The Differences Of The Play And The New Movie Romeo And Juliet. Essay, Research Paper

The story ?Romeo and Juliet? by William Shakespeare was written many centuries ago, yet the story is praised even today. It is praised so much that a modernized version of this dramatic tale was made into a movie in the last decade. Though the movie and book have the same story line, the plot, characters, and settings, change between the two.

Some elements of the plot in ?Romeo and Juliet? the movie differ from elements in the plot in the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. For example, Romeo has a premonition of Juliet?s demise in the original play, however in the movie there is an absence of such a premonition. This absence removes some of the foreshadowing that is used in the original drama. Also in the last scene with Romeo and Juliet on stage in the play, Juliet wakes to find Romeo next to her, dead. In the movie, this ending scene was changed to show Juliet wake up right before Romeo drinks the poison. She is too out of it to realize what is going on, and Romeo?s attention is gotten right after he drinks the poison, when he turns to find Juliet alive.

Also the characters in the movie differ from the origninals in many respects. The original actors and actresses in the play ?Romeo and Juliet?, were all of the same nationality and descent. However, in the movie, the nurse clearly has a Greek accent, and does not appear the same as the others. She is shorter with darker skin than any of the Capulet family. Tybalt and his servants and followers are obviously of Hispanic descent, evident of their dark skin and hair in the movie. The Montague followers of Romeo are clearly of a more European or American descent because of their blond hair and light skin. In the book however, it is shown that both of the families have Italian blood in them, which is not evident in the movie. Mercutio, the fun loving companion of Romeo is shown as of Italian descent, yet in the movie, he is an African-American.

Furthermore, the settings in the play changed equally as much as the characters did. The setting for the play takes place in Verona, a small Northern Italian city around the 1600 or 1700?s. They have no technology, and still use candles and lamps for light. The movie takes place in Verona also, yet this setting is entirely different. The city is modernized, taking place in current times. The characters ride around in Cadillac?s and convertibles, and wear modern day clothes, complete with Hawaiian shirts and Armani Suits. The setting is in a town in America, as is evident by the catholic churches and police force, having helicopters and shiny badges. The weapons are still called long swords and rapiers, yet the shape of these weapons have progressed into hand pistols which have the name Rapier or Long Sword engraved in the side.

In conclusion, though the movie and book have the same story line, the plot, characters, and settings, change between the two. Just because the elements of the movie Romeo and Juliet were different than the original, the modernized version was not lacking the power that the original had. It seems nowadays that when a book is made into a movie, many sections are cut out or replaced for time and money, which render it less powerful than the book, but in this example it seems that the book has the same effect on the viewer that the book would.