Overview
Thesis: How artistic, revolutionary, exciting and relevant is the play Romeo and Juliet?
On October 10 2010, I was lucky to watch an interesting play entitled Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. The performance was in New York City theatre where the cost of the seat was $ 110. I sat on seat number NCT56 and luckily, the person seated on my left was Johnson Lee (NCT56) my former friend in senior level classes but currently working with some local company that organizes events such as football matches and music festivals. On this particular evening, the theatre was full to capacity with audience aged between 12 to 45 years and the people were majorly from Albany, Batavia, Binghamton, Glens Falls and Beacon.
The play was originally written in Greek in 1595 to express the bare realities of the kind of life that the youths were going through (Hager, 12). Romeo and Juliet might initially prove problematic, if not downright off-putting especially for the 21st generation where people are used to watching televised plays written in a simple language. Its language and verse form seems remote and antiquated. However, the play has won several awards due to its good features and its ability to deliver the intended message to the audience (Hager, 62). The drama belongs to the realism movement and its revelation of facts has made it to continuously gain prevalence.
Second section- the text
The timeline of the play Romeo and Juliet is two hours and if the play is played uncut the runtime changes to three hours. However, the phrase in the introduction illustrated that the subject of the play is two hours traffic of the stage. The play Romeo and Juliet has a genre of a tragic drama. Similarly, if the play is staged from a script based on folio or Q2 texts that is uncut, the play might last up to 180 minutes.
The plot of the play is contributed by two characters who are Romeo and Juliet. Romeo is a Montague of about 16 year old. In the play he falls in love with Juliet where they proceeded to marriage. Romeo is a tragic character in the play and his role fully plays a significant importance. However, Romeo seems to be emotional and impatient. The second main character is Juliet who is a Capulet of about 14 years old. Similarly, she falls in love with Romeo and therefore she ought to marry him. Contrary, she is also impatient just like Romeo. In conclusion, due to termination of wedding day Juliet took poison where the nurse came to realize her apparently dead by the next morning. Romeo too took poisonous and dies by her side. But soon Juliet awakes and realizes that Romeo has killed himself with poisonous. Therefore, she kisses his poisonous lips and when that fails to kill her she stump herself with dagger in her chest and falls dead upon Romeo’s body.
The power of love being the theme of the play is illustrated where we sees both the lovers dying for each other. Romeo could not live without Juliet while Juliet too could not also live without Romeo.
Diction is referred to how the play is said but not what it is said. Generally, the language and words used in the play are of good diction that is appropriate and often lovely. According to the writer who is Shakespeare is a supreme example of good diction. His work is more poetry, "Do I kill myself, or not?" Or take Romeo looking up at Juliet's balcony: "Behold! What light through yonder window breaks? 'Tis the east, and Juliet is the sun!" That's a very appropriate way of saying "Dude! She's a babe!" (Shakespeare, William, Louis, and Virginia, 01) Romeo comparing Juliet with sun is a delightful way of referring to all sorts of things. In the introduction there are several words that leave that audience guessing. For example, “Two households, both alike in dignity,” simply means that this play is about two families who are of equal status. “From ancient grudge break to new mutiny” (Shakespeare, William, Louis, and Virginia, 01) illustrates the fighting that was of no reason. Nearly all plays has music or else actors may sang many of their lines either they can act with musical accompaniment. For instance, in the play there was a song theme kissing you that show the love Romeo and Juliet had for each other. The play is also influenced by jazz works. For instance, Peggy lee’s song Fever. In the introduction there is music whose its chorus introduces the primary players.
Third Section – The Director and the Performers
The most interesting aspect of the performance was the actors’ ability to manipulate language and the stage, create a sense of humor and dilemma as well as their costumes. For instance in Act two when Juliet is declaring to Romeo how she has fallen in love with him, the nurse appears and calls Juliet who momentarily disappears without the nurse’ consent but the nurse hides behind the curtains and awaits for Juliet to be back (Hager, 59).
Additionally, Capulet and Benvolio engages in an abusive conversation in Act 3 where Benvolio tells Capulet, “You green-sickness carrion” and he answers, “Your baggage” (Hager, 92). Moreover, Juliet skillfully expresses his love towards Romeo and a clear look at her face reveals exactly what she is saying. Her feeling and emotions are further revealed by the tone that she uses. Interestingly, the scenes flow unpredictably and leave the audience wondering what will happen next. Additionally, Juliet and Romeo create more absurdity in the play when they refer to each other as light and Juliet says that she wants Romeo to be cut into tiny stars when he dies so that night and the world fall in love (Gassner, 121). The Halloween won by Juliet and her hair style are also very interesting. The priest intention of calling the two lovers into the chapel to assure them that they are going to marry also arouses more suspicion and one keeps interested as they wait eagerly to see if things will go as the priest had promised.
Tagline: “Through a unique combination of caring communication and acting skills, costumes, transition between the scenes and stage arrangement, I inspire people to see the reality of life, the dynamism of love and the challenges that the contemporary society face despite the many advancements that have already been made and the main intention is to make the people appreciate the power of love and learn to solve the controversies surrounding life”.
Forth Section- The Visual Elements
The play is staged from a script that is based on folio. The writer has a significant stage format where he reveals the purpose of the prologue using diction and music. There is also sonnet form which shows that play is a poem of fourteen lines. Also the stage format consists of diction in the introduction that leaves that audience guessing. There is also foreshadowing in the introduction since the prologue ends with a statement that tells about the ending while the play is beginning. There is also personification throughout the play (Shakespeare, William, Louis, and Virginia, 01). Design of lights in the theater was well managed. There was a head lighting designer for the key players Romeo and Juliet that was monitored by Rodriguez. There was Shannon who is a senior art who worked on projection as well as assisting the master electrician who was with the paperwork. Fitzgerald controlled the designing of sound for quality production. The audience saw him as a DJ during the play. There was Alan, a technician, who was in charge of comprehending the designers’ vision.
In costumes, men wore differently from women. Men dresses were as follow; in head and hair covering they wore hood or capuchon since they had long hair. They wore tunics and cloaks that covered their bodies. In foot dress, they had hose and shoes they wore longer chausses of different colors. Women costumes, covered their heads and hair with head dress called Cauls or a gold net that covered the back of their head (Shakespeare, William, Louis, and Virginia, 23). Women wore gowns and mantles to cover up their body which was a long dress with long tight sleeves that fit their body very closely. In women, the shoes were little seen due to the long dress. In women, they did not wear long-toes shoes.
Final Section - The Big Picture
Romeo and Juliet stands out as a play that defies the essence of time as it expresses and reveals the things that happen in the contemporary society. The high quality, skillfully written and directed play provides a major experience to the youths especially those who are in the marrying bracket. It portrays how far one can go in the pursuit of love and the society’s conservative nature. It however passes one very important message that the society should accept changes since resisting the changes might only have devastating effects to the society as especially hampering social development. One’s political, social or economic status should not limit their interaction with other persons. However, one needs to learn to skim well before deciding on which route to take in this intricate life. Additionally, the play offers a good entertaining experience that in one way or another relates to our daily lives only that the prevailing situation has been dramatized.
As elucidated above, Romeo and Juliet stands out as an interesting play that reveals the realities of not only the 15th century society but also the 21st century society (Gassner, 124). In writing the play, William Shakespeare selected a universal theme of love knowing very well that it is an aspect that bothers many people. The director has made a good use of stage lights, costumes, stage arrangement as well as language to ensure the intended message is delivered to the live audience. Watching the play was both interesting and exciting and provides a lasting experience considering the fact that the play has credibility, intrigue, steagebility, richness, perceptibility and flow.
Works Cited
Gassner, John. Best Plays of the Modern American Theatre: Second Series. New York: Crown Publishers, 2011. Print.
Hager, Alan. Understanding Romeo and Juliet: A Student Casebook to Issues, Sources, and Historical Documents. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 1999. Print.
Shakespeare, William, Louis B. Wright, and Virginia A. LaMar. The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. New York: Washington Square Press, 1959. Print.
