The different ways that modern plays are made effective are by graphics, sound effects, modern technology and so on. This gives directors a bigger advantage to make it dramatically effective. In the olden days, there weren’t any modern effects. Instead Shakespeare used language to make his plays dramatically effective.
Shakespeare makes the scene dramatically effective by the language he sues. For example this line was used when Mercutio was dying, “A plague on both you houses”. These words show the fact that his death is a result of the hate between Montugues and Capulets. The word “plague” is a particularly strong curse because plague sufferers died with painful deaths. Its repetition emphasises how harsh Mercutio is against Romeo and Tybalt. Shakespeare’s audience would find this effective. This means that both the Montagues and the Capulets will suffer (the audience already know this is going to happen from the Prologues). Another clue is the pronouncement of the Prince.
Right from the start, Benvolio had been waiting for danger and warns Mercutio to leave the streets, “For now these hot days, is the mad blood stirring”. Basically the imagery of hot weather adds to an already inflamed situation. He is noting that it’s a hot day and people are bad tempered. By noting this, audience knows that something is going to happen. The rivalry between the Montague’s and Capulets is a setting to the play and this description of the weather emphasizes just how high emotions are running. When Tybalt comes into the scene, he was looking for Romeo and doesn’t appear to stop searching for him. However he looks very positive when Romeo does come into the scene. Although Romeo said no to the fight as to he was married to Juliet. When he says “the reason I have to love thee”. This is dramatically irony for the audience because they know why Romeo wasn’t joining in and the characters on stage don’t know this.
The tension between the characters in the scene helps the audience to guess that a fight is going to start. This can also help them to remember the Prince’s warning. When Romeo arrives, Tybalt starts trouble as he calls Romeo a villain. Romeo has a consistency to leave his latest love, for example, when Romeo falls in love with Juliet, he had forgotten about Rosaline, who was his present love. This passion for women could make the audience nervous about how Romeo would react if he were to be called a villain. Romeo says: “I do protest I never injured thee, but love thee better than thou canst devise, till thou shalt know the reason of my love”. This line creates tension in the audience, as they know that Romeo and Juliet are married and none of the characters know this. The audiences are unsure of whether Romeo will tell Tybalt of the marriage or of what Tyblat’s reaction will be if he hears of the marriage.
In this scene we see how events can get out of control. When Romeo fights with Tybalt and kills him he yells that he is ‘fortune’s fool’. This says that the theme is which we are in control of our destinies and to what extent we are to blame for our actions.
When Benvolio, who is the peace maker, tries to stop Mercutio, he just simply replies with no and shows the audience that he wants a fight the Capulet’s. The audiences know the tension is building up as Benvolio tries to stop Mercutio.
After this situation, Romeo comes into the scene creating more dramatic tension as Tybalt is mocked by Mercutio. Mercutio tries to upset Tybalt. First he plays with his name “Rat catcher… King of cats”. The reason Mercutio called Tybalt a rat catcher is because Tybalt was a common name to give to a cat in the Shakespearean times. This would have made the audience laugh and give them a little bit of entertainment.
I think that the audience finds this scene of interest because this scene is a turning point in the play as it involves the death of Tybalt and Mercutio, the first deaths in the play so far. Romeo treats Tybalt kindly but this soon turns to thoughts of revenge in which he blames Juliet. Because of his actions Romeo is banished. Tybalt also displays the same hastiness. Events seem to be spinning out of control and we see that the seeds of the eventual tragedy are contained in the type of person Romeo is but also the nature of events.
Contrasts are a good way of creating a dramatic effect. An example of one used in the scene is love and hate between Romeo and Tybalt. Even though Tybalt is an enemy, Romeo can’t help to love him because Tybalt is his cousin-in-law. Even though Tybalt doesn’t’ know anything about Romeo and Juliet’s marriage. Once Tybalt has stabbed Mercutio, Romeo’s mood had changed straight away and he had gone to kill Tybalt.
Elizabethan audiences were in some ways more sophisticated than the audience of the 21st century. When we go to see a new play or a new film, we expect to find the imagination in the action. Shakespeare’s audiences had different expectations. They were happy to be given stories that they recognized.
In this scene the things are more and less the same. The same things are the characters, language and the storyline. However to make the scene more dramatically effect, Baz Luhrmann’s had updated the setting and the props used in his version. The most obvious props exchanged were the swords for the guns. I think this modern version would give the younger audience a more clear idea of what is happening in the real world and a clear idea of the storyline.
CONCLUSION
Overall I think Act three Scene one has the most dramatic effect in the play because of its structure, language, settings, moods and the contrasts used in this scene. The best dramatic moments were when Tybalt killed Mercutio and in revenge Romeo killed Tybalt. Consistently the mood of the play keeps changing and this has a huge effect on the audience. Throughout the play, most of the action is taking place particularly in Act three Scene one. This is why I think Ac three Scene one has one of the best dramatic effect throughout the play. The language that Shakespeare has used was effective and written in poetry as well as in prose. Shakespeare has used the language in a good way. For example: some of the words were puns. Therefore clever/ humorous. He also included similes, metaphors, alliteration etc. Act three Scene one is extremely dramatically effective because it makes the audience get involved and think of what is going to happen next. It is also dramatically effective because all the previous scenes were building up for Act three Scene one. It also builds up tension within each character because some characters don’t know what the other character knows whereas the audiences do know.
I personally think that the 1595 text by William Shakespeare is enjoyable to watch, however it is very difficult to understand. I prefer to watch the Baz Lurhmrann’s film because I can get the hang of it and it’s less complicated.