Month: January 2016

As you walk through the door there is a burst of heat from the open window and you can smell the summer air as it rushes up your nose, there is also A faint smell of pencil lead and Behind you is a large drawing that covers the wall. In the corner a ray of light beams across the room through a crack in the curtains. Under the bed is empty like A ghost town,apart from a small plastic bag that your cat dragged under there to sleep on, you hear it rustle as your cat sits under your bed away from the summer heat and.Next to the bed is a small crack that sometimes seems like it’s getting bigger as you stare into it during those sleepless nights. If you walk to the other side of the room the shelf rocks at every foot step you take as you finally reach the shelf you look up as it looms over you like a sky scraper.

Finally as night falls the heat gets worse so you lay on top of your covers you can anticipate another sleepless night as the sweat drips of your forehead onto the pillow. you toss and turn trying to find a part of your bed that isn’t hot.

As I walked through the alley I knew it was a mistake the darkest alley in the neighbourhood, I crept through alley being watchful and making sure I was unseen there were shadows and noises and suddenly I see someone behind be he draws a knife and begins walking toward me so I pick up a bottle it is now a face of we exchanged blows for a while and I land a hard one on him and run for my motorcycle that i left on the street I jump on and rev my engine and ride off the man jumps in a convertible and chases me. Suddenly I hit a sharp turn and go flying of my motorbike I feel like im floating in slow motion and I can see my life flashing before my eyes and I see the mans face through his car windscreen he smiles because he thinks it its the end of the grudge match. I land on my side a little bruised but I keep running on the pavement my bike is wrecked and I have to keep going to I jump over a wall and run the a row of back gardens as he drive on the road watching run across the back wall.

Baz luhrmann keeps the spirit of Shakespeare alive in various ways such : keeping the texts the same,men dressing as women,including dramatic irony,pathetic fallacy and including religious symbols all of the points will be elaborated on.

Shakespeare and Baz luhrmann both use religious symbols to convey Romeo and Juliet’s relationship with their religion several times in this story and in the movie Baz luhrmann includes cuts of pictures of religious figures and Friar Lawrence had a the crucifix tattoo on his chest, lots of references were made towards god controlling their fate and misfortune such as (Act 3 scene 1 ;Romeo) “I am fortune’s fool” and when Romeo finds out that Juliet is allegedly dead head kneels down in a crucifix position and says “I defy you stars”. Baz luhrmann  keeps the spirit alive by using Shakespearean language but also adds a twist by putting it into modern context such as using guns instead of swords and knives and instead of Romeo bumping into the servant in the street he finds out that Lord Capulet is having a party which his original love interest Rosaline is going to be at.The movie also modernizes the play by changing the context of why the families are at war and who they are also it is a good adaptation because they are not just warring families they are now rival business owners that are both very wealthy (Prologue;Chorus) “two households both alike in dignity in fair Verona where we lay our scene”.

I fear too early,for my mind misgives some consequence yet hanging in the stars shall bitterly begin his fearful date with this night’s revels,and expire the term.Of a despised life clos’d in my breast,By some vile forfeit of untimely death.
But He hath the steerage of my course Direct my sail!,On lusty gentleman.

Fate is a very important in Romeo and Juliet In this extract Romeo talks about how he fears he may get to the party too early but he more importantly thinks that his fate had already been chosen by god “consequence yet hanging in the stars”.He feels that when this party is over it will lead to his”untimely death” this contributes to the idea of fate Romeo says that “he hath the steerage of my course direct my sail!” He is referring to god as a metaphorical sailor directing a boat and that boat is Romeo and this means that he wants god to choose his destiny and he will be satisfied with his fate.Fate and coincidence are two of the most important themes in Romeo and Juliet, and neither of them could be avoided.The Prologue states that they take their lives (Prologue;Chorus) “two star cross’d lovers take their lives”  The chorus also summarises the story with it ultimately leading to the death of Romeo and Juliet and although they tried to avoid each other fate brings them together, this is shown in many parts of the play the most important is Lord Capulet’s servant approaching Romeo Montague (their rival family) to help him read the party invites list which ends in the servant inviting Romeo to the party without knowing he was the enemy of his master.

Shakespeare’s version couldn’t portray some parts of the play like the film did such as some pathetic fallacy when the sky gets cloudy and dark when the Capulets and Montagues are about to fight the effects used made it easier to see and still kept the Shakespearean factors in this specific scene. Another aspect the movie dealt with very well was Dramatic irony when Juliet drinks the potion Friar Lawrence give her to appear dead to her family Juliet leaves the potion on the bed and Friar Lawrence sees it and picks it up. Another time where dramatic irony is used is when Friar Lawrence and Juliet comes up with a plan to make her seem dead and sends a courier to Mantua, where Romeo was banished to for killing Tybalt, the courier has a letter for Romeo telling what the plan was, the courier knocked on the door but Romeo didn’t hear because he was cutting wood behind his house so he left the letter on the door but it fell off and got covered by sand and dirt so Romeo didn’t know what the plan was so when his friend Balthazar came to visit him and told him Juliet was dead he thought she really was.

• men dress as women in the film
• to keep the spirit of Shakespeare  alive and to show fate they have religious symbols in the movie
• the language in the film and movie are both the same keeping the spirit of Shakespeare
• there is dramatic irony in the film such as friar Lawrence picking up the potion of Juliet’s bed
• the courier leaving the letter but it falls on the floor and gets covered buy sand