Zeffirelli's Presentation Of Juliet In Romeo And Juliet

Examine how Shakespeare presents the character of Juliet in Romeo and Juliet. In your analysis refer to how Zeffirelli presents Juliet in his adaptation of the play.
One of the main characters in Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare is Juliet who we get to know more and more as we read on. Juliet does not appear until the third scene and we find out that she is 13 years old and the only daughter of Capulet and Lady Capulet. When we first meet Juliet in the play she is seen to be obedient, innocent and quiet. But when she meets with Romeo we see a whole new side of Juliet and we find she is not as quiet as we thought. Her love for Romeo is clearly stated many times throughout Romeo and Juliet. Although knowing that Romeo is from the family

In this scene Romeo confesses his love for Juliet in a very poetic manner. Shakespeare is using the form of a blason (love poetry) The Elizabethan would have constantly realised when Romeo proclaimed such lines such as ‘Juliet is the sun.’ This suggest that she is bright, powerful and that she is perhaps dangerous. Juliet comes out on to the balcony not realising that Romeo is out there and calls out ‘O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and reuse thy name, or if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love. And I’ll no longer be a Capulet.’ This is the most famous line of Romeo and Juliet and it is when Juliet asks why Romeo must be a Montague. In this quotation ‘wherefore’ means ‘why’. Juliet is not asking where Romeo is but why his name is Romeo and why he has to be the son of her family’s greatest enemy. This quotation also links back to one of the most important themes in Romeo and Juliet which is the tension between family and social identity which can be represented by a person name. Juliet believe that love stems from one’s inner identity and that the dispute between the Capulet and Montagues is a produce of the outer identity which is based only on name. Because of this her love for Romeo overrides her family’s hatred for the Montague’s name. Juliet is stating that she does not love Romeo for his name and if he has another name her love for him would not differ. She is also committing herself to Romeo and it shows how strong her love is for Romeo that she would deny her own family for him. Romeo then comes out of his hiding and Juliet is surprisingly charmed to see his presence. In their long conversation Juliet states how she is embarrassed and regrets that she declared her love for Romeo too quickly. However she does not once deny her love for him and is actually so happy that Romeo is here she is not able to leave him. In this scene Juliet does try to exit from the balcony