The Auteur Theory Film Studies Essay

The Auteur Theory Film Studies Essay -The auteur theory, if defined as the ultimate foundation for a filmmakers vision, can be a rather unstable remark for one to give. Who in the beginning of film history declared that a director must adhere to a specific genre with a specific style? It seems, like anything else, that the reasoning behind this theory is for a person to find a way to make sense of it all. However, one could argue that a filmmaker has reasoning behind why they have chosen their career path in the first place, or what kind of themes they want to express to the public. No matter what the genre or screenplay, a filmmaker can become a true auteur if they exhibit the same thematic preoccupations, the same recurring motifs and incidents, and the same visual style and tempo (Wollen 73).   In this essay, I will argue that Andrew Sarriss definition of film auteurism, along with Jim Kitses and Peter Wollen redefinition of its traditional and structuralist conceptions, are displayed in M. Night Shyamalans The Happening (along with his other films) as an example of the filmmakers auteurism. Andrew Sarris assesses a filmmakers auteurism under three pieces of criteria: technical competence, personality evident through oeuvre (director as stylist), and beauty of interior meanings of films. Technical competence, as a notion of value, surfaces the idea that a badly directed or undirected film has no importance in a critical scale of values, but one can make interesting conversation about the subject, the script, the acting, the color, the photography, the editing, the music, the costumes, etc (Sarris 69). In an interview with CNN, Shyamalan insists that The Happening is the best B movie you will ever see, thats it. Thats what this is. With this information, Shyamalan lays out the foundation of the films technical competence in relation to his past films. The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Signs, The Village, and Lady in the Water were assumingly created to the best of Shyamalans artistic abilities. Shyamalan premeditated The Happening with the notion that it would not be displayed as one of his ideal aesthetic pieces of cinema. It has been widely known that Shyamalan has had direct influences from science-fiction shows like The Twilight Zone, therefore audiences should be able to suspend moments of realism because, premeditatedly, bizarre and unexplained scenes are going to occur. Its going to test your patience, imagination, and social pressure, meaning that it almost dares you to laugh at inexplicable moments of dialogue and scenarios, and while it would be easy to write them off as bad filmmaking, if more effort is put into discover whats really happening or whats trying to be displayed (Shyamalans B-movie approach) , the stronger the payoff will be. For example, the scene where Mark Wahlberg is talking to a plastic plant, pretty funny right? Sure, if you look at it from the standpoint that its just Mark Wahlberg talking to a plastic plant. But if you think about it abstractly, the scene is completely appropriate to the films narrative. After evacuating New York City, being dropped off in a random town in Pennsylvania, then running from an attacking environmental force thats never fully explained, isnt it crazy enough to think that after all this, a person might begin to lose a sense of normalcy? Why not talk to the plant? It cant hurt to try new approaches to a specific scenario in order to figure out what could be happening, no matter how crazy it makes you look from an outside perspective. Sarriss film auteur definition extends even further, to the filmmakers personality and its visible evidence throughout oeuvre (director as stylist). A director must exhibit certain recurring characteristics of style which serve as his signature. The way a film looks and moves should have some relationship to the way a director thinks and feels (Sarris 69). With The Happening, there is clear evidence of Shyamalans personality. Since The Sixth Sense, he has been become known as the master of suspense. He never sells himself out to violence. Instead, he uses it as a tool to build towards a much more apocalyptic fear. The Happening is never explored from a large-scale angle like War of the Worlds, but rather the larger event that is taking place simultaneously merely peeks from the corners of the screen. Any filmmaker can physically blow things up so long as they have a decent budget. Instead, Shyamalan blows up our imagination. According to Sarris, the auteur theory must have a director with a specific style. Going along with Sarriss quote, the way Shyamalan uses violence in the film fits his personal and socially known filmmaking vision. For example, the scene where multiple bodies hang from hoses on trees is incredibly and meaningfully staged. As a passing car witnesses this, could you imagine sitting in that car and be thinking: What in the hell happened here that caused people to end up like this? Its so much scarier with scenes like this to leave the actual act of violence to the imagination because the imagination has no limits. Thats what makes this all the more horrifying. Shyamalan could have taken the lazy way out by going all Saw on us, producing over the top gore that has no purpose to the story. Theres a difference between horror and violence, and instead, Shyamalan seems to grasp this concept and use violence to enhance the story. He has shown this in every single one of his movies, even with The Happenings limitless R-rating. Sarriss third and final piece of criteria for assessing a directors auteurism is the beauty of the interior meaning behind a film. Sometimes a great deal of corn must be husked to yield a few kernels of internal meaning (Sarris 71). The post 9/11 atmosphere in our society still looms in the back of everyones mind. Shyamalan, instead of abusing this fear, induces it into interpersonal paranoia. The strangeness of each scene allows multiple scenarios of fear. The vibes coming off each character suggests that the events in The Happening are terrorist attacks. Why? Because its the first thing that enters everyones mind. The media has us so convinced that an act of terrorism is the only possible explanation of an attack on American soil that it has become the epitome of mass cultural fear. The standardization of mass culture (in this case, the media of mass culture) dictates the audiences reactions, telling them how to think and feel. Clement Greenberg, an American art critic of the 20th century argues that the Kitsch (German word meaning mass culture) associated in filmmaking has become extremely easy to notice. For example, a clichà ©d horror scene consists of objects jumping onto the screen after moments of eerie noises or silence (The Prom Night example). Formulaically, its the feeling that someone is going to jump out and scream a standardized horror clichà ©d line like boo! or gotcha! Shyamalan on the other hand, takes this persona and reverses it. Instead of forcing the audience into feeling a specific reaction, he allows them to think for themselves. Jim Kitses and Peter Wollen redefine the traditionalists and structuralist conceptions of auteurism in a simplistic manner that remains to this day, arguably, as an odyssey. Kitses claims that genre is to filmmaker as language is to speaker. The very foundation of meaning for an artist to work with is the roots in which they display the most comfort. Kitses explains that the meanings, characters, stories, and imagery come from the structure of the genre and the present culture in which the filmmaker is working within. Applying this to Shyamalans personal authorship, both Kitses and Wollen express their theories: In my view the term (auteur theory) describes a basic principle and a method, no more and no less (Kitses 89) and exhibit the same thematic preoccupations, the same recurring motifs and incidents, and the same visual style and tempo (Wollen 73). Shyamalan, in almost all of his films tackles big social themes, being mostly end of the world scenarios (Signs, The Happening) and/or socially known fears (The Village, The Sixth Sense). In Signs, Shyamalan takes a basic principle (an alien invasion towards planet earth) and applies his own basic method to it (the event is seen through the eyes of an American family trying to survive it). By adding his own layers of substance to Kitsess basic principle and method, Shyamalan ultimately creates his own personal authorship. Signs has the same basic principle as Steven Spielbergs War of the Worlds, but each director has their own vision towards it. Both Signs and War of the Worlds are about an alien invasion towards planet earth in which an American family tries to survive it, but unlike Spielberg, Shyamalan doesnt physically blow up the world, he enforces the imagination on the viewer and only implies physical destruction. Roger Eberts review of Signs furthers this argument: I will not even say whether aliens appear in the movie, because whether they do or not is beside the point. The purpose of the film is to evoke pure emotion through the use of skilled acting and direction, and particularly through the soundtrack. It is not just what we hear that is frightening. It is the way Shyamalan has us listening intensely when there is nothing to be heard. I cannot think of a movie where silence is scarier, and inaction is more disturbing (Roger Ebert). Kitses and Wollen have very similar opinions in the basic elements of the auteur. Kitses expresses that it involves a basic principle and a method, where Wollen argues that it exhibits the same thematic preoccupations. However, the process of getting the film to a concrete medium is where the two differ. Kitses compares genre to filmmaker as language is to speaker. When a speaker speaks a language, they may say it on their own terms, with different tones, dialects, expressions, emotions, speed, etc. therefore in translation to cinema, a filmmaker may express a genre their own way without the interference of an outside medium. While that it very much the case in many situations, the auteur must also face several realities, most evidently the wants and desires of the films financier (in other words, the studio) and the potential incidents that could destroy a films credibility. The director does not have full control of his work. This explains why the auteur theory involves a kind of decipherment, decryptment. A great many features of films analysed have to be dismissed as indecipherable because of noise from the producer, the cameraman or even the actors (Wollen 77). Audiences and critics can become subconsciously superstitious if one is not careful to consider the fact that films undergo realistic challenges like anything else. Shyamalan has experienced these heartaches just like any other filmmaker. In The Sixth Sense, his favorite scene (an alternate ending with an extended version of Bruce Williss wedding video speech) was cut from the film due to a studio decision. In Signs, Shyamalan was disappointed with his cinematographers (Tak Fujimoto) visual representation of the aliens. Furthermore, one must insist that Kitses wrote his analysis on the auteur theory before the Internet world affected the cinema. For example, the definitive twist in Shyamalans The Village was leaked online before its theatrical release date, ultimately allowing the entire world to access the films signature plot twist. This not only directly contributed to the films box-office disappointment, but also its initial critical failure, which discouraged the meaning of Shyamalans message. One could argue that The Sixth Sense would have suffered the same fate of The Village had the Internet been a primary resource and if the films ending was leaked online before its theatrical release in 1999. The structure of a movie is premeditated by an auteur, but a films outcome may have an end that does not justify the means. In a perfect filmmaking world, Kitsess theory would reign supreme on the idea that genre is to filmmaker as language is to speaker, but Wollen understands that things can happen beyond the control of an auteur. It simply means that it is inaccessible to criticism. We can merely record our momentary and subjective impressions (Wollen 77). Perhaps this is why Shyamalans films are becoming more appreciated as time goes on. One example of this is Unbreakable, which was initially a critical and box-office disappointment (in relation to The Sixth Sense) upon its release date in August of 2000, but over the years a cult following on DVD and VHS has sparked rumors of a potential sequel. Sarris, Kitses, and Wollens theories are visible in todays mainstream discussions. Shyamalans statement in the CNN interview stating, The Happening is the best B-movie ever is filled with Sarriss ideas of technical competence in the criteria for a films auteurism. Wollen is seen in Roger Eberts reviews on both Shyamalans Signs and The Happening. Ebert states in his Signs review that in a time when Hollywood mistakes volume for action, Shyamalan makes quiet films. In a time when incessant action is a style, he persuades us to play close attention to the smallest nuances (Roger Ebert). Every Shyamalan film since The Sixth Sense has had a summer release date. The filmmaker has an off-rhythmic beat in a year of Hollywood releases. M. Night Shyamalans The Happening is a movie that I find oddly touching. It is no doubt too thoughtful for the summer action season, but I appreciate the quietly realistic way Shyamalan finds to tell a story about the possible death of man (Roger Ebert). Personal taste aside, a theatrical release of a Shyamalan movie is always a movie event. In many ways, we know what to expect from his films. First and foremost (in accordance to mainstream logic), his box-office numbers are usually very successful (Lady in the Water is his only film that failed to produce a profit in its theatrical run). A Time Magazine interview has Shyamalan defending his financial success. Except for Pixar, I have made the four most successful original movies in a row of all time (The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Signs, and The Village). If youre not betting on me, then nobody should get money. Ive made profit a mathematical certainty. Im the safest bet you got. Behind his films financial successes are their other obvious components. The science-fiction genre is a must, his release dates are similar (theyve ranged no further in the summer season than June through August), and his characters all embody the struggles of interpersonal and emotional growth.   Through this mainstream discussion, an auteur (in this case, Shyamalan) exhibits the same thematic preoccupations, the same recurring motifs and incidents, and the same visual style and tempo (Wollen 73). Shyamalan, whether or not many believe he has lost his touch, is still a prime example of film auteurism. When watching one of his films, you always know you are watching a Shyamalan movie. It is clear with his setting (every one of his films is set in Philadelphia,) his vision (large scale events shown through a small-scale,) and his themes (the power of love, the fear of violence, and the importance of the imagination). His technical competence, personal evident throughout oeuvre, and internal meeting are all elements in his personal authorship in American cinema. Like anything else, only time has any real ability to create an understanding, in this case behind the man who was once called The Next Spielberg, the elements of his film auteurism, and the theorists who have timelessly argued the notion of the terms infinitely interpreted foundation.

Prompt: with Growing Age, One’s Loses Essay

We live in a world of war and violence, where every second news item is tragic and disturbing. As children growing up, we are protected from the horror of the real world; shielded by our parents who nurture us with infinite care and love, taking care to ensure that we are safe from the awfulness and pain of the real world we find ourselves in. In an attempt to preserve our innocence as children, our parents throw upon us a veil that conceals us from the horrific truth of the adult world. However, this veil isn’t completely shielding, and slowly, one by one, the truth of the real world is revealed to us. Our childish innocence diminishes until eventually not a single drop is left; the warm sympathy in our hearts is sucked out, replaced by a cold insensitivity to everything that we see. Our reality becomes deformed, twisted into a world of detachment. The first day of prep is a big day in each of our lives; it is the day we first become exposed to the problems of the outside world, beyond the shelter of the veil placed upon us by our parents. We begin to see throughout our schooling career, what our parents had tried so hard to protect us from. As we progress through school, the harsh realities of the real world become apparent to us, yet our innocence as children withholds till the day we see ourselves peering at the end of our schooling career. Up until the last day of year twelve, we are exposed to many of the harsh realities of the world, but we do not encounter fully the pitilessness of the world that we live in; and hence, our innocence and compassion towards others stays with us throughout school. The last day of year twelve is a day of great joy and happiness for all of us; it is the day we think we are leaving behind all the harsh experiences of our schooling careers and diving head first into a friendly, easy-going world. However, this last day of school fizzles out for the rest of our lives; the world we are heading into as we leave school is not the friendly, easy-going world that we had anticipated in our minds during high school. The joy of leaving school is short felt, and disappears within a moment’s time of entering the workforce or university. The adversity of life outside of the nurture and care of our parents’ veil of protection becomes a sudden realization that takes many people by surprise and forces them to harden their hearts. Cold insensitivity seeps into each person, slowly devouring the warmth and compassion within their hearts; eventually leaving behind individuals who see in their reality, the world as a harsh and unforgiving place, deserving no sympathy or compassion. The childish innocence that our parents strived to preserve has been lost, and the joy of the last day of school, long forgotten. Soon we lay on our deathbeds, having become veterans to the true horrors of the world that we were born into. Our cold insensitivity to the harsh reality of the world we live in has completely replaced the innocence and compassion we once had in our hearts as children. The joys of our childhood, when we had a veil placed over us by our parents, are no longer present in our memories. Our reality has been altered so dramatically over the course of our lives that the reality we had as children no longer seems identifiable to us. We die peacefully, but having experienced everything but peace in our adult lives.

Analysis Of Raymond Carver s Cathedral - 1648 Words

Cathedral is a capitivating story based on the lives of the narrator, his wife and a blind man. Raymond Carver is the author of this story, and he does an excellent job allowing the reader to delve into the lives of these characters. Through using the thoughts of the narrator, the reader is able to grab our attention because the story is made more realistic. The views expressed by the narrator in many senses exemplify the views of many in society and therefore the reader is able to make an emotional connection through the story. BIO Raymond Carver is a renowned short story writer born in 1938. The New York Times classifies him as â€Å"most influential writer of American short stories in the 2nd half of the 20th century† (King, 2009). His upbringing was in a lower middle class setting in Oregon. Due to his upbringing, many of his stories were influenced as a result of his experience in that socio-economic status. He had the ability to capture the lives of the average Joe through his fictional tales. He was known to use people from all walks of life to depict his agenda in these tales. He successfully wrote many short stories, poems, and essays with various collections. His story, the Cathedral is infamous for pointing out how a blind man or in other words a disabled individual can help someone discover something extraordinary. Raymond Carver loved travelling as a young man, and would often take his family from locale to locale using that as an inspiration for a lotShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Raymon d Carver s Cathedral1696 Words   |  7 Pagesfrom, or trying to bury alive. Cathedral, written by Raymond Carver, takes place in the early 1980’s. Originally published in The Atlantic Monthly in 1981. Carver slightly revised the story and re-released it in 1983. At a time when the blue collar working class lived paycheck to paycheck, working hard for newfound luxuries such as color television, this short story is humorous and eye-opening for the reader. For adults ranging from thirty to forty years old, the 1980’s were possibly a ghostly, hauntingRead MoreCharacter Analysis Of Raymond Carver s Cathedral 1426 Words   |  6 PagesCharacter Analysis in Raymond Carver’s â€Å"Cathedral†: The Narrator Literature has the potential to act as a mirror by presenting people’s lived experiences, expectations, and perceptions through characters. Such is what can be deciphered through the analysis of different characters in Raymond Carver’s story â€Å"Cathedral.† This paper focuses on the narrator of the story portrayed by the author as blind, which is used metaphorically not to imply physical blindness, but the inability to have reasonedRead MoreAnalysis Of Raymond Carver s Cathedral 1006 Words   |  5 Pages Gabrielle Sobolewski English 200 Professor Ruth Jennison 11/12/15 The short story â€Å"Cathedral† by Raymond Carver is told from the perspective of a first-person narrator. Throughout the story, the narrator is self-absorbed in his own thoughts and emotions and fails in his willingness to overlook personal insecurities in order to accommodate others’ discomfort, i.e. predominantly his wife and the blind man. In general, the story lacks figurative language and is told in short, directRead MoreAnalysis Of Raymond Carver s Cathedral 970 Words   |  4 PagesIn Raymond Carver’s short story, â€Å"Cathedral†, we meet the character who is never named, and who is known as the narrator to us. Although the narrator’s character changed towards the end, and we don’t really learn much after the change of his personality, it is still a gradual change that took place. The narrator’s attitude is very important in the story because it revolves around him and the way he views things. This short story is about a m an who is married to a woman, and this woman has been friendsRead MoreAnalysis Of Raymond Carver s Cathedral 1097 Words   |  5 PagesSeptember 2015 Cathedral by Raymond Carver In this short story by Raymond Carver begins with a man whose wife invited a good friend over named Robert and is blind. Before Roberts Arrival, the wife’s husband, whose name is Bub, does not know what to make out of his wife’s good friend Robert coming over to their house. Carver utilizes a story of a blind man who changes Bub’s outlook in life. Through the narrators changing character, theme of loneliness and jealousy, and the cathedral being a symbolRead MoreAnalysis Of Raymond Carver s Cathedral 943 Words   |  4 PagesIn Raymond Carver’s â€Å"Cathedral†, the short story is told by a character within the story. The first-person point of view gives us a transparent visual of an important time in the narrators’ life. The narrator, who is â€Å"un-named† in the beginning of the story, uses blunt, flawless and a particular choice of words. This gives us as the reader a deeper connection with the narrator. The narrator begins this story by taking us through the changes he go through with the uneasy feeling of having a blind-manRead MoreAnalysis Of Raymond Carver s The Cathedral 863 Words   |  4 Pages One of the Raymond Carver story where we can find a lot of religion symbols; it is â€Å"Cathedral.† The story develops an ironic situation in which a blind man teaches a sighted man to truly â€Å"see† for the first time. Near the end of the story, Carver has these two characters work together on a drawing of a cathedral, which serves as the symbolic heart of the story. The cathedral represents true sight, the ability to see beyond the surface to the true meaning that lies within. The narrator’s drawingRead MoreAn Analysis Of Raymond Carver s Cathedral1794 Words   |  8 Pages A Cynics Enlightenment Raymond Carver’s short-story Cathedral is outwardly about a pessimistic man, whose wife’s blind visitor named Robert changes the narrators predisposing perception of the world and awakes a new view on life in the process. But inwardly, the story is about the desperate need for connection between these three characters, which isn’t feasible do to the emotional-detachment by the narrator. In the beginning, the narrator is hindered by his prejudices which doesn t allow himRead MoreAnalysis Of Raymond Carver s Cathedral1524 Words   |  7 PagesAs if someone has unlocked his prison cell to liberate him of his stereotypical point of view. The protagonist of Raymond Carver’s â€Å"Cathedral† was an individual whose stagnant mind has blind him from truly seeing the aspects and characteristics of people around him. Before meeting his wife’s blind friend whose name is Robert, the protagonist perceives reality with a stereotypical mind-set shaped by m isleading information from movies. Hence, he make judgement about other people without ever settingRead MoreAnalysis Of Raymond Carver s Cathedral2364 Words   |  10 Pagesmost. The same could be said about people who are limited by one or more of their six senses and are judged by the majority of the population who are not limited and make preconceived notions about these limitations which can bind them. Raymond Carver’s â€Å"Cathedral† explores many literary devices that reveal the pre conceived perception towards people with physical limitations without understanding the individual first, which is still a problem today. The protagonist, the narrator is closed minded

Examining the Character of Juliet in Romeo and Juliet by...

Examining the Character of Juliet in Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare A wealthy girl like Juliet would be expected to obey her parents. Juliet would have to listen to anything her parents said. She would be expected to marry at a young age and carry on the family legacy. She would be married off to a rich husband, even though Juliet is about thirteen now, that is why her parents won’t marry her to Paris yet. Her father is also protective of her he says’ she is the hopeful lady of my earth,’ meaning he isn’t going to marry her to anyone she doesn’t consent to. She also lives in a patriarchal society, so she has to follow men’s rules. An Elizabethan audience would like stories that they†¦show more content†¦Shakespeare also develops the character of Tybalt and the Nurse which extends the range of mood and attitude in the play, and achieves a dramatically effective contrast to Juliet’s character in the Nurse while Tybalt acts as a foil for Romeo and Benvolio. Also in Brooke’s poem Juliet is sixteen but in Shakespeare’s play she is thirteen. The tragicness of the story is how most things that happen in the acts, they are surrounded by death. There’s always some sort of fight between the Capulet’s and Montague’s. Tybalt kills Mercutio in Act three, and then also Tybalt is killed by Romeo which is another part in this tragedy. Romeo and Juliet’s passion and ‘wanting’ mood causes their death and others from their house. Shakespeare’s tragedies can be grim in their injustice, but they are not straight forwardly pessimistic, hopeless plays. Their love brings about reconciliation and peace at the cost of their death. The audience suffers because it wants a happy ending. In Romeo and Juliet it’s clear that the lovers have to die, that they are doomed. Shakespeare’s conception of tragedy in this early day depicts the lovers as the victims of circumstances. They are not responsible for their fate; a terrible succession of mischances destroys them. At the start, the chorus announces that we are to see a ‘pair ofShow MoreRelatedLiterary Analysis : Romeo And Juliet761 Words   |  4 PagesEverything But Time Romeo and Juliet, a play by William Shakespeare, revolves around the tragic story of two lovers who commit suicide for one another. The two lovers were parts of opposing households, the Montagues and the Capulets. Immediately enamored with each other after meeting at a party, the lovers swiftly agree to get married. However, a series of events causes Romeo to be banished, and in order to escape an arranged marriage Juliet fakes her own death. News reaches Romeo, who then kills himselfRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Romeo And Juliet Essay1591 Words   |  7 PagesThere is no questioning that William Shakespeare’s plays are influential. They were written centuries ago, yet are still enjoyed by people to this day, and hold a place in modern high school and university curricula. However, as with many other literary works, some of Shakespeare’s plays are received better by audiences and readers than others. Romeo and Juliet, the tragic story of two â€Å"star-cross’ d lovers† (Shakespeare, 5) who pursue their love for each other despite the feud between their familiesRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Romeo And Juliet1110 Words   |  5 Pagesfamilies. Today we have the Montagues playing against the Capulets in a long-standing feud between the families.† Romeo and Juliet is perhaps the most famous love story of all time. William Shakespeare entrances readers into believing that love at first sight can and does happen. With tragic deaths of both Romeo and Juliet, along with those of Tybalt, Mercutio, Paris, and Lady Montague, Shakespeare leads readers to believe that the cataclysmic events are the fault of fate or circumstance. This argument isRead MoreComparing Zeffirelli and Luhrmanns Versions of Romeo and Juliet930 Words   |  4 PagesFor never was a story of more woe Than this of Juliet and her Romeo. - William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, 5.3 ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is a tragic play about two star crossed lovers written by Shakespeare in 1595. The play is a timeless teenage tradgedy. â€Å"The play champions the 16th Century belief that true love always strikes at first sight,† (Lamb 1993: Introduction) and even in modern times an audience still want to believe in such a thing as love at first sight. Act II Scene II the balconyRead MorePost Modernism Of Baz Luhrmann s Film Adaptation Of William Shakespeare s Romeo And Juliet3440 Words   |  14 PagesPost-modernism in Baz Luhrmann’s film adaptation of William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet: a comparison of two creative works from two different periods. In 1996, Baz Luhrmann directed â€Å"Romeo + Juliet†, a modern twist on the famous tragedy play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare in 1597, in which the main characters Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet where portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes. While some praise the strange interpretation of the old tale, there are also thoseRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Romeo And Juliet988 Words   |  4 PagesWilliam Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is permeated with intense, quick, and tragic passion that erupts between two lovers. Readers may be finding themselves screaming to many of the characters in the play to â€Å"slow down!† Although Romeo and Juliet had an intense and abrupt romance, there were warning signs that they did not listen to. In act 2 scene 6 Friar Lawrence is set to wed Romeo and Juliet. By overlooking scene 6 it is apparent to see how short it is, which represents a quick and hasty marriageRead MoreThe Tragedy Of William Shakespeare s Ro meo And Juliet1597 Words   |  7 PagesElizabethan times, William Shakespeare also believed in the Great Chain of Being, as many of his plays are prominently based on this concept. Some of his plays include characters that accept their place on the Chain, but others are not so complacent. By examining three different characters from Shakespeare’s tragedies, The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, The Tragedy of Macbeth, and The Tragedy of King Lear, it is obvious to readers who is content with their place on the Chain and which characters have a difficultRead More Comparing the Love of Romeo and Juliet, Twelfth Night and the Bible4838 Words   |  20 Pagesthe nature of true love. In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare gives an example of true love overcome by tragic fate. His star-crossed lovers are so madly in love with each other that they cannot live without being together. (RJ Prologue, 6) By contrast, in Twelfth Night the characters are so fickle that they switch love interests i n the span of a few lines. By comparing the true love of Romeo and Juliet with the shallow love of Twelfth Night, it becomes clear that Shakespeare agrees with the BiblicalRead MoreThe Causes Behind the Tragedy of William Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet3045 Words   |  13 PagesTragedy of William Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet Romeo and Juliet is a tragic love story written by William Shakespeare. The play is based around two lovers, who commit suicide when their feuding families prevent them from being together, set in Verona, in northern Italy. The play is generally involving love and family honour, in the days when the play was written, parents expected to be obeyed-they even decided who their children should marry. Romeo and Juliet go against Read MoreComparative Essay: Romeo and Juliet and To Kill a Mockingbird3074 Words   |  88 Pagesthat readers will not forget it for a long time. Probably because of tragic elements, both Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare and To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee are well known works. At the same time, there are sort of similarities between them. By examining, conflicts, weaknesses of humanity and deaths, common elements of tragedy are demonstrated. The first tragic similarity in Romeo and Juliet and To Kill A Mockingbird is they both have conflicts. For example, the conflict of the