Month: January 2016

Day and Night

The smell of cooked meat mixed with herbs and spices polluted the air around me. The scent was so strong you could taste it. It made my mouth water. I couldn’t wait to eat it. The sound of my grandma ordering the cooks around could hardly be heard over the shouts of my cousins running through the massive house, causing chaos. Out in the courtyard, the sun rays danced across the floor and the wind whistled, blowing leaves from the small forest into the house. I was sitting by the pond, under the large ancient tree that had been there before my dad was born. I loved sitting under the tree. It gave me protection from the harsh, blinding sun light. I would watch the ripples travel across the pond when a leaf would fly down, spiralling like a ballet. Here was probably the most peaceful and beautiful spot in the area. The golden exotic plants growing across the pond made the spot look more stunning. I would’ve sat there the entire day. My dad and his father, were sitting together on the patio reading the same newspaper. After they read an article they would spend a good five to ten minutes discussing it. Sometimes they would break out in a debate, which was always entertaining to watch. Suddenly the sound of pots and pans clattering together, echoed out of the house. Then in a split second one of my cousins came bolting out of the house, followed by his mother. He must have knocked over a bunch of pans and now was in a lot of trouble with his mum. They ran into the next building. Unlike my uncles, who were charged with excitement, I wasn’t bothered to follow. I just laid under my tree, next to the pond, sniffing in the lovely smell of the food, in tranquillity.

The sound of the dogs roar, made me jump from sleep. It was pitch black in the room. I couldn’t see anything. It was petrifying. The darkness engulfed my mind and tried to tempt my fears into revealing themselves. I tossed and turned, hoping my mind would ignore the whispers of the dark. I desperately wanted to fall back asleep and escape this nightmare, but all kinds of noises intoxicated the atmosphere around me. That made it worse. I lay there covered in my thin blanket, desperate to fall asleep. I forced my eyes closed and tried to keep out the dark and my fears, but they were already lurking in the dark shadows of my mind. Moments later, a sudden realisation came to me. I had to go to the toilet. My eyes had widened. My heart started to beat frantically. The monsters of my mind had been released and seized control of the room. I instantly covered myself with my blanket. All I could hear was the monsters, laughing and mocking me. The toilet was across the courtyard, in the other building.

Romeo and Juliet is one of the many plays written by William Shakespeare. This play has been performed in theatres everywhere and has been watched by millions of people over the years. Not only has it been acted out in theatres, it has also been interpreted in films in different styles. Baz Luhrmann had produced his own adaptation of the play. His concept was a modern-day version of the play. Luhrmann did well to maintain the spirit of Shakespearean theatre alive in his movie.

Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation of Romeo and Juliet was set in a modern-day world. He had replaced the swords with guns, had cars, TVs, almost everything we have now. However through the movie, instead of having modern English, Luhrmann kept the Shakespearean language. All the dialogue spoken was the same as the Shakespearean script. Luhrmann could have had many different reasons to why he chose to keep the Shakespearian language, but by keeping it, he had retained the spirit of Shakespeare in his movie.

In Romeo and Juliet the theme of fate was developed and had controlled the play. Baz Luhrmann also kept the theme of fate in his movie. In the scene before Romeo and his friends go to the Capulet’s party, Romeo stops them. He says he had a premonition in a dream he had the previous night. He dreamt that this party would eventually lead him to his own death. Luhrmann directed this scene by having Romeo speak the lines and at the same time he would show a future scene. It showed Romeo walking down a church aisle. At the time that would have meant nothing to the audience, but that same scene shows when Romeo is about to die. After Romeo discusses his dream, he says he won’t bother with it and will let fate lead him, ‘But he that hath the steerage of my course, Direct my sail‘.

In his plays, Shakespeare would use a lot of language features and styles. For example Dramatic Irony. Shakespeare would use dramatic irony to captivate the audience’s minds and would play around with their emotions. He would make them frustrated or annoyed that when something big is going on only the audience would know but the characters would have no clue. Baz Luhrmann takes that on and uses it effectively in his movie. There is a certain scene that toys with the audience’s minds. When Friar Lawrence sends the letter explaining his plan to Romeo, the post man knocks at Romeos caravan door, but doesn’t notice Romeo at the back. The postman then leaves a message saying that Romeo was not at home when the post arrived, so he must pick it up later. That note falls to the ground and Romeo does not see it. Later when Romeo finds out that Juliet is ‘dead’ he rushes to Verona, stepping on that note! That probably did end up irritating the audience.

During the Elizabethan times, women were not allowed to act in theatres. That meant men would have to play women characters and dress up like women. Luhrmann did have actresses in his movie, however in one scene, Mercutio dresses up as a woman. The scene of the Capulet’s party, Romeo’s and his friend’s all dress up in costumes. Mercutio, Romeo’s closest friend, is a male character and is played by an actor, but he arrives dressed up as a women for the party. In Shakespeare’s script, Mercutio does not dress up as a women, so Luhrmann had added that in, making a connection to the Elizabethan times.

During Elizabethan times, religion was a priority. Everyone was dedicated to a religion and so was Shakespeare. Shakespeare made his characters Catholics. Now, not everyone is dedicated to a religion, some people are atheists or agnostic. People, who follow a religion may not even follow it properly. Luhrmann still kept religion big in his movie. He kept the characters as Catholics and had many religious symbols in the movie. Friar Lawrence, the city’s priest, had a tattoo of the cross on his back. Romeo always says that without Juliet he can not live, so when Romeo found out that Juliet was ‘dead’ he fell on his knees and stretched his arms out. He fell into the crucifixion pose of Jesus. Romeo, in that position, cried out to God,’I defy you stars’. So he turns against God. Also Juliet had candles and a picture if Jesus in her room. At times she would pray to it.

Baz Luhrmann had succeeded in keeping the spirit of Shakespearian theatre alive, in his adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. He had sustained the spirit in various ways and made many links to the Elizabethan times during his interpretation of the movie. Luhrmann had certainly managed to keep the spirit of Shakespeare alive.