Tourism & The Countryside
Compare and contrast the 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 sea on Verona Beach. Benvolio, Romeo's cousin is with him. Mercutio is bored so entertains himself by frolicking about in the water. The tense mood was created with the sound of thunder and the gun shots from Mercutio. The sky dramatically changes colour and the weather changes. The comedy is stripped from the beginning of this scene. Zeffirelli's version opens with the same text as Shakespeare. Benvolio and Mercutio are in the square, bored. Mercutio jumps into a water trough and starts messing around. Mercutio is full of silliness and laughter. This is shown by his playfulness with his handkerchief. There is an emphasis on Mercutios fooling around and Benvolio's concerns are not portrayed as very serious, unlike in Luhrmanns version.
Mercutio being the trickster that he is shrugs off Benvolio's words and replies with a longer quote which opposes Benvolio's comment and accuses Benvolio of being the one that always starts the fights. With the line, 'Thou wilt quarrel with a man for cracking nuts, having no other reason but because thou hast hazel eyes,' Mercutio is talking in response to Benvolio's comment about going home. Mercutio is quite blunt here and directly tells Benvolio that it is him who starts the fights and often they are for no need, as explained when he mentions fighting with someone for looking slightly different. He is saying that Benvolio argues over little things. This is quite ironic because it is Mercutio that actually behaves in this way. Mercutio is very dominant and always has the upper hand in their conversations. In the film directed by Zeffirelli, Mercutio acts violently and uptight which gives a slightly tense atmosphere. Mercutio is harsh in his mannerisms and gestures, which adds elements of humour to the scene. Benvolio finds it extremely hard to control Mercutio. In the updated version, Mercutio and Benvolio's relationship is more playful. The scene is casual with the camera cutting quickly to give some intensity between them. The caption involves a small crowd of people surrounding Benvolio and Mercutio round a table, which gives a relaxed and informal atmosphere. They show they know each other well as they seem to know what each other is thinking, for example when they were playing with their guns. Their tone is not abrasive which gives a bigger contrast when Tybalt arrives. The similarity between the two films is that Mercutio is always in charge and talks over people around him. In the older version, Mercutio and Benvolio's relationship is subjugated by Mercutio and he is portrayed as oppressive and dull, unlike in Luhrmanns version where their relationship seems more balanced and fun, with a relaxed atmosphere with aspects of intensity.
In the script, Mercutio gives the impression of not being threatened by Tybalt's arrival and having a care free attitude. This is shown in the line, 'By my heel, I care not.' Mercutio cleverly plays with Tybalts' words and mocks him, which angers Tybalt. An example of this is when Tybalt says, 'Mercutio, thou consortest with Romeo.' Mercutio replies with, 'Consort? What dost thou make us minstrels? And thou make minstrels of us, look to hear nothing but discords, Here's my fiddlestick, here's that shall make you dance. Zounds, consort!' Mercutio takes the meaning of consort as group ...
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In the script, Mercutio gives the impression of not being threatened by Tybalt's arrival and having a care free attitude. This is shown in the line, 'By my heel, I care not.' Mercutio cleverly plays with Tybalts' words and mocks him, which angers Tybalt. An example of this is when Tybalt says, 'Mercutio, thou consortest with Romeo.' Mercutio replies with, 'Consort? What dost thou make us minstrels? And thou make minstrels of us, look to hear nothing but discords, Here's my fiddlestick, here's that shall make you dance. Zounds, consort!' Mercutio takes the meaning of consort as group and mocks the word and describes his sword as an instrument. In the old version Mercutio is pretending to wash in the water trough, and starts acting very camp and showing aspects of a woman's personality, but still keeps his humorous but more serious and dominating character. He mocks Tybalt in a sarcastic light and cheerful tone. Mercutio exaggerates his misunderstanding of words, and the actor's performance brings out a sense of spontaneity. After some time Mercutio withdrew his sword from under the water as a warning to Tybalt, as he was tired of his insults. He doesn't have the bubbly personality of the second actor. In the recent film, Mercutio is played again rather camp, but flirtatious with the ladies. He is fierce with his body language and the actor gives him a sense of madness, this gives some intensity to this part of the scene. Mercutios anger grows and the tension in his face rises and he threatens Tybalt with his gun. I think the newest version suited this part of the scene best as it was a bigger contrast to the next part of the scene, as a fight develops and Mercutio dies.
Tybalt makes it extremely difficult for Romeo to retreat from a fight. He humiliates him and makes him appear like a coward. Tybalt accuses Romeo of crimes and calls him a 'villain'. Romeo reacts calmly, rationally and denies all accusations. An example of this is shown in the line, 'I do protest I never injured thee.' Here Romeo is naive and wants to make friends. Mercutio saw Romeo's response as cowardice and found himself embarrassed of his friend for not defending himself the way he thought he should have done, by fighting Tybalt. In the old film, Romeo talks calmly to Tybalt and takes his hand and gives him a firm handshake in order to show no bad feelings. Tybalts response was to run to the water trough and make a joke and scrubs his hands clean, as if they were dirty and diseased. In the updated version, Romeo tries to make peace with Tybalt by going to shake his hand, but he threw Romeo down to the floor and hits his hand away. Tybalt is more violent, shows more hatred towards Romeo and has a more angered expression in Luhrmanns film, unlike his surprised and humorous expressions in Zeffirelli's version.
In the old version the fight between Mercutio and Tybalt was more of a tease then serious. The fight moved around the square and stayed mainly at one level. If Mercutio or Tybalt performed anything clever, then the other would congratulate him. Various weapons were used like a fork that was near the haystack. There were tense moments which were followed by humorous ones which made the fight flow and would make it enjoyable for the audience. When Tybalt injured Mercutio it was by accident, unlike in the new film where Tybalt struck Mercutio on purpose. Contrastingly in the new version, Romeo totally backed down and did not defend himself, and this led to Mercutio having to risk his own life to protect Romeo. Tybalt and Mercutio did not use any weapons, apart from themselves and the fight stayed in the same place. A tense moment was when Tybalt landed in some glass and shattered it, and picked up a piece and went for Mercutio deliberately, unlike in the old version where the injuring of Mercutio was an accident. Mercutio was to blame for the fight happening in the older version compared to the newer version where Tybalt started it. I found the newer version more successful as it was more unpredictable and weapon was more imaginative, but I liked the way Zeffirelli made the fight travel and have levels.
Mercutio doesn't realise how deep his injury is and jokes about how it is only minor, but it's enough and therefore they will find him dead tomorrow. This is shown in the line, 'No, 'tis not so deep as a well, nor so wide as a church door, but 'tis enough, 'twill serve. Ask for me tomorrow and you shall find me a grave man.' In the newer version he puts on a brave face until he lifts his shirt to show the wound, his face displays an expression of terror and fear. The camera does a close-up on the wound and then onto Mercutios face. This makes the wound look devastatingly painful and therefore makes the audience feel a sense of dread, fear and sympathy for Mercutio. The wind then picks up which adds tension and drama. In the older version, Mercutio is laughed at by the crowd. He doesn't look at the wound as in the newer version, but covers it with a handkerchief. The actor shows much more anger towards everyone and his jokes are portrayed with some intensity. Mercutio then staggered up some steps so he could be seen by the crowd. Then he shouted out the line, 'A plague o' both your houses, they have made worms' meat of me. I have it, and soundly too. Your houses!' He then came to his death and fell down the steps in front of the crowd. I think the newer version would get a better reaction out of an audience as it is more tense and dramatic. The laughter from the crowd in the older version takes some of the intensity away, but when Mercutio falls and the crowd goes silent it builds up again.
Romeo is devastated when he finds his closest friend dead. He is also angry because he has been criticizing him, 'with Tybalt's slander.' He won't fight because of his love for Juliet, as shown in the line, 'O sweet Juliet! Thy beauty hath made me effeminate.' Romeo appears to have no control over his life, 'this day's black fate on more days doth depend: this but begins the woe others must end.' This is a turning point in the play for Romeo because he is upset after Mercutios death and he is angry because Tybalt has killed him. With Romeo containing all these emotions he drives himself after Tybalt. In Luhrmanns version, after Mercutios death, Romeo holds onto him and hugs his body. He is in a distressing state, crying and shouting. Romeo lays Mercutio back down where he died and started running after Tybalt. He gets into the car further up the beach with Benvolio chasing after him. The next part of the scene is very tense and dramatic. The looks of Tybalt and Romeo are bloodstained, full of rage, anger and fear. Cars are turned over and the sounds of the cars screeching add to the drama of the scene. At first Romeo is pointing Tybalt's gun at himself because he wants to be with Mercutio. Their faces show a sense of madness in them both. It then changes as the gun is dropped, and as Tybalt tries to escape, Romeo fires several shots at him. He watches Tybalt fall into the fountain. Romeo has a moment of realisation and drops his gun to the floor. He is then persuaded by Balthasar to leave the scene of the crime. This section of the scene is very dramatic and possibly scary to an audience. In the old version, Romeo was full of more anger and frustration that grieve; he grabbed the bloodstained handkerchief from Mercutios wound and ran after Tybalt with it. Once he met Tybalt he threw it in his face. The fight between them was supported by two crowds, one with Romeo and the other with Tybalt. The tension between the crowds made the atmosphere dark. At the beginning the fight was performed with two swords each. The fight varied in its setting and moved through various streets and levels. Romeo is portrayed as the less experienced swordsman between the two of them, which adds greater excitement and worry to the audience. It was made dramatic by the constant moving and the moments when one man looked like he would lose because a sword would be lost, and then would rise up again and carry on his challenge. The excitement of the audience was kept flowing throughout the fight. Near the end the swords were no longer used and Romeo and Tybalt used their own fists and bodies to finish the fight, until Romeo managed to grab a weapon and kill Tybalt. The way he fell onto Romeo after he was wounded was clever and would shock an audience. I think the newer version of the fight worked best as it was a bigger contrast to the previous fight between Tybalt and Mercutio. It was tense, dangerous and a big change of Romeos character. It was very dramatic and had great tension. I think this version would have a far bigger effect on an audience but I like the way the old film considered levels and the contrast it gave.
I believe the whole of Benvolio's speech should be read by everyone, as it includes some interesting facts about the killings of Mercutio and Tybalt. Benvolio's original speech is considerably long and therefore is not suitable for a film as it would ruin the flow of the story and bore the audience. I think the cuts should have been done to have worked as film, especially like the recent film is aimed at teenagers. I don't believe an audience would have any less understanding of the film with the cuts, as the main body is still included.
Both versions created a convincing sense of a threat to law and order in the final part of the scene, but Luhrmanns showed a bigger threat that Zeffielli's. I think this because of the vast number of emergency vehicles and sirens mingled between concerned public and relations. This made everything to do with the law look unorganised and unstable. The event seemed more dramatic and serious, and because it was filmed in the dark it gave it some extra edge. Contrastingly in the old version the part of the scene is set simply, with the Montague's and the Capulets separated into groups with the dead body of whose side they belonged to in front of them, in full day light. The threat was created in this film by the prince having to consider both families feelings otherwise a possible fight could start between the families groups. Tension was in both films as the Capulets and Montague's were both waiting for a result that would go their way, so the competition was there. In Elizabethan times, there was a different revenge code to what is used today. If something bad happens and you want to take revenge in the 21st Century, you must leave the punishment to the courts to sort it out; otherwise you could be punished as well as the offender. During the time of Romeo and Juliet, the revenge code was that if you were a victim of a crime, then you were legally allowed to take revenge yourself on the offender. This was because there were no courts to take your case to four hundred years ago. The best way to take revenge on a criminal was to challenge them to a duel. An Elizabethan audience wouldn't react as bad to the extent as a 21st Century would. I think this because of the revenge code and that they would expect people to take revenge and that it might lead to a death.
I feel the technology of the time and the period each film was made in would make a big difference in the way it would affect an audience. In the new film, better technology and skills were available and its modernisation let it relate to the audience of today. For example its setting, changing it from a square to a beach and using guns instead of swords. The sound effects were a strength as it adds to 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.
