William Shakespeare “Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet, play by William Shakespeare, written about 1594–96 and first published in an unauthorized quarto in 1597. An authorized quarto appeared in 1599, substantially longer and more reliable. A third quarto, based on the second, was used by the editors of the First Folio of 1623. The characters of Romeo and Juliet have been depicted in literature, music, dance, and theatre. The appeal of the young hero and heroine—whose families, the Montagues and the Capulets, respectively, are implacable enemies—is such that they have become, in the popular imagination, the representative type of star-crossed lovers.

Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet is a play about the conflict between the main characters’ love, with its transformative power, and the darkness, hatred, and selfishness represented by their families’ feud. The two teenaged lovers, Romeo and Juliet, fall in love the first time they see each other, but their families’ feud requires they remain enemies. Over the course of the play, the lovers’ powerful desires directly clash with their families’ equally powerful hatred of each other.

Romeo and Juliet

William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet has been adapted to film and television many times. There are more than 12 movies based on the tragedy. Most popular ones are Romeo and Juliet (1968. Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey), Romeo and Juliet (1997. Leonardo Dicaprio and Claire Danes), Romeo and Juliet (2013. Douglas Booth and Hailee Stenfeld).

Romeo and Juliet

Initially, we may expect that the lovers will prove the unifying force that unites the families. Were the play a comedy, the families would see the light of reason and resolve their feud, Romeo and Juliet would have a public wedding, and everyone would live happily ever after. But the Montague-Capulet feud is too powerful for the lovers to overcome. The world of the play is an imperfect place, where freedom from everything except pure love is an unrealistic goal. Ultimately, the characters' love does resolve the feud, but at the price of their lives.
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