Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet Act 1 Test Constructed Response
51. The pamphlet The Teen Brain:Still Under Construction outlines and explains the reasoning behind many of the key decisions that are shown to be made throughout The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. One such claim that The Teen Brain:Still Under Construction makes that does such is the following; “In teens the parts of the brain involved in emotional responses are fully online, or even more active than in adults, while the parts of the brain involved in keeping emotional impulsive responses in check are still reaching maturity.” This claim is shown in The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by Romeo and Juliet’s blatant impulsivity when they instantaneously fall in love with each other. When he first laid his eyes upon Juliet, Romeo declared, “Did my heart love until now? Forswear it sight! I never saw true beauty til this night.” (1.5.54-55) After Juliet encountered Romeo for the first time she stated, “My only love sprung from my only hate! Too early seen unknown, and known too late! Prodigies birth of love it is to me, that I must love a loathed enemy.” (1.5.149-153) Overall, this particular claim made by The Teen Brain:Still Under Construction further explains the developmental causation behind Romeo’s and Juliet’s impulsivity that is displayed throughout The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet.
52. In 1996, Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo and Juliet film adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet was released. Luhrmann decided to make the bold decision of setting his adaptation of The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet in the modern day beach town of Verona, Miami, as opposed to the town of Verona, Italy that the original play was shown to be set in this quote; “In fair Verona, where we lay our scene”(1.1.2), whilst having the actors directly quote the original play written by Shakespeare. Speculations of why Luhrmann choose to do this can include but are not limited to; an attempt to be original and stand out, an attempt to add a different perspective, and finally, an attempt to appeal to the audience of movie theater aficionados at the time who favored action movies by adding more interesting and action-packed scenes. Luhrmann’s decision to set the film in modern day also impacts the way that the characters are understood by the audience viewing the movie adaptation of The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. One of the many examples of the ways that the modernization of the characters impacts the viewers’ understanding of the characters is in their appearance. Instead of wearing clothing that was reflective of the time period that the original play The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, the characters wore clothing that reflected their inner personality. For example during the costume party scene in the film adaptation, Romeo wore the costume of a knight in shining armor which reflected his character’s personality. Ultimately, Baz Luhrmann’s film adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet will stand as a testament of taking creative risks.
53. Darkness is one of the utmost prominent motifs found throughout Act 1 of The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. The motif of darkness is used in The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet to express feelings of melancholy and sadness. The motif of darkness is commonly used throughout The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet to describe Romeo’s state of being. Talking to his wife, Lady Montague, and Benevolio, Lord Montague states “Many a morning hath he there been seen,
With tears augmenting the fresh morning dew.Adding to clouds more clouds with his deep sighs;But all so soon as the all-cheering sun Should in the furthest east begin to draw The shady curtains from Aurora’s bed, Away from the light steals home my heavy son, And private in his chamber pens himself, Shuts up his windows, locks far daylight out And makes himself an artificial night: Black and portentous must this humour prove, Unless good counsel may the cause remove.” (1.1.126-137) In this quote about Romeo’s state of being the motif of darkness is heavily mentioned and implied throughout. Overall it can be shown that the motif of darkness is featured throughout Act 1 of The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet.