Comparing Two Interpretations of Act 3, Scene 1 of Romeo and Juliet

Comparing Two Interpretations of Act 3, Scene 1 of Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet is a tragic love story, which plays with its

audiences emotions throughout the play. This dramatic play by William

Shakespeare is about two young people from different families. Romeo

is a Montague and Juliet a Capulet. They live their romance secretly

so the feud between the families would not get out of hand. Due to the

tension, the lovers take their own lives and the families are left

heartbroken. Act 3, Scene 1 is so important in the play because until

the key events of the scene unfold, the play is portrayed as a

romantic love story, but as the scene draws to an end, the atmosphere

is a lot darker and it actually develops into a tragedy.

At the start of Act 3, Scene 1, Benvolio desperately tries to avoid an

argument with the Capulets. Benvolio's eagerness to flee is shown in

the line, 'I pray thee, good Mercutio, let's retire.' He makes a big

effort to persuade Mercutio to go home as the heat will make them very

agitated and there will be will a shorter tolerance of each other if

they meet the Capulets. Benvolio's explanation of this is shown in the

line, 'For now these hot days is the mad blood stirring.' Benvolio

believes they would have no chance against the Capulets, as shown in

the line, 'And if we meet we shall not 'scape a brawl.' In the opening

few lines the atmosphere is tense and gives the audience a sense of

excitement as they don't know whether the Capulets are going to turn

up or if Mercutio and Benvolio will leave to avoid an argument. Baz

Luhrmann's Act three, Scene 1 opens on a hot and humid day, with

Mercutio shooting in the se...

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...creating an

atmosphere, and the way the weather could change very quickly when

something bad happened. Luhrmann also showed the loyalty between the

family members without saying it in a speech. He uses the family crest

on the butt of their guns. I feel the old version didn't show this

loyalty. An Elizabethan audience would prefer the first film because

it's more to their era, just like the new version is more to mine. The

added sound and light affects added to the new films effectiveness and

the way it successfully played with its audience's emotions and

feelings. I prefer the newer version as its more updated and the

effects are far better than the old film, even though it showed more

tradition. Both films have their own strengths, but my favourite comes

down to the era it was filmed in and the way I can relate to it.