There will also be an analysis of the transformation made in the plot and the political aspects of the play. These theoretical knowledge will also guide us in the analysis of adaptations from the third chapter of this dissertation.
Introduction
Romeo and Juliet’s sources & Arthur Brooke’s The Tragicall Historye of Romeus
In Shakespeare's version, Romeo and Juliet meet, fall in love, marry, suffer Romeo's banishment from Verona for murdering Juliet's cousin, consummate their marriage, and kill themselves in the space of less than a week. In the scene in which Romeus and Juliet spend their last night together, they mourn his exile.
Juliet & language
In the following scene, the spectator will witness Juliet's famous speech about abandoning decorum - the farewell compliment. This is said to have caused the women in the show to not be stereotypical women.
Juliet & the body
What really matters is the body of Romeo, not his name, as suggested in the essay. What also prevails in all corners is misogyny in the historical context in which the drama was written.
Juliet & love and marriage
When questioned about her opinion on marriage, Juliet's answer is a very diplomatic one: ―It is an honor I dream not of.‖ (R&J, 1.3.67). As previously mentioned in the Juliet and language section, Romeo and Juliet's first interaction takes place in the form of a sonnet filled with religious imagery.
Juliet & death
Another well-known scene is Juliet's epithalamium, in which she longs for nightfall so that she can meet Romeo. Emma Smith mentions this tragic loneliness in her essay: 'The movement of the play is towards the lonely world of tragedy, ending in the canal house claustrophobia of the Capulet tomb.' (SMITH, 2019, p. 80). Student Rachel Savini writes in her essay 'The-ick of it: Phalluses, Swords, and Character Development in.
Beowulf' and 'Morte d'Arthur', on the role of the sword in works of literature that predate Shakespeare's time: 'The sword in medieval literature reflects the warrior who wields it by acting as a phallic symbol and general concept of gender that goes beyond its physical use in war.’ (SAVINI, 2019, p. 3) The young lovers from Verona thus subvert gender norms even in death.
Conclusion
In the second chapter of this thesis I will examine case studies, for example Romeo and Juliet from the Restoration and Romeo and Juliet in eighteenth and nineteenth century commentary – Charles and Mary Lamb's Tales from Shakespeare, Mary Cowden Clarke's The Girlhood of Shakespeare's Heroines. In the final chapter of this dissertation, I will examine twentieth and twenty-first century case studies in various media, such as film, music, dance, comic books, and video games. This chapter will be divided into two sections: in the first, I will discuss topics of adaptation and appropriation studies, as seen in Linda Hutcheon's A Theory of Adaptation (2006) and Julie Sanders' Adaptation and Appropriation (2005); in the second part I will present and examine three appropriations of Shakespeare's play: the Restoration play The History and Fall of Caius Marius (1679), by Thomas Otway; one of the stories from the children's book Tales from Shakespeare (1807), by Charles and Mary Lamb; and the text about Juliet – 'Juliet, the white dove of Verona' – found in The Girlhood of Shakespeare's Heroines (1874), by Mary Cowden Clarke.
However, a trace of domestication can be found in the adaptation from the early seventeenth century.
Adaptation and Appropriation studies
Considering adaptations of Romeo and Juliet, it is worth mentioning the short film Still a Rose (2015) – to be analyzed in the third chapter of this dissertation – which brings an LGBTQ+ representation to the most famous couple of all time. Adaptations and adaptations also have this canon-keeping power present in the contemporary world. In the public mind, it will be the popular representation and reference for it.
Nevertheless, in the many adaptations and appropriations that will be discussed in the following sections and chapters, it has suffered a process of domestication, thus being a “distorted voice”.
The Restoration play The History and Fall of Caius Marius (1679), by Thomas
- Lavinia & language
- Lavinia & the body
- Lavinia & love and marriage
- Lavinia & death
- Conclusion of the analysis of The History and Fall of Caius Marius (1679) …
Even if people were not interested in the content of the play, they were amazed by the spectacle. Juliet's character arc of the obedient protagonist who is given a voice later in the play is not found in Otway's work. Rhetoric plays an important role in the character development of both Shakespeare's Juliet and Otway's Lavinia.
After this I will examine Lavinia's relationship with the body, as well as the presence of violence and misogyny in the play.
Tales from Shakespeare (1807), by Charles and Mary Lamb
In this series of adaptations of Shakespeare's plays, Mary Lamb adapted the comedies and Charles Lamb adapted the famous tragedies. The works of Shakespeare and Lamb serve different purposes and should not be seen as a substitute for the other. Additionally, Lambs' adaptation also helped build Shakespeare's popularity as it was a best-seller in the nineteenth century.
Perhaps the compulsively cautious sense of Victorian-era society saw in Lamb's adaptation an enhanced version of Shakespeare's play, replete with references to sex and sexuality.
The Girlhood of Shakespeare’s Heroines (1850), by Mary Cowden Clarke …
While in The History and Fall of Caius Marius, Lavinia's mother is never mentioned, the opposite is the case in the tale "Juliet, the White Dove of Verona" from Mary Cowden Clarke's Second Volume of The Girlhood of Shakespeare's Heroines (1850). Perhaps this is the reason for the apposition of Juliet in the title of the story - "The White Dove of Verona". The object of Romeo's adoration at the beginning of the play is known to be related to the Capulets.
In the same way, my knowledge of the story "Juliet, the White Dove of Verona" will always influence my opinions and impressions about Romeo and Juliet.
Conclusion
The same could be said of Mary Cowden Clarke's story from Shakespeare's Girlhood. Shakespeare's beloved character found even more freedom in these seventeenth- and nineteenth-century adaptations than in Shakespeare's play—except in The Lambs. Although the play is mentioned many times in the novel, it is neither an adaptation nor an appropriation of the play.
This chapter considers twentieth- and twenty-first-century adaptations and appropriations of Shakespeare's play in various genres and media, such as classical ballet, children's books, comic books, songs, films, and short films.
Romeo and Juliet (2018), by the Mariinsky Ballet
In this work, I will analyze the version of the Mariinsky ballet performed in 2018. Lamb, who performed Juliet, said: “Shakespeare may have created one of the first feminists in Juliet. Classical ballet adaptations of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet are widespread, as it is one of the most frequently performed ballets in many of the world's most important ballet companies, such as the Royal Ballet of England.
Juliet's image was softened in the Mariinsky Ballet 2018 version and completely changed in other adaptations, such as those by Brazilian cartoonist Mauricio de Sousa (1935-), author of the acclaimed Monica's Gang comic series (1970-).
Monica’s Gang Adaptations (2015-2018)
- Romeo and Juliet: Classics forever (2015)
- Monica’s Gang: Romeo and Juliet (2015)
- Monica Adventures: Romeo and Juliet (2018)
- Conclusion of Monica’s Gang Adaptations (2015-2018)
Shakespeare's Juliet, on the other hand, rejects the nobleman's marriage proposal in the name of the love she feels for Romeo. The third chapter of the comic ends with a conflict between Romeo and Juliet's cousin over a marble tournament, which results in Romeo being banished from the city. On the one hand, it is worrying that they will have such an idea about the characters of Romeo and Juliet.
Regina Drummond's adaptation of Romeo and Juliet to the Monica Adventures universe does not use the same stereotypical gender roles as Mauricio de Sousa's adaptations for Monica's Gang.
Love Story (2008), by Taylor Swift
The acclaimed North American singer earned the title of Artist of the Decade at the 2019 American Music Awards; previous winners include Elvis Presley (1950s), The Beatles (1960s) and Michael Jackson (1980s). In her poem, Swift also makes a literary reference to Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter (1850): "Because you were Romeo, I was the Scarlet Letter." These verses are followed by a chorus—presented in the introduction to this section—that has undergone minor changes from the original sound on TikTok until the full song is published.
The mention of Juliet as "the lead" is a reference to another trend from this social media that mentions that we should all live our lives as if we were the main character in a movie.
Diversity in adaptations of Romeo and Juliet (1961-2015)
West Side Story (1961), by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins
Set in the 1950s, when the Puerto Rican diaspora took place, the musical touches on issues such as racism, xenophobia and urban violence. Finally, in the movie's final scene, Tony is killed by Chino (Paris' counterpart) and dies in the arms of his Maria. Although Maria can be interpreted as a character as daring as Juliet Capulet, her image in the 1961 movie is somewhat tamed.
Maria's only solo in the entire film is a song titled I Feel Pretty, composed by Leonard Bernstein.
Maré, nossa história de amor (2007), by Lúcia Murat
Next, I will devote myself to an analysis of the film, especially of the character of Analìdia (Juliet's counterpart). Murat's Julieta, Analìdia, is a young dancer whose father is in prison for being the head of trafficking in one of the poorest neighborhoods in Rio de Janeiro. Murat's portrayal of Juliet combines the passionate and determined characteristics of Shakespeare's character with those of the typical oppressed poor woman whose only option is to be strong, thus creating an empowered character.
Finally, the color of the costumes – Capulets in variations of red and Montagues in variations of blue – could have been inspired by Franco Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet (1968), as such colors are not referred to in Shakespeare's play.
Still a Rose (2015), by Hazart
Shakespeare's groundbreaking Juliet Capulet continues to change the way women are portrayed in the media.
Conclusion
In the poem, Jonson makes a statement about the longevity of the Bard's works: ―He was not of an age, but for all time!‖. Also in the nineteenth century, another celebrated reimagining of the character was written, the story. Clarke's Juliet—a product of her intense research into the play—exhibits and develops many characteristics suggested in Shakespeare's work.
While the message at the beginning of the song is one of independence from relationships: "Juliet, trust me, you'll be better off alone." (MCCARTHY, 2021); the one at the end of the song is about being open to new relationships: "Juliet, choose me / I think I could be the one for you." (MCCARTHY, 2021).
