A Study Guide for William Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" (film entry)

By Gale and Cengage

A Study Guide for William Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" (film entry), excerpted from Gale's acclaimed Drama for Students.This concise study guide includes plot summary; character analysis; author biography; study questions; historical context; suggestions for further reading; and much more. For any literature project, trust Drama for Students for all of your research needs.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cengage Learning - Gale
• Release date: May 15, 2018
• ISBN: 9781410394026

Book preview

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Romeo and Juliet

William Shakespeares

1968

Introduction

Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 film Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy adapted from the stage play of the same name. William Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet around 1595, and this film reinforces the timelessness of the tragic love story, first envisioned so many centuries earlier. In addition to directing it, Zeffirelli contributed to the screenplay adaptation, along with writers Franco Brusalti and Masolino D'Amico. The film was nominated for several Academy Awards, including Best Director (Zeffirelli) and Best Picture, and it received Academy Awards for Cinematography (Pasqualino De Santis) and Best Costume Design (Danilo Donati). The prologue and epilogue are narrated by Sir Laurence Olivier.

As in Shakespeare's play, this film version of Romeo and Juliet focuses on the tragedy that ensues when the only children of two feuding families fall in love and marry in secret. Shakespeare's themes of fate, youth, and undue haste are reproduced in Zeffirelli's film. Zeffirelli chose two relatively unknown teenage actors to play the roles of Romeo and Juliet, which helped to make the film popular with teenage audiences. It was filmed in Italy at several locations, including Rome and Pienza. The box office gross for this Paramount production was estimated to be $50 million, for a film that cost less than $2 million to produce. Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet has continued to be a popular film with audiences, especially for classroom use, and is readily available on DVD.

Plot Summary

Romeo and Juliet opens with a shot of Verona shrouded in fog, as the narrator speaks the prologue to Shakespeare's play. The next scene shows members of the Capulet and Montague families on the street. Each group speaks insulting words to the other group, leading to a sword fight. The initial exchange is almost comic, but with the sword fight things become much more serious. It becomes clear that this feud between two families is disruptive to the other townspeople, who must dodge the fighting. The fighting between the Capulet and Montague groups brings a halt to commerce, as well. The prince rides into the middle of the fray and complains about the frequent fighting. He reminds the townspeople, especially the Capulets and Montagues, that fighting is illegal and that both families will be severely punished if it continues.

In the next scene, Montague's wife asks about Romeo, who was not involved in the fighting. She is told that Romeo is elsewhere and has been observed to be deep in thought. When Romeo enters, he explains that he is in love with Rosaline, who is cold to him. The scene quickly shifts to a young man named Paris, who is also in love. Paris asks Capulet, Juliet's father, for Juliet's hand in marriage. Capulet explains that Juliet is too young to marry, but that Paris has time