Read Online Romeo and Juliet Folger Shakespeare Library William Shakespeare Dr Barbara A Mowat Paul Werstine PhD Books

Product details Series Folger Shakespeare Library Mass Market Paperback 336 pages Publisher Simon & Schuster; 1 edition (January 1, 2004) Language English ISBN-10 0743477111

Romeo and Juliet Folger Shakespeare Library William Shakespeare Dr Barbara A Mowat Paul Werstine PhD Books Reviews

• When I saw Romeo & Juliet in the theatre -- on its opening weekend -- after the film in the lobby I saw dozens of teenaged girls sobbing in each other's arms. I've never seen anything like that before or since. That alone marks the film as a masterpiece, and nothing any critic can say is relevant next to that emotional reaction. Those sobbing teenagers are absolute proof that any critic who panned this film is a fool.
  
  Di'Caprio wasn't very famous at that point (though I believe he'd already been nominated for an oscar for an indy film). Later that night, I had dinner with friends and predicted that this boy would become the biggest star in Hollywood -- by tomorrow! I was off by a couple of years. Rare in film history has there been such a perfect casting -- Leonardo DiCaprio as Romeo. The mythical balcony scene is freshly designed and executed wonderfully, bringing the myth to life before our eyes. But the crowning glory and superpower of this film is the 'love at first sight' scene - ironic in that there are no words spoken (words being Shakespeare's superpower). It's all done with the eyes by the two young genius actors, combined with inspired camera work and the devastating vocal performance of Des'ree. This is one of the most beautiful, greatest, and most powerful scenes in cinematic history.
  
  What is this emotion -- love at first sight? It might only happen two or three times in our entire lives. It isn't real love. So is it just trivial, adolescent silliness? I think it is much more than that -- and so did Shakespeare. What is our emotional relationship with our desires that can never be? We're haunted forever by the impossiblity of perfect love as much as we were ever thrilled by the fantasy of it. Baz Luhrmann's 'Romeo & Juliet' taps deeply into the impossible longings that never leave us. It is a masterpiece.
• As an English teacher, teaching Shakespeare can be quite a challenge. For modern students, trying to connect the concepts, theme, and setting of Romeo and Juliet can be quite a challenge. Keeping them engaged in the struggle of Shakespearean language is even more so. This version of the play is accurate and most importantly, entertaining. We, as a class, will read a portion of the play and then I will show this film to help cement ideas, dialogue, and characters. The students love the film, laugh, and respond better to the play than without!
• I did not want to see this movie for years after its release. I consider myself a purist where the Bard of Avon is concerned. I adored the films Henry V & Much Ado About Nothing, both directed and starring Kenneth Branaugh, Richard III starring and directed by Olivier. Period costumes, true to Shakespeare's lines, etc. I began to change when I realized (fairly early on in watching it) that 10 Things I Hate About You, was a delightful retelling of The Taming Of The Shrew. Eventually I watched this and found a gem. From the factions portrayed as rival gangs, to the outstanding delivery of the lines. The true crowning jewel is the over the top performance by the inimitable John Leguizamo. As Tibalt, John is amazing.
• I really love this book. It made understanding a lot easier for my students. ~BUT~ I will say that some parts are a little much. It seems the translator looks for the most vulgar way to word some of Shakespeare's crude jokes (Shakespeare is crude, to be sure--and some of it is quite funny. However, sometimes the translator goes too far the other way). Plus, there were parts that weren't necessarily as sexual in the original as it was presented in the translated version (like scenes that were purposely left ambiguous so that it might have been interpreted in more than one way). This actually took away from the cleverness and thoughtfulness of some of Shakespeare's jokes.
  
  Because of this, I had to pre-read all the scenes to choose which scenes we read in this book, and which ones we read from the original text (from the textbook, where students couldn't read the translation). I did find, however, that the classes that used BOTH original and translated readings for the unit had an easier time understanding the original text when challenged to do so (likely because they didn't feel as overwhelmed from days of old text).
  
  This is a very useful tool for the classroom. Both versions are important--and, truthfully, some of my students preferred the original text, and some preferred the new text, so switching between the two for certain scenes was a great exercise.
• As a film and literature teacher, I love this movie. The dialogue is the most accurate of all the Romeo and Juliet film adaptations; although sometimes the lines are spoken by characters who do not originally speak those lines. This version does a fantastic job of using symbolism to express the main themes of the play; it is visible in almost all aspects, from color to music. The archetypes present also help students to understand the thematic implications of the story itself. Students are usually mostly divided as to whether or not they like the film, but when used to accent the play, this version helps to fill in gaps in student knowledge by making it more visible on the screen. What's more, the cinematography of Baz Luhrmann is so uniquely stylistic that I devote an entire unit in my film as literature class to him as a director and producer. Even if you do not like Shakespeare, or even this film; the educational benefits are numerous.