The beginning of scene 5 starts with the Capulets' servants, they seem very rushed in their activities, and there is a great sense of urgency. The servants speak in prose showing the low status of the characters and their unimportance in the play also indicating that the Capulets are a powerful family. There is great use of exclamation marks to give an atmosphere of how rushed everything is. The sentences are short and used in them are lots of imperative verbs e.g. 'Take' and 'away with the joint stools' there is a great anticipation of the party and final adjustments are being made in great panic. This section of the scene is intense and tension-filled, time is 'running short' because normally in the play, time is slow when the lovers aren't together, and fast when they are in each other's company/
To liven up the scene and put it on a 'high note', Capulet gives a welcoming speech, his language shows that he is in charge. Another aspect of his personality is shown, as he is jovial and includes humour to get guests in the 'party' mood. 'She that makes dainty, she I'll swear hath corns'. It reveals that Capulet has got a sense of humour and is also rather crude. He is basically saying that all ladies should dance unless they have corns, using the same quote 'She that makes dainty, she I'll swear hath corns'. Shortly after the speech Romeo notices Juliet but she doesn't notice him at first. He sees her with Paris, he describes in a romantic and 'flowery' manner. He uses very lovey dovey language, and describes her to stand out from the crowd. For example being a 'Snowy Dove' among the 'Crows', and it again being a comparison to lightness and darkness.
When the lovers first meet the atmosphere is very tense and lively. As young Juliet is dancing there is a sense of ambience when Romeo spots her, 'What lady's that which doth enrich the hand of yonder night?' In the Luhrman version he makes the mood calm for when they meet by playing soft music and having lots of water around, resembling peace and tranquillity. Romeo describes her as 'a dove among the crows', a metaphor. Which suggests how beautiful and peaceful she is among the 'crowd'. He also he never saw true beauty until Juliet, this has great significance because of Romeo having an unreturned love for Rosaline. Also of how something so good has led him to his death, and the audience is aware of their short future together, whilst they are completely oblivious.
When the lovers first fall in love, it is the exact same time as Tybalt notices Romeo. The differing reactions of both Capulet and Tybalt are the main creators of the tension. It makes the audience tense, as they know how Tybalt and Romeo are foes. Romeo's presence intices Tybalt he feels as though his masculine honour has been threatened challenged and as if Romeo is mocking him. This annoys Tybalt as has a very short-tempered personality. His anger is evident when referring to Romeo as a 'villain'. When he tells Capulet, he doesn't feel angry, and says 'Content thee, gentle coz, let him alone' his mood is very calm and contrasting to when he gets mad with Juliet. It is now a suspicion of the audience that Tybalt will end up causing Romeo pain and anger. I feel this scene is dealt with very well in Luhrman's version as the fast paced camera angles show off what I lively character Tybalt is by making him roar when you first see him. Throughout the piece Tybalt is evidently uneasy knowing that Romeo is at the party but cant do anything. This creates tension, as the audience knows what a short-tempered character Tybalt is. 'Tis a great shame' showing Tybalt is ready to start a fight with Romeo, bringing out his short temper.
When the lovers are together all other hatred seems to disappear, and they are in their own little 'bubble', excluded from the rest of the world. Especially at the time when Tybalt is expressing his anger, within the sonnet and they just stay in their own cosy world, oblivious to all the hatred. As their only concern is to love each other and be happy. Whilst in this 'bubble', during the whole piece the speech is a sonnet, this showing their isolation from others. Additionally the speech itself is holy and pure, e.g. the mention of 'pilgrims' and 'saints' also these words are metaphors emphasising the love between them.
The Nurse scene is very tense as you think that the lovers will be broken up from their enjoyment with each other. However in Luhrman's the interpretation is very good because all of a sudden they are taken from their interest in each other and the calm atmosphere ends very abruptly. The sonnet ends all of a sudden to be confronted with the Nurse's scene. As a consequence they are they are broken away from their isolation as they are interrupted abruptly from each other. This is very rare as normally nothing can break them from their time together. 'Your mother craves a word!' this is when the Nurse first enters the two's time together.
Fast moving camera angles reveal how eager Romeo is to not let Juliet out of his sight, this proving that he loves her dearly. When Juliet asks the Nurse his name she is very reluctant to tell her this creating suspense in the audience waiting for Juliet to find out that he is a Montague and how a relationship would be almost impossible for the two because of the family's hatred for each other.
'His name is Romeo, a Montague' She sounds very heartbroken and let down when she finds that love could not be as his Montague upbringing prevents this. Her dismay is evident when she says 'My only love sprung from my only hate'. He says 'She a Capulet?' with a very heartbroken expression on his face.
My personal decision is that the modern adaptation of Romeo and Juliet by Luhrman is most effective in creating tension. The Zeffereli version is also rather good as well as all the others but the fact that there is such a wide range of different camera angles all revealing different feelings that are had by the characters. From seeing the modern adaptation I feel it has given me a better understanding of the play as it is easy to tell when scenes creating tension or sadness.
