I am reading Romeo and Juliet this week; I haven't read it for a good 9 or 10 years, and I wanted to get back into it and research in depth regarding the play. My big question is this: why is it so popular--maybe even the most popular Shakespeare play of all? I want to, once again, look at a modern presentation of the play, so I am going to watch the 1996 film adaptation of the play starring Leonardo DiCaprio.In the movie, the Montague's and Capulet's are represented by two major business empires, and they fight with guns instead of swords. I heard that BYU's theater department did a Romeo and Juliet play based in the "Gilded Age," and I'm curious to see how that play was received and compare it to this modern film adaptation. Did anybody go see that play last semester? What were your thoughts?
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Laura D 45p · 738 weeks ago
Or what about Romeo's loyalty to his cousin, going and fighting after his cousin's death? So family bonds and loyalty are also thrown into the mix.
My roommate and I have arguments about Romeo and how stupid he is - i like arguing that he and Juliet were star-crossed lovers, she likes pointing out that Shakespeare intended this play as a comedy and how stupid Romeo is. -which is true. But he's 14 for crying out loud! I guess another topic the play addresses then is human mistakes of all ages - Romeo and Juliet so young, the feud so old.