Baz Luhrmann's Production of Romeo and Juliet

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Baz Luhrmann's Production of Romeo and Juliet Romeo seems like a passionate, romantic and excitable young man. He seems to like the idea of being in love, although I would suggest the feelings he has for Juliet begin only as infatuation and grow throughout the balcony scene. In the beginning of the scene Romeo is portrayed as determined, wary and possibly a little frightened as he knocks over furniture and scrambles up the trellis. His eyes are continuously darting around and you get a sense of desperation because he is panting. When he climbs the trellis in the hope of seeing Juliet but discovers the nurse instead, his facial expression turns from one of lust and longing, to one of utter disgust and horror. When Romeo scurries down the trellis, his demeanour is hurried and rushed and we get a sense of urgency as he holds his breath. When Juliet appears from the elevator, he is flattered that she is speaking of him "O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?" After a short while he begins to shadow her, seemingly taken aback by her affectionate remarks and breathtaking beauty. Romeo seems almost intoxicated by Juliet; he continuously gazes deep into her eyes and follows her very closely throughout the scene. When he kisses her although tenderly, I get a sense of hunger and passion; he is smitten by every word, which seems to make his infatuation grow. However, he also shows foolish bravado in the swimming pool when he shouts, "thy kinsmen are no stop to me". Romeo's character in this film also outlines how impulsive and rash he is, as he does not object when Juliet proposes marriage, but instead smiles dreamily into... ... middle of paper ... ...ry, they give importance to the statements. You may also note that Romeo's final speech is delivered as poetic imagery, which is especially effective in portraying love. Some of Shakespeare's imagery presents popular representations of that era. At the time, religion was very important, so by including religious imagery, for example Juliet appearing angelic, it portrays Romeo and Juliet's love as heavenly and beautiful, something that was fated or meant to be. Shakespeare's natural ability for the language of love is astounding and impressive and he applies this with unmistakable talent. Without Shakespeare's competence with rhyme and imagery, the dialect would never have been so rich. The language of Shakespeare is full of humour, insults, irony and word play and is a joy to observe and a delight to study.

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