William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet on Screen
| Thesis title in Czech: | Hra Romeo a Julie Williama Shakespeara na filmovém plátně |
|---|---|
| Thesis title in English: | William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet on Screen |
| Key words: | film adaptace literatura shakespeare drama romeo julie luhrmann carlei zeffirelli |
| English key words: | film adaptation literature shakespeare drama romeo juliet luhrmann carlei zeffirelli |
| Academic year of topic announcement: | 2012/2013 |
| Thesis type: | Bachelor's thesis |
| Thesis language: | angličtina |
| Department: | Department of Anglophone Literatures and Cultures (21-UALK) |
| Supervisor: | PhDr. Soňa Nováková, CSc. |
| Author: | hidden - assigned and confirmed by the Study Dept. |
| Date of registration: | 18.04.2013 |
| Date of assignment: | 24.04.2013 |
| Administrator's approval: | not processed yet |
| Confirmed by Study dept. on: | 06.05.2013 |
| Date and time of defence: | 12.09.2016 08:30 |
| Date of electronic submission: | 17.08.2016 |
| Date of proceeded defence: | 12.09.2016 |
| Submitted/finalized: | committed by student and finalized |
| Opponents: | Mgr. Miroslava Horová, Ph.D. |
| Guidelines |
| The aim of the thesis is to explore the film adaptations of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and to compare their thematic shifts of the original. Furthermore, the impact of the setting (both in time and space), the influence of the historical context of the film productions and contemporary viewers’ reception will be considered. Primary focus will be put on Franco Zeffirelli’s “Romeo and Juliet” (1968), “Romeo + Juliet” (1996) directed by Baz Luhrman, and, possibly, the upcoming adaptation of Carlo Carlei “Romeo and Juliet” (2013). In addition to these, allusions to other adaptations will be part of the discussion. The thesis will be based on my reading of this tragedy. It will first discuss certain elements of the play, particularly parental relationships, death and final reconciliation, and secondly subsequent adaptation issues in order to introduce and consequently compare the individual directors’ readings of these particular instances and their overall narrative strategies applied in the films. I will consider the films’ mis en scène, the influence on the play’s range of meanings, and also the overall impact on the original text.
The two “star-crossed” lovers are often represented as an embodiment of terms such as true love or ultimate tragedy. But do the directors manage to transmit the ambiguities of this play combining both tragic and comic elements, and, furthermore, do the directors’ individual readings enrich or restrict the possible variety of interpretations of the play itself? How can mere details in their interpretation result in subverting the whole framework and subsequently catharsis of the given film, and, in contrast, what symbols are there in each production establishing new dimensions broadening the text? Can the directors’ choices result in a misconception and misrepresentation of the plot in the minds of the younger generations that often turn to films rather than to the plays themselves? What is transmitted through the individual portrayals of the characters and their relationships? What are the main difficulties in transferring a text to screen and what are the issues a director must consider before becoming completely engulfed in the creative process of making a new version of this tragedy? I will attempt to trace the directors’ approaches and their ultimate executions back to the play itself and assess the relevance of their choices. There is obviously a vast difference between one’s own reading, a stage production of the play and a film production. Whereas a reader of the play essentially takes up the role of a director, choosing the setting, the outlook of the characters, and imagining the whole text performed, and the audience in the theatre can at least decide on what to focus their attention, in films, this is decided for them. Through their work, the adapting film directors not only convey their own interpretations, they are also responsible for staying true to the original while cutting redundant passages; the question is whether their readings sustain the play’s demands. |
| References |
| Literary theory
1. Baldick, Chris. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001. Theory of adaptation 2. Brode, Dougas. Shakespeare in the Movies: From Silent Era to Shakespeare in Love. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. 3. Cartmell, Deborah and Imelda Whelehan, eds. Adaptations: From text to screen, screen to text. London: Routledge, 1999. 4. Cartmell, Deborah and Imelda Whelehan, eds. The Cambridge Companion to Literature on Screen. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007. 5. Hindle, Maurice. Studying Shakespeare on Film. Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007. 6. Hutcheon, Linda. Theory of Adaptation. Abingdon: Routledge, 2007. 7. Jackson, Russel, ed. The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare on Film 2nd edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007. 8. Kopaněvová, Galina, et. al. Řeč dramatu: Umění vnímat umění. Brno: Horizont, 1988. 9. Shaughnessy, Robert, ed. The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare and Popular Culture. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007. 10. Varšavskij, Jakov L’vovič and trans. Galina Kopaněvová. Setkání s Filmem. Praha: Orbis, 1964. Theory on Romeo and Juliet 11. Hilský, Martin. Shakespeare a jeviště svět. Prague: Academia 2010. 12. Shakespeare, William, and René Weis, ed. The Arden Shakespeare Third Series: Romeo and Juliet. London: Metheuen Drama, 2012. 13. Shakespeare, William, and Stanley Wells, ed. The Oxford Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008. 14. Zamir, Tzachi. Double Vision: Moral Philosophy and Shakespearean Drama. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2007. Literature concerning film adaptations of Romeo and Juliet 15. Lehman, Courtney. Screen Adaptations – Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet: The Relationship between Text and Film. London: Metheuen Drama, 2010. 16. Lehman, Courtney. “Strictly Shakespeare? Dead Letters, Ghostly Fathers, and the Cultural Pathology of Authorship in Baz Luhrmann’s ‘William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet.’” JSTOR. JSTOR, The Lovett School, Atlanta GA. 9th October 2011. 17. Shapiro, Stephen A. “Romeo and Juliet: Reversals, Contraries, Transformations, and Ambivalence.” JSTOR. JSTOR, The Lovett School, Atlanta GA. 9th October 2011. Films 18. Carlei, Carlo, dir. Romeo and Juliet. Writ. William Shakespeare, and perf. Stellan Skarsgård, Damian Lewis, Hailee Steinfeld and Douglas Booth. Amber Entertainment. October 2013. Film. 19. Cukor, George, dir. Romeo and Juliet. Writ. William Shakespeare, and perf. Norma Shearer and Leslie Howard. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1936. Film. 20. Luhrmann, Baz, dir. Romeo + Juliet. Writ. William Shakespeare, and perf. Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes. Bazmark Films, 1996. Film. 21. Rakoff, Alvin, dir. Romeo & Juliet. Writ. William Shakespeare, and perf. Alan Rickman, Rebecca Saire and Patrick Ryecart. BBC. 1978. Film 22. Robbins, Jerome and Robert Wise, dir. West Side Story. Perf. Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer. Mirisch Pictures. 1961. Film. 23. Zeffirelli, Franco, dir. Romeo and Juliet. Writ. William Shakespeare, and perf. Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey. BHE Films. 1968. Film. |