Romeo & Juliet

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Recommended: Historical context of Shakespeare's plays

Romeo and Juliet is a play about two teenagers who fall in love and break through the conflict of two families, the Montague’s and the Capulet’s. The balcony scene is essential in developing the contrast of these two young lovers, who express their love for one another. It tells us more about the characters and their personalities, and what they are willing to do for each other. The two films by Franco Zefferelli (1968) and Baz Luhrmann (1996) of Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare’s famous play, have many similarities and differences between the two. They include several different literary and dramatic elements as well as cinematic elements in the balcony scene of Romeo and Juliet.
A literary element in Romeo and Juliet is how Romeo describes Juliet as the rising sun. “It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon.” (2.2.3-4) This is when Romeo sees Juliet when sneaking into the orchard for the first time. He is saying that she is “the sun”, which means she is lightening his dark and depressing mood and he rises to her. The metaphor of the sun banishing the moon could also be how quickly she changed his world. Another literary element would be, “Tis but thy name that is my enemy; Thou art thyself, though not a Montague. What's Montague? It is nor hand, nor foot, nor arm, nor face, nor any other part belonging to a man. O, be some other name! What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other word would smell as sweet.” The literary device is an analogy where she is comparing Romeo to a rose. The meaning is, the Capulet’s hate the Montague’s but this hatred has gone on for years and neither family really knows why they hate each other. Juliet has fallen in love with a Montague and knows t...

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...ifferent ways for that specific time period. The 1968 Romeo and Juliet film by Franco Zefferelli is more an impact towards Shakespeare and is more true to the original play as it relates to the traditional historic time period. The balcony scene where Romeo and Juliet express their love and passion for one another actually takes place on a real balcony. This same scene in the 1996 film takes place in a pool; it is more fun to watch and definitely more appealing to the eyes than the ears. This is why Zefferelli’s film is more of an impact towards Shakespeare’s original story. The two films by Franco Zefferelli (1968) and Baz Luhrmann (1996) of Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare’s famous play, have many similarities and differences between the two. The two films include several different literary, dramatic, and cinematic elements in the balcony scene of Romeo and Juliet.

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