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Romeo And Juliet Comparative Essay

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Romeo And Juliet Comparative Essay
Practice Essay Question
Due: Monday the 5th of November

What are the most important themes in Romeo and Juliet? Compare and contrast how these themes are represented in Shakespeare’s play and Lurhrman’s film adaptation.
In your answer: * Discuss 2 key themes * Consider which key characters embody these themes * Make detailed reference to at least 2 key scenes per theme * Highlight similarities AND differences between the film and the play * Discuss language, film and dramatic techniques

BODY:
Act 1, scene 1 – THEME: LOVE (compare Shakespeare and Luhrmann)
Act 2, Scene 2 – THEME: LOVE (compare Shakespeare and Luhrmann)
Act 1, Scene 1 – THEME: HATE (compare Shakespeare and Luhrmann)
Act 3, Scene 1 – THEME: …show more content…
Baz Luhrmann’s film adaptation (1996) makes the Elizabethan text accessible for a modern audience by focusing on the same key themes. Shakespeare’s use of dramatic techniques and luhrmann’s use of film devices represent the tragic love story of Romeo and Juliet in an effective way.

The two contradicting key themes that are universal and significant to both the original play Romeo and Juliet composed by William Shakespeare and the modern execution in style of a movie directed by Baz Luhrmann are the themes of love and hate. These two themes can be drawn into relation with the characters of Romeo and Tybalt who effectively represent these themes through various language, film and dramatic techniques implemented by both …show more content…
In Luhrmann’s movie, Romeo is a very emotive character driven by love, which is depicted through lighting. In this particular scene, lighting along with slow camera movement is used as a method of portraying Romeo’s isolation and desolation through a visual of Romeo with his shadowy figure and back towards the sun blocking its rays, implementing this idea of Romeo’s own “artificial night” as described by his father. Whilst both Shakespeare and Luhrmann illustrate an undesirable portrayal of love in this particular scene, through the use of symbols, light imagery and hyperbolic language, both composers show a positive perception of the love between Romeo and
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