How Shakespeare through the Centuries Still Lives On

How Shakespeare through the Centuries Still Lives On

by Mary Hatfalvi

How Shakespeare through the Centuries Still Lives On

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Abstract

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Introduction

The story of Romeo and Juliet has been told around the world for hundreds of years. It is a beautiful story about two people who because of human prejudice and fall, are domed to never be together. Because this play has been timeless in its message of love and the fall of human folly, there have been many different styles and storytelling techniques for this play. London England is the home of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and many performances have been put on in London and all over the world.
including one recently done at the Globe Theater. A review of it can be read here. For comparing, two London plays which appear very different in style and technique were chosen. The two plays that were chosen was one opera at the Covent Gardens in 1867 and one 1950's modern twist performance at the Garrick Theatre in 2016. Describe the essence of this project. Cover what the project is and who cares in the first two sentences. Then cover what others have done like it, how your project is different. Discuss the extent to which your strategy for completing this project was new to you, or an extension of previous HUA experiences.

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Section 1: Background

Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet Story & Inspiration

Story

The plot of the play of Romeo and Juliet is about two star crossed lovers who are forbidden to be together by their families quarrel. The two families, the Capulets which is Juliet's family and the Montagues which is Romeo's family, have been quarreling for years.They meet at a masquerade ball which is put on by the Capulets and it is love at first sight. They eventually decided to secretly marry and plan to run away. Sadly though Romeo ends up killing Tybalt whom is Juliet's cousin and is sent to exile. Juliet is then forced by her family to marry Paris. She decides to fake her death to escape the arranged marriage and run away with Romeo. Sadly Romeo never receives word that Juliet's death is fake and then goes to her side and poisons himself. When Juliet awakes and see's her Romeo dead she then ends her life for real. In the end, both families do reconcile but sadly at the cost of Romeo and Juliet's lives.

Inspiration

William Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet around the 1590's. Researches to this day still don't know exactly what inspired the play. Possible things that could have inspired the writing of the play are the time period, real people, and a poem.
In Elizabethan time, England was growing in arts and culture however it was still suffering from religious persecution of the Catholics. When Henry VIII became the head of the English church, Catholics were then treated to either convert or die. When Mary I succeed her father after her brother Edward VI, she didn't persecute Catholics but persecuted Protestants. Then when Mary died and Elizabeth I reigned, she brought back the Protestant church and executed Catholics. It is recorded in Shakespeare history that Shakespeare's father was catholic. Now no real proof exists for Shakespeare's religion but it is a thought that he did base Romeo and Juliet on this time period event especially with the fight going on with Catholics and Protestants. Think of the names Romeo (Rome, where the Catholic church is based) and Juliet (Anglican English church of England).
Another possible inspiration is a real couple. Henry Wriothesley the 3rd Earl of Southampton was a close friend to Shakespeare at the time and was a courtier to Queen Elizabeth I. His mother was Mary Browne whose father was the 1st Viscount Montagu (does this remind you of Montagues). Henry fell in love with a woman named Elizabeth Vernon who was one of Queen Elizabeth I's ladies-in-waiting. Ladies-in-waiting were no allowed to marry and an alliance between Henry and Elizabeth based on their families and roles were not favored by the queen. Henry was the ward of William Cecil and he arranged a marriage already for Henry which he refused. When Cecil died in 1598 Henry and Elizabeth were then married. This did not make the queen happy and she put them both in jail. They were eventually released and their love story ended happily with children and a natural death.
The poem "The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet" written by Arthur Brooke in 1562 is consider as another possible source for the story of Romeo and Juliet. The story plot based in Verone is close to the same as Shakespeare's play. The words that Romeus speaks in the poem compared to the play is different but the poem follows the same storyline and events from Shakespeare's play.

Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet at the Covent Gardens (1867)

The opera "Romeo and Juliette" by Charles Gounod was performed at the Covent Garden's on July 11 1867. Adelina Patti played Juliet and Signor Mario played Romeo. The opera was a newly composed by Charles Gounod with words by J.Barbier & M.Carré and received many fantastic reviews at the time. One from the Watson's Journal in London said that "...". The opera

Performance Summary

The opera is composed in five acts and performed in french. The first act starts at the Capulet's Place at a Masquerade ball. Romeo sneaks into the ball with his friends and meets Juliet and falls for her at first sight. The second act is the balcony scene when Romeo meets Juliet and they sing their lines from Shakespeare "Juliet, Romeo, why art thou Romeo. Romeo, Is it true? Ah! then call me but "love".". The Third Act starts in the friar's cell when Romeo and Juliet secretly marry and continues with Romeo's page going to the Capulets house and draws one of their servants to combat. The combat grows by adding Romeo, Tybalt and others eventually Romeo kills Tybalt. The act ends when Romeo is then banished by the Duke. Act four is in Juliet's bedroom where Romeo visits her for the night then leaves before her father and the friar come to tell her she will marry Paris. The friar after Juliet's father leaves gives Juliet a potion to take to fake her death. She takes the potion and the friar leaves. The fifth and final act is in the Capulets tomb where Juliet is buried. Romeo enters and believing Juliet is dead consumes poison. Before the poison kills Romeo, Juliet awakes and finds her Romeo dying from the poison. They speak heartfelt words and while Romeo dies Juliet stabs herself with Romeo's dagger. Ending the opera with them both dead.

Dramatic Elements

style? mood? theme? costumes?

Overall Review

message wanted to give in performance?

Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet at the Garrick Theatre (2016)

Performance Summary

performance summary. who were the performers? where was the performance?

Dramatic Elements

style? mood? theme? costumes?

Overall Review

message wanted to give in performance?

Section 2: Deliverable

Additional Image

The overall comparison of both plays.
In this section, provide your contribution, creative element, assessment, or observation with regard to your background research. This could be a new derivative work based on previous research, or some parallel to other events. In this section, describe the relationship between your background review and your deliverable; make the connection between the two clear.

The Similarities

Performance

performance where? did they have same characters?

Dramatic Elements

similarities in style? mood? theme? costumes?

What are the Differences?

Performance

performance where? did they not have same characters?

Dramatic Elements

differences in style? mood? theme? costumes?

Overall Message from Romeo and Juliet

same message in both performances even though they are done differently in different time periods.

Conclusion

In this section, provide a summary or recap of your work, as well as potential areas of further inquiry (for yourself, future students, or other researchers).

References

1. Billington, M. (2016, May 26). Romeo and Juliet review – Branagh gives tragedy a touch of la dolce vita. Retrieved May 10, 2017, from https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2016/may/26/romeo-and-juliet-review-branagh-lily-james-richard-madden-garrick-theatre
2. David Karlinhttps://bachtrack.com/22/270/list-published/3https://bachtrack.com/22/270/list-published/3https://bachtrack.com/files/40449-david-karlin.jpgDavid is a co-founder of Bachtrack. He is a musical omnivore interested in almost all types of music, but with a particular love of Italian opera. You can contact him from this link. (2013, November 07). Gounod's Roméo et Juliette at Covent Garden. Retrieved May 10, 2017, from https://bachtrack.com/gounod-romeo-juliette-royal-opera
3. Shakespeare, W. (n.d.). Romeo and Juliet Synopsis. Retrieved May 11, 2017, from https://www.playshakespeare.com/romeo-and-juliet/synopsis
4. Schajer, D. B. (1970, January 01). Shakespeare Solved. Retrieved May 11, 2017, from http://shakespearesolved.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/the-real-romeo-and-juliet.html
5. Brooke, Arthur. BROOKE'S 'ROMEUS AND JULIET' BEING THE ORIGINAL OF SHAKESPEARE'S 'ROMEO AND JULIET' NEWLY EDITED BY J. J. MUNRO. Ed. J.J. Munro. New York: Duffield and Company; London: Chatto & Windus, 1908.
6. Gounod's "Romeo and Juliet" (1867). The American Art Journal (1866-1867), 7(5), 68-69. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.wpi.edu/stable/25307047
7. Wyndham, Henry Saxe. (1906). The annals of Covent Garden Theatre from 1732 to 1897. London : Chatto & Windus
8. Barbier, J., Carré, M., Gounod, C., Shakespeare, W., Sapio, R., Pollack, O., & Moody-Manners Opera Company. (1912). Romeo & Juliet: Opera in five acts. Hull: White & Farrell.
9.

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