From Text To Image:a Comparative Study Of Romeo And Juliet And Its Adapted Versions

According to Ben Johnson, Shakespeare not only belongs to an era, but belongs to the entire era. Due to the key elements beyond era and region in his plays, Shakespeare’s works are the most frequently adapted in the history of film. According to foreign scholars, there have been four hundred films adapted from Shakespeare’s works on silver screens since silent film period. Romeo and Juliet has been continually adapted into films since its birth, which offers a great many research materials to scholars and critics.Romeo and Juliet (1954), West Side Story (1961) and Romeo+Juliet (1996) are chosen to compare and contrast with the original. The writer finds that fidelity is no longer the sole criterion in judging adapted works through analysis. With the development of society, the adaptors adapt films based on public tastes and commercial profits. Through the comparison and contrast of Romeo and Juliet and its adapted versions, the relationship between literature and film is clearly elucidated by adaptation. Literature offers source material and inspiration to film. Meanwhile, film enriches the interpretation of the original and readers’ perspectives of understanding the source material, injects fresh blood into it and strengthens its influence. What’s more, the three adapted films give an incisive answer to the question whether film spoils the source novel or enriches its connotation.Romeo and Juliet deepens the original’s theme. Transforming the static text to the moving film, this film makes audiences have an intuitive appreciation and expand their comprehension. West Side Story is a realistic version of the original. In the1960s, America is flooded with racial discrimination, youth delinquency, etc. In order to make this film more realistic, families’ rancor is replaced by social, racial and religious contradictions. Romeo+ Juliet is a post-modern interpretation of the original. This film, from the title to the plot, blends with post-modern elements, reflecting social confusion and problems. Luhrmann stresses Romeo and Juliet’s great love and highlights the tragic theme by romanticism.Through the analysis of these three films by methods of literary criticism such as adaptation theories, narratology and so on, it is apparent that film is also a text worth researching in the era of digital culture. The combination of film and literature which belong to different communication media brings about various kinds of benefits and reciprocal interactions. Adaptation, the bridge between them, not only reflects social conflicts but also entertains the public. By this means, Shakespeare’s plays are integrated into public life and their influences are gradually expanded. The change from word art to screen art is a new form maintaining the vitality of the original. Though film can interpret literature, the essence it displays is limited. In order to have a comprehensive understanding of the original, readers should dive deep into it. In the harmonious cycle of text-film-text, literature gets a sublimation and new life and films gain the public’s favor and huge economic profits.