Romeo and Juliet, Act 1

One of the necessary key elements of every text is the ability to keep the audience's attention. In order to accomplish this goal, an author must use a plethora of conflict and action. However, this is particularly difficult if the audience is reading a play instead of viewing it live on stage. Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet' is consequently a work that is well written, but it lacks the essence of a live production. For instance, Shakespeare did not write down the stage directions in the script itself so that the reader could equally follow the dialogue and actions of the characters. As a result, the reader is at a loss when it comes to the emotions of the characters and the means to which they physically convey these emotions. This is not the case in Luhrmann's 'William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet.' The actors and actresses in the film are able to create a visual representation of what Shakespeare intended for his characters through facial expressions, body language, and tone of voice. This visual perfection is evident in the scene right before Romeo and the rest of his party attend the Capulet's celebration. In this scene, Mercutio provides a vehement dialogue in relation to Queen Mab. He energetically gallops across the setting screaming out his speech in defiance. Just reading the play does not convey such deep emotion and rage. We can only discern from the script that Mercutio talked about Queen Mab. The audience has no concept as to whether Mercution is just being informative or if he's being sarcastic or frustrated in his speech to Romeo. Consequently, Shakespeare's script will always fall short of a live production.