External Conflict In Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet

In Romeo and Juliet, both Shakespeare and Luhrmann explore the idea that familial love can lead to external conflict. In both texts, many scenarios of conflict occur between the Montagues and Capulets, and family loyalty is portrayed as its source. During the service station scene in the film, the Montagues are dressed in loose, exuberant clothing that complements their easy-going nature, whereas the Capulets are dressed in dark, tight-fitting clothing that augments their tense, more serious nature. Their respective loyalties and contrasting identities, represented by Luhrmann through costuming, intensify the quarrel between them. Shakespeare’s use of figurative language serves a similar idea. In the lines “To move is to stir, and to be valiant

Gregory’s test of loyalty portrays external conflict as a necessity of familial love – his test draws on their contrasting views compared to the Montagues. During the film’s prologue and the service station scene, symbolism is used extensively to convey that external damage may coexist with loyalty. Broken love is symbolised through the image of broken rings on the news, which is reporting on the Montague-Capulet feud. Extreme destruction is symbolised through the large fire in the service station after the Montagues and Capulets had confronted one another. Also, the city taxi’s blue and yellow colour (as a reference to the yellow Montague car and the blue Capulet car) symbolises the feud’s external damage on the city. Likewise, in the play, members of the Capulets fight with members of the Montagues as per Shakespeare’s use of stage direction. A quarrel over family dominance took place prior to this stage direction, evidently showing family attachment as a direct trigger for conflict. Both texts, through the use of varying techniques, clearly emphasise the potential for conflict as a result of familial

Consequently, both authors portray strong fidelity as a necessity for platonic love, which in turn can motivate revenge. In the play, Shakespeare employs a stage direction to have Mercutio fight Tybalt, after Tybalt had initially challenged Romeo into a duel. Romeo is unwilling to be engaged in battle, and in response, Mercutio gives Tybalt his desired fight. Mercutio’s willingness to fight in place of Romeo exhibits the strong influence of his platonic love for Romeo. In the film’s version of the event, close-ups are used to spotlight the fatal stabbing wound that Tybalt inflicts on Mercutio. The wound signals the death of Mercutio and serves as a symbol of his willingness to die for Romeo. The powerful nature of platonic love has evidently compelled Mercutio to fight Tybalt and perish as a consequence. In the play, after Mercutio’s death, Romeo uses hyperbole in the line “fire-eyed fury be my conduct now”. This use of figurative language strongly suggests Romeo’s desire to translate his rage over the death of Mercutio into potential revenge. The powerful, enduring nature of platonic love has markedly fuelled Romeo’s desire for vengeance. In the film, during the fight scene between Romeo and Tybalt, Luhrmann uses close-ups and slow-motion effects to encapsulate Romeo’s raging facial expressions. His uncontrolled emotions are further heightened by a shaking handheld