use of modern age techniques such as camera angle, use of camera, and lighting, while the original is a play performed on stage where actors aren’t afforded the luxury of retakes.
5ReferencesHylton, J. (1993). The complete works of William Shakespeare. The Tech: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. http://shakespeare.mit.edu/index.html. Hooks, A. G. (2020, January 25). An excellent conceited tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare Documented. https://doi.org/10.37078/155. Martin, F. D., & Jacobus, L. A. (2018) The Humanities Through the Arts(10th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education. Martinelli, G. (Producer), & Luhrmann, B. (Director). (1996). Romeo + Juliet[Motion Picture]. 20th Century Fox. https://www.amazon.com/Romeo-Juliet-Leonardo-DiCaprio/dp/B000I9X7M6.