The plays; Andorra by Max Frisch and Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare Essay Example

The plays; Andorra by Max Frisch and Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare Paper In this response, I intend to compare themes, styles and social contexts of the plays; Andorra by Max Frisch and Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. One of the most noticeable differences between the two plays is the format in which they are written. Frisch writes Andorra in prose continuous writing told like a story would be. Romeo and Juliet, on the other hand, is written in iambic pentameter. This is a form of verse which has ten beats to the line and five beats have stresses on them. For Example: Romeo: See how she leans her cheek upon her hand O that I were a glove upon that hand, We will write a custom essay sample on The plays; Andorra by Max Frisch and Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The plays; Andorra by Max Frisch and Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The plays; Andorra by Max Frisch and Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer That I might touch that cheek. Juliet: Ay me. Romeo: She Speaks This doesnt only alter the way the dialogue is presented on the page but would, especially in Shakespearian times, alter the way in which the dialogue is spoken by the actor. The plays also have different styles. Romeo and Juliet is in a traditional style using acts and scenes. The play, for example, is headed with Act 3, Scene 4. It also uses a prologue, a small speech at the beginning of the play to set up the story; Two houses both alike in dignity; from ancient grudge break to new mutiny But Andorra uses forestages, which are placed at the beginning or end of scenes, and are flashbacks and memories of the townspeople who are explaining their behaviour towards Andri, after his death. The following, as an example, is from The Carpenters forestage. A Jewish kid our teacher saved from across the frontier, thats what everybody thought. Andorra differs in style to Romeo and Juliet as these forestages are used as a device to look back at the events, using episodes, and then telling the story afterwards. Andorra written in the 1950s, explores topics and issues that could have been seen as taboo in society at the time. Prejudice and racism is explored through Andris supposed religious status and the reaction on the towns people towards him because of it. This is shown strongly in Scene Three through the carpenters reaction to Andris chair, Ill show you how to write out ordersthats what your kind have in their blood, believe me. And also through Scene Four where the doctor makes a mistake by insulting Jewish people in front of Andri I saved the lives of Jews, though I cant stand the sight of them. This theme is also apparent in Romeo and Juliet through the way the families show the same prejudice towards members of the opposing family. For example, because Juliet knows how her family will react to her love for Romeo, she says she will deny her name. Deny my father and refuse thy name And Ill no longer be a Capulet. The characters in Romeo and Juliet are all very clearly defined. All of the characters are named and have a short passage at the beginning of the script, which tells us the names and relationships between the characters. For example; Capulet: Head of a Veronese family at feud with the Montagues. On the other hand, Andorra only uses names for the two main characters, Andri and Barblin, because the other characters are given titles that suit their character type. The Teacher, The Carpenter, The Doctor. This is similar to Romeo and Juliet because this is also the case with the Nurse. Both stories have a strong underlying theme of death throughout each play, which build up to the final death scenes of one or both main characters. In Romeo and Juliet, both Romeos best friend, Mercutio, and Juliets cousin, Tybalt, die in the same scene, which leaves a change in the two main characters and their relationship. In Andorra the fighting that is referred to throughout, incorporating the theme of death into the play, along with the death of The Senora before the ending scenes where we hear that both Andri and his father have died. In my piece, my group aimed to interpret the piece in a fairly abstract way as we had seen the work of other groups and people had interpreted and devised the text in a very naturalistic way. We use many different techniques, such as mirroring and cannon to show that two or more people are representing one character. We have also, chosen scenes which tell Barblins side of the story. Including the romantic and controversial scenes with Andri, the rape scene and the insanity scene; where we have used masks, movement, and whitewash to represent innocence and loss. Our work overall is very abstract with small elements of realism incorporated in order to help the story flow as chronologically and as freely as possible.