How Is the Opening Scene of Romeoand Juliet Dramatic/Exciting? In Your Answer Refer To the Text and Two Film Versions.

Authors Avatar

PRATIK MEHTA        

HOW IS THE OPENING SCENE OF ROMEO AND JULIET DRAMATIC/EXCITING? IN YOUR ANSWER REFER TO THE TEXT AND TWO FILM VERSIONS.

The opening scene of every play is always important because it gives you a brief idea of what the play is going to be about. The main purpose of every opening scene of a play is to have a strong base. If the scene has a strong base then they can capture the audience into the play and that makes it interesting. If the audience has an idea what the play is going to be about then they will be curious throughout the play. My thoughts in this essay are about how the actual play differs from the two film versions of Romeo and Juliet written by Shakespeare.

COMMENTARY ON PROLOGUE

A prologue is the opening part of any play, which states the idea of how the play is structured, how it is set and also what the play is going to be about in a brief way. In the original play written by Shakespeare, the prologue does the same thing. It shows where the play is set, talk about the feud and it also sets the scene so that it makes it clear for the audience.  This play also gives out to the audience what the end is going to be. This is a bit strange because there would be no point for the audience for watching the play if they know what the end is going to be. But this prologue gives away the end in such a way that it leaves the audience thinking about what the end is going to be like. This makes the audience very curious and makes them watch the play till the end without any disturbance. But the good thing is that this play makes the audience so curious that during the play they forget that they were told the end.

Join now!

In the Zefferelli version of the film, the prologue is very calm. It makes the audience feel calm because of the slow music and the language.  The music and the word seem to be very sad as it gives the audience the feeling that this is going to end in a very tragic way. The prologue also shows Verona, where the play is set, to make it more dramatic. This makes the audience know how and where the play is set. While in the Luhrmann version, the prologue is said by a news reporter to make it more dramatic. ...

This is a preview of the whole essay