How is the play Romeo and Juliet relevant to a modern day audience?
Romeo and Juliet is superficially a love story, which is always relevant. It also fairly superficially speaks to problems with parents getting in the way of youths, which would appeal to a teenage audience. Naturally, these parents also feud, which interferes with Romeo and Juliet’s romance. The love despite the fued can be seen in many lights by a modern audience, such as the transcendance of specifically love over any familiar conflict, or more generally the importance of ideals over politics. Of course, the tragedy at the end is also relevant as a criticism of conflicts as destroying whatever they cherished. Yeah, the traditional Romeo and Juliet may be couched in stuffy wordplay and in an archiac setting, but the spirit is ever important, and if the modern audience can get past the Shakespearean atmosphere and understand what’s going on, they could really enjoy what’s being said.
I would say it is relevant for several reasons. First, it is a well-written play with wonderful characters and action. Second, it displays a tragic example of young love. And finally, as history, it takes us back to another time and place, and allows are imagination to develop our own ideas and images.
As long as love tries to exist in a world of hate which is trying to destroy it, “Romeo and Juliet” will be relevant. Look into this: in 1993, in Sarajevo, a young Bosnian Muslim woman and a young Bosnian Serb man were in love. They had friends on both sides, but also enemies. They decided to flee the city–and were both shot by snipers as they crossed the Vrbana bridge, where they died together. A documentary was made about them, called “Romeo and Juliet in Sarajevo”. 400 years after Shakespeare’s play…
It also shows the volatility of youth, and young guys at that. Look how Romeo quickly changes his affections from Rosalind to Juliet, when he had only just been declaring his heartache about Rosalind. And Juliet wanting to marry him immediately. Notice also that Romeo thinks the world is over when he’s banished, when in fact as Father Lawrence says, he should be grateful for being alive instead. This is common of youth too – to see only what has just happened to them, and as the worst thing that could happen. And of course the greatest volatility is when both Romeo and Juliet take their lives. Of course they have suffered great trauma, but it shows a lack of hope and lack of ability to look ahead that is common with youth.
I belive any story that has been the basis for several other famous movies, plays, books, stories and music has to be relevent just because we relate to it. Take West Side Story for expample, Romeo and Juliet set against gang infested NY. With a modern day example it’s easy to see that Romeo and Juliet are just two crazy kids in love and shoudln’t have to suffer because the happen to be from diffrent families (races, social classes or religions). On that note, fueds are still going on to this day (just look at Israel) and although the reasons may be diffrent I think we can all understand how hate can ruin lives. Romeo and Juliet is about two things: Love and Hate. I belive those subjects were just as relevent in Shakespear’s time as they are now.
