Extended Response

Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is a brilliant play, but bringing it to

life in a movie set in modern times was not an easy task for Baz

Luhrmann. The two scenes highlighted in this essay are firstly the

balcony scene, where the themes of love and the motif of water are

emphasised, and secondly the death of Romeo and Juliet, where the

themes of grief are shown.

Shakespeare’s balcony scene is a pivotal point in the play because it

emphasised Romeo and Juliet’s love for each other. Shakespeare

uses many different literary devices to bring out this theme of love

within this scene. An example of this would be where Romeo uses

and extended metaphor: “Her eye discourses … two of the fairest

stars in all the heaven.” Romeo says that Juliet’s eyes are as

beautiful as stars in the sky. Romeo also relates his love for her in

another metaphor “O speak again bright angel … wing-ed

messenger of heaven.” Romeo compares Juliet to an angel, which is

also important in the context of the play because it continues the

religious imagery used extensively throughout the play. Romeo

again emphasises the theme of love by using personification: “With

love’s light wings do I o’erperch these walls/ for stony limits cannot

hold love out.” We can draw from tis scene the fact that Romeo and

Juliet’s love is returned by both of them. This scene contributes to

the effectiveness of the play by emphasising the theme of love

between Romeo and Juliet, through figurative language.

Shakespeare’s version of the balcony scene is very different to Baz

Luhrmann’s version. Firstly, the scene is set not in an orchard, but it

is set within the Capulet mansion, beside a pool, surrounded by

security cameras and security guards. This shows the heightened

danger for Romeo when he visits Juliet, and is a reminder of the

modern setting of the play.

Baz Luhrmann’s film interpretation of Romeo and Juliet brought to

life the themes of equality, love and danger, as well as the motif of

water, by the extensive use of film techniques used to convey

meaning. A costuming during this scene emphasises the main

theme of love during the movie. Romeo is seen wearing only his

chainmail, and has removed his breastplate, as if he were

“vulnerable to love”. Juliet wears a simple white dress, which

signifies her innocence and purity. The idea of equality is also

stressed when the mid shot with both of the characters in shot is

used next to the pool. The low-key lighting highlights the danger for

Romeo, and accentuates the shadow in the setting. This is

particularly important because the danger for Romeo would be high

– he would be killed for trespassing. Lastly, the modern setting of

the play brought special significance to the words of the play and

the script of the movie. The movie setting is next to a pool – this

recurring motif of water brings special meaning to such lines as “I’ll

be new baptised”, when Romeo and Juliet fall into the pool. This
brings on a greater meaning by use of the set. These film

techniques contributes to the effect of the film by giving meaning to

each of the ideas of equality, love, danger, and the motif of water,

and brings to life the play in the movie. Shakespeare and

Luhrmann’s version of the balcony scene were in many ways

different but the essence of Shakespeare’s balcony scene and the

themes conveyed can be clearly seen within Baz Luhrmann’s

interpretation.

The death of Romeo and Juliet is a powerful scene in the play

centred on the themes of grief and loss, Shakespeare puts stress on

the themes during Romeo’s description of himself while he is urging

Paris to be gone. He describes himself as a “Desp’rate man” and

says “A madman’s mercy bid thee run away,” and this shows how

Romeo has gone mad with grief over Juliet’s death, This themes is

further elaborated on when Shakespeare uses a number of

rhetorical questions to signify Romeo’s madness from grief: “said he

not so? Or did I dream it so?” This theme of grief is also shown by

Juliet who after she cannot commit suicide because there is not

enough poison left she decides to use a dagger to commit suicide.

She uses an oxymoron: “O happy dagger” to emphasise her

satisfaction because there is a way that she can kill herself. We

learn from this scene that Romeo and Juliet’s love was so much that

they could not bear to live in a world where the other is not alive.

This accentuates the main themes of the play; love. Shakespeare’s

version of Romeo and Juliet is vastly different from Baz Luhrmann’s.

Firstly, Baz Luhrmann puts special meaning into Romeo’s line “this

vault a feasting presence full of light,” and transforms the Capulet

tomb into a Cathedral radiantly lit by thousand of candles. Secondly,

the modern setting is shown by the security system that protects

Juliet’s tomb. Thirdly, Romeo does not fight or kill Paris at all; a

major deviation from Shakespeare’s plot, but Romeo seizes a

hostage t o force his way into the vault.

I am yet to write my fifth paragraph on Baz Luhrmann’s

interpretation of the same scene and my conclusion.