Compare how Shakespeare and Luhramann engage the audience and set up the play's theme in the opening of "Romeo and Juliet"

Authors Avatar

Anita Bhattacharyya 10T

Compare how Shakespeare and Luhramann engage the audience and set up the play’s theme in the opening of “Romeo and Juliet”

One of Shakespeare’s most well acknowledged and famous plays Romeo and Juliet was a written in such a manner which would have been liked by a wide range of audience on the Elizabethan stages. Similarly Baz Luhrumann has attempted to recreate Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet into a feature film with some touches of the 21st century to suit the modern audiences today worldwide. Throught the main themes and the prologue of the play, Shakespeare has tried to hold the audiences interest. The prologue has played a very important and central point of the whole play.

Shakespeare set the scene in ‘fair Verona’ because of the simple reason that he didn’t want to offend the British audience and the Queen, as the characters are shown as very violent and short tempered. This already has a very large impact on the Elizabethans as it gives the audience a very proud feeling of being British and the also to the Queen that her monarchy is comparatively superior. Plus to show the Italian culture and the stereotypical image of the Italians, which suited the situation very well. The play was to be staged on a Elizabethan stage which was organized in such a way that the sittings would be arranged according to the class, so the Aristocrats would on separate chairs at the back of the theatre whereas the peasant would be standing in front and were named the Groundlings as the were on the ground. This proves that all ranges of audience came to watch his plays. Which means that he would have to write plays according to the taste of the Queen, the Aristocrats and the groundlings.

Shakespeare created the prologue keeping in mind the audiences taste. The Prologue is written in forms of a sonnet, a trailer to what the audience was going to see.

The main themes of the are summarized to give the audience a glimpse as it says “From ancient grudge break to new mutiny”, this means that there is going to Violence and blood shed leading to peace. Then it says that Romeo and Juliet will fall in love and their fate is death,“A pair of star crossed lovers will take their life”, “and “Doth with their death–marked love”, this grabs and holds the audiences attention as it tells them what’s going to happen later on so the audience stays to see how the conflicts occur. The prologue seems to unfold the entire story by referring to the “lovers” and they “doth with their death ”, this makes audience absorb the situation and also creates suspense among the audience

Join now!

In Act 1 scene 1 the story is opens in the streets of Verona. Both of the Capulet servants Sampson and Gregory are in a chatting about their enemies. During this discussions Shakespeare holds the audiences attention through using some puns and bawdy humour “Tis true and therefore women being the weaker vessels are thrust to the wall, and thrust his maids”, this kind of bawdy humour was acknowledged by all the audience, again this was a tactic to grab the audience’s attention. The dialogues in act scene 1 consisted some Stichomythia, which a was enjoyed by the audience ...

This is a preview of the whole essay