Essay Comparing Zeffirelli's Romeo And Juliet

In David Leveaux’s and Zeffirelli’s versions of Romeo and Juliet balcony scene, there are similarities and differences in many manners throughout the scene. Due to the fact that both interpretations are based on Shakespeare's original Romeo and Juliet play, the main plots and the characters in the scene are the same. However, there are many differences in the setting of the scenes and the characters interpretations between the two scenes. Zeffirelli’s Romeo and Juliet movie is more realistic than David Leveaux’s version. Both Zeffirelli’s and David Leveaux’s interpretations of Romeo and Juliet balcony scene have merit; however, Zeffirelli’s version is more effective because the setting is realistic and the characters are more mature. Both

In Zeffirelli’s setting, the Capulet’s house has a design of an antique castle surrounded by a jungle. Compared to Leveaux’s setting which has only Juliet’s balcony, Zeffirelli’s setting is more realistic to be home for the house Capulet. Furthermore, Juliet in Leveaux’s version act childishly; when the nurse calls her at the end of the scene, she goes and comes numerous times to say some last words to Romeo. In the last round she comes out and she crawls onto the balcony thinking that she could hide from the nurse by doing that. On the other hand, Juliet in Zeffirelli’s interpretation acts very mature with an adult mindset; although she wants to see Romeo, she is angry when she finds him because she is afraid that Romeo will be in danger by sneaking into the Capulet’s house. How realistic and reasonable the settings and the characters in each interpretation are will affect the audiences’ understanding of the story. A realistic setting will create better visuals for the audiences and it will drive them into the scene as if they are inside the scene themselves. If the characters are reasonable, the audiences will get a better understand of the characters and they will be on the same side with the characters. On the contrary if the characters are immature, the audiences will