Romeo and Juliet the 20th century, these moral arguments were disputed by critics such as Richard Green Moulton: he argued that accident, and not some character flaw, led to the lovers' deaths. In "Romeo and Juliet", Shakespeare employs several dramatic techniques that have garnered praise from critics; most notably the abrupt shifts from comedy to tragedy (an example is the punning exchange between Benvolio and Mercutio just before Tybalt arrives). Before Mercutio's death in Act three, the play is largely a comedy. After his accidental demise, the play suddenly becomes serious and takes on a tragic tone. When Romeo is banished, rather than
Romeo and Juliet on screen act 2, scene 2, line 33. A zero instead of a scene number refers to the prologue to either of the first two acts. Romeo and Juliet on screen William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet may be one of the most-screened plays of all time. The most notable theatrical releases were George Cukor's multi-Oscar-nominated 1936 production "Romeo and Juliet", Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 film "Romeo and Juliet", and Baz Luhrmann's 1996 MTV-inspired "Romeo + Juliet". The latter two were both, at the time, the highest-grossing Shakespeare films. Cukor featured the mature actors Norma Shearer and Leslie Howard as the teenage lovers while