The focal point of the play is about “two star crossed lovers,” Romeo and Juliet. He uses star crossed as another word for unlucky fate. At the time Shakespeare wrote the play, the people of that time were closely into astronomy and if the stars were looking bad for you then it was destined that something bad would happen. Romeo and Juliet being star crossed lovers meant that something bad will happen to them as a couple and it is “fated“ against them. The lives of Romeo and Juliet become bound together, but the rivalry between their families makes it virtually impossible for them to be together happy. That is why they decide to get married; they are lead to believe by Father Lawrence that if they get married then the century old feud between the families will untie. Nevertheless, in revenge and violence there are murders between these families early on, and there is a tragic ending to the play due to “bad fate” or pure coincidence.
Mercutio, is the character I will be focusing in on throughout the play, he is one of the main characters and has a strong individual personality. In Act 3 scene 1 (Zefferelli’s film) He is the first to be seen, and also the first to die. Short lived but remembered as when he does die the rest of the play changes from bad to worse. It is not in Mercutio’s character to get mad or angry; he likes to be laid back. In Luhrman’s film, the first time we catch a glimpse to the other side of Mercutio is when they are at the party and Mercutio goes into a kind of trance mode. Talking nonsense and shouting and screaming. This is when he offers Romeo a pill which has a heart inside it; this could make us see that Mercutio isn’t all innocent as he was made out to be. We now see he likes to have a good time, but he takes risks…
In the beginning of Act 3 scene 1 in Franco Zefferelli’s film, Mercutio is the first character we see; he is kinsman to the Prince and best friend to Romeo; at this moment in the film he is fooling around and making a joke; which is a common trait with this character. He is with Benvolio; whose name (in Latin) means “good wisher.” This could imply that Benvolio is here to help out. He starts of with warning Mercutio about the Capulet’s; “The Capel’s are abroad, and if we meet we shall not ‘scape a brawl,” which means that the Capulet’s are about and if they meet them they shall end up in a fight. This makes us think, that the two families can’t tolerate each other, they can’t be on the same street as one another. But it also makes the Montague’s sound weaker than the Capulet’s because they are the ones who want to hide away from the others.
Romeo enters in a happy mood because of his recent marriage with Juliet. He wants to spread the word of his marriage but when he enters he is soon spotted by Tybalt. Romeo does not want a fight as he is now part of the Capulet’ family.
This is the scene is where the main fight instigates between Mercutio and Tybalt despite of Benvolio’s previous warnings. It is clear to see that no harm is intended during the fight (this is only in the Zefferelli version; in the Luhrman version, it is not so obvious and it is only when Romeo interferes in the “play fighting” that serious injury was caused). There was no music in the background of the Zefferelli film, it could be there to dramatize and help create the scene as if you were actually there, whereas in the Luhrman version, there was ecstatic music in the background, making it more exhilarating for the audience.
Mercutio tells Romeo “I was hurt under you’re arm” but all Romeo set out to do was to cease the fighting and make it end. It is at this pivotal point, which the story goes from a love story, to a tragedy. Mercutio curses both Tybalt and Romeo by saying “A plague on both your house’s….” A plague was a deathly disease. He wants them to pay for what they have done. He doesn’t believe it was just one of them that killed him; he wanted both to pay as they were both as bad as each other.
This shows a different side to Mercutio which we had not seen in the film yet, normally he was happy and liked to brighten up the atmosphere, and always wanted to be the centre of attention and he still is the centre of attention right up until his death, by making puns and joking. “It’s a scratch” when it evidently wasn’t. As soon as Mercutio dies he is cast aside as Romeo runs to get his revenge on Tybalt who had ran away at the shock of killing Mercutio.
Tybalt is wearing a Horn shaped hat giving the impression that he is evil, or a “devil”. Romeo ends up fighting with him in the passageway, but ends up killing him in the Square, exactly where Mercutio died as well. When his sword strikes Tybalt, he falls onto Romeo, and then Romeo runs off, leaving Tybalt’s body on the floor. Soft music is played in the background when they are fighting and when Tybalt dies, to make this scene more dramatic and impacting. Romeo cries ‘I am fortunes fool’ He means, his fate always turns out bad.
In the Zefferelli interpretation, the Montague’s wear light neutral clothes, whereas the Capulet’s wear striking red colours. However, on the other hand in Luhrman’s film, it is the Capulet’s, which wear the plain colours, and the Montague’s that wear the bright and “exciting” coloured clothing. But the Capulet’s are always wearing the more serious smart look they want to show off how fierce they are. And the Montague’s scruffier. In the Luhrman’s version, Mercutio wears clothes that reflect his personality and nature, they are bright and outgoing, at the Ball party he dresses up as a woman in a diminutive silver costume. He could be gay but it was left for the viewers’ own opinion. You can see at the dance, the way he flaunts himself around parades around, he is the centre of attention at one point. He isn’t ashamed to expose himself in front of anybody. He actually enjoys the attention. This is what you would expect of him, and what the other characters expected of him.
In conclusion I think that the Luhrman version and the Zefferelli version are very different. They have the same dialogue but show Mercutio, the Capulets and the Montagues in very different depths. Although Luhrmans film may be more appealing to the younger viewers, due to its modern day actors and easy plot, Zefferelli’s was once popular to its own audience of it’s time. They have explored different ways in which you can interpret Shakespeare’s work and have both been successful in doing so.