Romeo, on the other hand, is miserable and gloomy because his love for Rosaline is not reciprocated. Whilst she does not want to get married, she says that she will “look to like if looking liking move, But no more deep will I endart mine eye Than your consent gives strength to make it fly.”(Act 1 Scene 3) She also appears to respect her parents’ authority. The development of Romeo and Juliet’s characters through their dialogue and actions, position the viewer to consider the universal themes of love and hate, fate and chance and generational interactions between parents and their children.Īt the start of the play, Juliet is presented to the reader as an innocent and obedient young girl with little independence and freedom of speech. “Romeo and Juliet” is a tragic, yet timeless love story that has been interpreted through various re-contextualizations. In the opening scene, an aerial shot from behind the twin towers of the Montague and Capulet buildings is contrasted with the statue of Jesus. This positions the viewer to consider competing secular attitudes of capitalism and strong divinity and spiritual beliefs associated with religion. It also contends that Luhrmann is suggesting that the society has been reduced to viewing religion as a nostalgic symbol rather than something with substance and real meaning. The image of iconic faces of saints is another one that is prevalent throughout Luhrmann’s film. They can also be seen in a striking scene in the chapel as Romeo approaches Juliet who lies ‘asleep’ on the front altar. Crosses can be seen in the back seat of the Montagues’ limousine, etched into the wind shield of Balthazar’s car and across the rear wall of the elevator. It can be argued that this almost cheapens the notion of religion. Statues and holy icons are evident in almost every scene of the film. Yet while this is notably foregrounded to highlight the position of the Church, in the Luhrmann version, the significance of religion is more conspicuous. In Zeffirelli’s version, a church bell rings as the fighting breaks out. Throughout both films, significant use is made of religious icons.
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