In act 3 Scene 1 of 'Romeo and Juliet', Shakespeare uses language to make the fight scene dramatic. How does Baz Luhrmann draw on this and use other devices to create tension for his audience.
In act 3 Scene 1 of 'Romeo and Juliet', Shakespeare uses language to make the fight scene dramatic. How does Baz Luhrmann draw on this and use other devices to create tension for his audience.
In the story of 'Romeo and Juliet' the Montague and Capulet families are continuously feuding over which family is more royal and worthy. The main fight in 'Romeo and Juliet' is when Tybalt from the Capulet family confronts Romeo from the Montague family. The reason he wants a fight with Romeo is because he caught him gate crashing the Capulets party with Mercutio and Benvolio. Tybalt wasn't aloud to fight Romeo at the party so he has come for revenge.
The two themes of hate and love are very widely used in the story. They are the reason for the fight and the death of Mercutio. Tybalt is the character that is filled with hate, all aimed at Romeo. However, Romeo is trying to calm Tybalt because they are now related because he has married Juliet; Tybalts cousin. Tybalt uses two very strong words to show his hate for Romeo, The word 'villain' is used when Tybalt says,
"Romeo, the hate a bear thee can afford no better term than this, - thou art a villain." Calling someone a villain in Shakespeare's time was a very big insult, and because Romeo is now related to Tybalt it would be even more insulting. The word 'injuries' is used by Tybalt to indicate that Romeo has hurt him in such a way that it cant be undone.
"Boy, this shall not excuse the injuries that thou hast done to me; therefore turn and draw." This shows that Tybalt is not going to change his mind and forgive Romeo whatever he says. Romeo is very different minded about how he speaks to Tybalt.
He uses the word the 'love' many times to try and show Tybalt that he wants to be civil with him.
"Tybalt, the reason that I have to love thee doth much excuse the appertaining rage to such a greeting," this quotation shows that Romeo is not the guilty man and that he is trying to tell Tybalt that he doesn't want a fight. Romeo uses the word 'tender' also to try and be friendly with Tybalt by saying,
"good Capulet which name I tender as dearly as my own." This shows that he is not trying to cause a brawl and that he wants peace. Also, he uses the word 'friend when he speaks to Mercutio,
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"Tybalt, the reason that I have to love thee doth much excuse the appertaining rage to such a greeting," this quotation shows that Romeo is not the guilty man and that he is trying to tell Tybalt that he doesn't want a fight. Romeo uses the word 'tender' also to try and be friendly with Tybalt by saying,
"good Capulet which name I tender as dearly as my own." This shows that he is not trying to cause a brawl and that he wants peace. Also, he uses the word 'friend when he speaks to Mercutio,
"My very friend hath got his mortal hurt in my behalf." Romeo says this because he believes its his fault that Mercutio dies.
In 'Romeo and Juliet' the different characters address each other in many different ways. When Tybalt adresses Romeo he uses the word 'villain'. This is telling Romeo that he is not messing around and that he means business. This is the same as what he means when he calls Romeo 'boy'. This emphasizes that Tybalt is more powerful than Romeo and that Romeo is inferior to him. This is also offensive towards him because Tybalt is patronising him. Finally, when Tybalt says,
"peace be with you sir, here comes my man," to Mercutio, it angers him because it sounds like Romeo is Tybalts person. Mercutio then plays on the word 'my man' and tells Tybalt Romeo is to good to serve him. When Romeo adresses the characters he mainly uses the word 'good' for different reasons. When he speaks to Tybalt he says,
"good Capulet." This shows that Romeo is trying his best to calm Tybalt. When he speaks to Mercutio he says,
"good Mercutio," the reason he says this is to try to persuade Mercutio to stop fighting with Tybalt.
In the fight scene all the characters play different roles and there personalities become more clear. Romeo plays the role of the lover,
"Tybalt, the reason that I have to love thee," this infuriates Tybalt, even though Romeo is trying to achieve the opposite. Tybalt plays the role of the fighter,
" Romeo, the hate a bear thee can afford no better term than this, - thou art a villain." This shows that Tybalt wants a fight with Romeo. Mercutio, who plays the role of the joker is infuriated by Romeo when Romeo is trying to be friendly with Tybalt. Mercutio also winds up Tybalt by playing with words.
"Consort. What, dost thou make us minstrals." Tybalt offended Mercutio by stating that he plays with Romeo. From that he takes the word 'consort', which means 'play', and plays with words to send the insult back to Tybalt. The last role is played by Benvolio, he plays the peace keeper.
"We talk here in the public haunt of men," this shows that he is worried and that he thinks they should sort there problems out another way.
Shakespeare very cleverly keeps the big secret of Romeo being married to Juliet from the other characters. Romeo obviously can't tell them because it would cause chaos, so he has to try and keep order by pleading with the other characters. When Romeo is pleading with Tybalt it just angers him even more and the same with Mercutio. Mercutio is also confused at why Romeo doesn't fight Tybalt. Benvolio is the only character that is on Romeo's side and tries to calm down Tybalt and Mercutio. This all creates tension because the audience no why Romeo is trying to calm everyone but because he can't say why, all the characters are confused and angry.
At the end of the fight scene when Benvolio gives an account of what happens he exaggerates about how aggressive Mercutio is and how innocent Romeo was.
"Hold friends, friends part!' And swifter than his tongue, his agile arm beats down their fatal points." This shows that Benvolio is trying to make Romeo look as innocent as possible and that Romeo is trying to brake up the arguing between Mercutio and Tybalt.
"Romeo, that spoke him fair." Benvolio was trying to point out that Romeo tried to reason with Tybalt and that it was Tybalt that started the brawl.
"An envious thrust from Tybalt hit the life of stout Mercutio." By using the word envious it makes Tybalt look like the guilty one even more, also, the quotation shows that Tybalt killed Mercutio in a malicious way.
In the movie of 'Romeo and Juliet', the director, 'Baz Luhrmann', uses various techniques to make the fight scene between Romeo and Tybalt more dramatic. The setting used for the scene is on the beach on a very hot day. Baz Luhrmann is very clever because it emphasizes that the characters are irritable because of the weather. Also, when Mercutio dies the weather becomes rough, with lightening and thunder to give the effect that something dramatic has happened. The music used when Mercutio dies is also very dramatic and tragic to give more effect. When the Capulets enter the scene they walk to the beat of the western music used to give the effect that there the enemy and that trouble is coming. Finally when Romeo enters the scene the music is very calm and light to show that he wants peace between the two families. When Mercutio shouts,
"A plague on both your houses," they use sound effects for the word 'houses' by making it echo continuously. Also, the music leading up to the fight scene slowly quickens to give suspense. The costumes used in the film really show what the characters a like. The Capulets all wear black leather clothing which is very tight to show that they are the villains. The Montagues all wear much more laid back clothing, like open shirts, a pair of shorts and sandals. Special effects are used when Romeo is watching Tybalt and Mercutio fight. It shows him watching the fight in slow motion and it makes you feel for Romeo because he is watching his best friend and his family fighting. There are lots of effective camera shots used in the film. Close ups are used regularly when each character is speaking. The most effective close up is when Romeo gives Tybalt a hand of peace and it shows there hands clashing. Facial expressions are used to show how the characters feel. Benvolio is shown looking very concerned and Mercutio is very laid back. Tybalt looks very serious, unlike Romeo who is scared and worried. Mercutio uses puns in the film to great effect. He's always playing with words to throw back insults aimed at him. He says,
"make it a word and a blow" and "could you not take some occasion without giving." These phrases are aimed at Tybalt by Mercutio an they imply that Tybalt is homosexual.
On the whole Baz Luhrmann uses a range of techniques that work very well at making the fight scene dramtic and tragic. Also, drawing back to the title he uses many devices to create tension in the audience on a regular basis. Mostly, he uses very eerie music with different tempo's and texture's, When Romeo is speaking the music is soft and slow, but when the fight starts it becomes very quick and its much more heavy. From this he can make different parts of the scene more tense.
Tom Cheeseman
