Romeo and Juliet and ekphrastic criticism in practice

Abstract

The act of reading and re-viewing stage performance, of re-presenting or re-visualizing a mise-en-scène through ‘verbal painting’ may be fruitfully considered through the ancient rhetorical process of ekphrasis (‘a speech that brings the subject matter vividly before the eyes’) and its defining quality of enargeia (‘vividness’). It is an approach that makes listeners (and readers) into ‘spectators’. This foray into ancient rhetorical practice, with its focus on impact rather than mere analysis, is intended to penetrate the process of re-viewing and critiquing performance, taking as an example Rupert Goold’s production of Romeo and Juliet with the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2010.