Hello! I am Kari, 14 years old. I have just read Romeo and Juliet, which is, as most know, and Incredible play written by William Shakesphere. I would like to read your thoughts about this play. And Also, A Midsummers Nights Dream!
Hello! I am Kari, 14 years old. I have just read Romeo and Juliet, which is, as most know, and Incredible play written by William Shakesphere. I would like to read your thoughts about this play. And Also, A Midsummers Nights Dream!
Harold Bloom, who is an expert on Shakespeare, says that Juliet is the deep one in R&J. That Romeo is a bit of an average guy whereas Juliet has a major dimension to her.
The old movie, not the L.A. gun-toating movie of a few years ago, is really good, -- the Zefferelli one. The sword fight between Tybalt and Mercutio, and then Romeo, is first-class fencing. Mercutio does a good death scene. Also, the guy representing the Duke, who gives a speech while riding the horse, does a good job.
Hello, karibug. Welcome to the forum.
Well, to begin, what did you think of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night's Dream? Both seem very diverse, and amaze me that both plays came from the same mind - one known as one of the best tragedies of all time, and the other a mythological comedy.
By the way, you may find this part of the forum helpful for Shakespeare:
http://www.online-literature.com/for...play.php?f=169
I don't know what Shakespeare's source for R&J was, but I know that the only plot that he really originated by himself is MSNDream. Really, I think that Dream's plot is a bit weak, but what it lacks in plot it more than makes up for in humour. Bottom is one of my all-time favourite stage characters.
I was in Romeo and Juliet while I was doing Theatre, and we potrayed Romeo to be really normal, and not the smartest cookie, but Juliet was really, not smart, but not stupid, just a bit more, I guess realistic. But I liked it, were doing a MSND next year, can't wait...
*Mouse
Midsummer Night's dream? I loved it! I played Hermia in this play and found it so much fun and couldn't stop laughing all the way through, granted that might have been down to the good acting, but still very funny!
Neither are among my favorite Shakespeare novels, actually. R&J is a fine play, but I prefer several others to it.
And there's something about Midsummer just doesn't appeal to me. It contains some of the most beautiful writing Shakespeare ever put into any of his plays, but the entire third act bores me to death, and almost completely negates all the things I love about the first two acts. A shame.
Welcome to the Forum, Karibug; good to see you're interested in Shakespeare. Some people nowadays think he's old-fashioned, but really, once you get the hang of the early modern language, it's not at all! And the plots, the characters, the music of the words...all of this is as relevant today as it was back in the 1600's.
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy of great power and depth - I myself prefer Hamlet, but that does not lessen R&J's own worth. They are very different plays - R&J is a love story, Hamlet is a revenge tragedy. Romeo is somewhat like the Count Orsino in Twelfth Night at the start; wallowing in his own sweet distress, rather than actively loving. But when he meets Juliet - well, we all know what happens when he meets Juliet. ;)
It contains many memorable lines, from "What light from yonder window shines?" to "What's in a name; a rose by any other name would smell as sweet" (Shakespeare may have been using his irony here, as the nearby Rose Theatre didn't smell very sweet because there were public toilets just outside it)...to "O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo" to...:D Every word is a gem.
A Midsummer Night's Dream, on the other hand, is a bright, sunny comedy, full of parody (on the Classical tragedy of Pyramus and Thisbe - I can never stop laughing at that part!) and good-humoured poking fun at love and lovers. It's certainly not my favourite Shakespeare comedy, but it is still extremely special.
From what I remember, Shakespeare took the plot of Romeo and Juliet from an Italian commedia dell'arte (or an English retelling of it) - such plays were free to improvise on, everyone did his own retelling. Such it was with practically every Elizabethan play. However, for some of his plays he did create new, individual plots, as you said, AMND, but also others. The Tempest, The Merry Wives of Windsor, and Love's Labour's Lost all possess original, individual plots. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Kik
How about a connection between Pyramis & Thysbee and Romeo & Juliet?
I know that P&T is a much older story than R&J - it was already in existence well before Shakespeare, the kind of story that was told and retold and then reinterpreted again (much like the contents of any Harlequin romance novel... :P) Was it comedia? I always thought it was older. The names sound rather greek to me.
Did he write R&J after Midsummer? I'm not much of a Shakespeare scholar...
Interesting question that I've been interested in but never bothered to research. Maybe I'll do some fishing later.
Is it me or Pyramus and Thisby are quite similar to Romeo and Juliet?
Theoretically, yes, scholars think that Romeo and Juliet immediately proceeded from A Midsummer Night's Dream.Quote:
Originally Posted by Snukes
http://www.dlhoffman.com/publiclibra...e/by-year.html
I can definitely see this connection. True, as Miss Darcy and Snukes mentioned, Pyramus and Thisbe came far before Romeo and Juliet, originating, I believe, from Ovid's Metamorphoses. Both introduce such a young, ripe love, stemming very spontaneously and secretly. Of course, both end in death, but by a slightly different means; Pyramus mistakes Thisbe dead from a lion's attack just as Romeo thought Juliet dead in her tomb, both, thus, committing suicide, followed by Thisbe's and Juliet's return/waking, then also, in turn, taking their own lives.Quote:
Originally Posted by ajoe
I have never made this connection, but I can surely see where Shakespeare probably derived some influence from Ovid. :)
hello,i have also read romeo and juliet.as a english learner,this play is far from easy for me.but with the help of the footnotes,i finished reading it at last.i think it is the most impressive work about passion that i have ever read.i used the word passion instead of love,because i think the feelings that fill the whole play are so intense and strong that love may not be the proper word.furthermore,more than one feeling is displayed in the play, such as the hatred between montagues and capulets.as to the characters,
i think romeo is the most complex one. at first he simply did not know what love actually was,but his understanding of love increased greatly when he fell in love with juliet. but i think the most tragic thing about the play is that romeo's tendency to extremes did not change.the suicide of the lovers may be comprehended simply as the result of romeo's impulsive behaviour and deep love. but after all, if romeo had not been so passionate, juliet would not have fallen in love with him. everything seems to be destined.