The written play gives us the idea that a party is taking place at the beginning of the scene. We know this because the servants are getting the room ready quickly and the guests are waiting on the side to begin the partying.
The film is very different to the play in showing the party scene. We know it is a party in the film because of the way people are dressed and they are dancing. The film shows this in more detail because it is possible with the technology where as in Shakespeare’s time they never had films and the actors used to act on a stage with no roof.
There are four main characters in this scene. Lord Capulet is first on stage. He is welcoming and peaceful, we know this because in the play before the party starts he says “welcome gentlemen” to his guests. Also when Tybalt wants to start a fight he says “content thee, gentle coz, let him alone. He says this because he doesn’t want a fight to start during his party because he will get shown up in front of his guests.
In the play Tybalt is violent and threatening. When he sees Romeo he says “To strike him dead, I hold it not a sin”. This means that if I kill him I won’t regret it. He is threatening when he says “Now Seeming sweet, convert to bitterest gall”. This means that I may have stopped now but my anger will turn even bitter when I see Romeo again.
In the play Romeo is loving, impulsive and seductive. He best shows that he is loving when he kisses Juliet in the lift. The director uses the lift as a prop to create a romantic scene. After they have kissed, Romeo says “give me my sin again”. This makes him seductive as he seduces Juliet in kissing him again. He is impulsive when he falls in love with Juliet acting on impulse. This means he falls in love with her without thinking.
Juliet is maidenly, reserved and loving. She is maidenly when she says “good pilgrim”. This means she’s religious and maidenly. She is reserved when she trys not to show her feelings. She is loving when she’s kissed him and says “you kiss by the book”. She has to act like this because the Elizabethans idea of a woman was like this. The typical woman in Elizabethans time would have been a virgin, had rosy red cheeks, and would have been very young, probably around 15-18 years old.
The film shows what the characters are like through their costumes. Lord Capulet wears a roman emperor’s costume. This costume shows that he is a leader. Tybalt wears a devils costume. This explains that he is evil and violent. Romeo wears a knight’s costume. This shows that he is the prince charming in shining armour. Juliet is dressed as an angel. This shows that she hasn’t performed any sins. She is innocent dressed in white which is a symbol of purity.
Shakespeare organises the order of the events of the scene carefully. This helps him show the hatred between the families. Such as when Romeo sees Juliet its love at first sight and then straight after you see Tybalt hate Romeo at first sight. This is called dramatic juxtaposition. This careful ordering of events makes the love and hate seem clearer. Baz Luhrmann also uses the order of events to show the hatred when he takes out Tybalts threatening scene out and puts it at the end. It’s a lot effective here as it stands out: The audience expect Tybalt is going to want to take revenge as he is a very violent character and you wouldn’t expect him to hold back.
The main event in the scene is Romeo and Juliet falling in love. When Romeo first sees her, he describes her as “rich as a jewel in an Ethiops ear”. He also says “beauty too rich for use”. This means that she is so beautiful that she shouldn’t be used. For example you wouldn’t use an antique you’d keep it safe and look after it. Also he compares her to a jewel in an Ethiop’s ear. This means that she is as beautiful as that jewel.
When they first meet, Shakespeare lays out there conversation in the form of a sonnet. This is to show that they are falling in love. Romeo tries to kiss Juliet. First he says to her “if I profane thee with my unworthiest hand”. This means she is too pure for him to touch her. This flatters her.
The film uses some of the dialogue from the play, but they don’t need to say everything because they can show close-up shots of the characters facial expressions. They now have the technology to do so where as in Shakespeare’s time they would have been on the stage. It would have been difficult for the people at the back to see there facial expressions close-up. The director uses the props to add to the feeling of romance, such as when they are looking through the exotic fish tank. The exotic fish tank is romantic and shows the richness of the scene. Also when they are looking through the fish tank romantic music is playing in the background to add to the feeling of romance.
The films version is different because in Shakespeare’s time they only had a stage and so they had to rely on the words to create the romantic atmosphere. The words would involve a sonnet being used and the lover’s words would often rhyme together or link together.
Overall I preferred the film version because the film is made in a better way. One of the reasons it is better is because the romance between Romeo and Juliet is shown a lot better. They used props such as the exotic fish tank. I could also understand it as it was set in modern times.
The dialogue of the play was harder to understand. I did understand some of the play. The part of this scene that I liked was when Romeo and Juliet exchanged lines. I thought that this is very clever as both his and her lines rhymed together. This puts them together as a couple. I also liked the part when Tybalt and his uncle argued and he said “To strike him dead, I hold it not a sin”. I liked this because I found it funny that there sworn enemy was standing in front of them and the head of the Capulet family didn’t do anything about this. Even after his nephew insisted they do something all he could conjure up is slap his nephew across the face and praise Romeo by saying “Verona brags of him to be a virtuous and well governed youth”. Then Tybalt says “why, uncle, ‘t is a shame”. Then he walks off angrily having just been humiliated by his uncle. I liked this part of the play better than Romeo and Juliet’s lines rhyming together because I found it amusing. In modern times if Arsenal fans sat in the Manchester united area of the stadium during a game then both sets of fans would clash. So it is very unlikely, even today that if two sworn enemies came face to face that there wouldn’t be any trouble.
