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For other meanings see Romeo (disambiguation) and Juliet (disambiguation). For the 1996 film, see William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet.
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy by William Shakespeare concerning the fate of two young "star-cross'd lovers". It is one of the most famous of Shakespeare's plays, one of his earliest theatrical triumphs, and is thought to be the most archetypal love story of the Renaissance.
PlotSpoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
Act IThe action starts with a street-battle between the two families, started by their servants and put down by the Prince of Verona, Escalus. The Prince declares that the heads of the two families (known simply as "Montague" and "Capulet") will be held personally accountable for any further breach of the peace, and disperses the crowd. Count Paris, a young nobleman, talks to Capulet about marrying his thirteen-year-old daughter, Juliet. Capulet demurs, citing the girl's tender age, and invites him to attract the attention of Juliet during a ball that the family is to hold that night. Meanwhile Juliet's mother tries to persuade her young daughter to accept Paris' wooing during their coming ball. Juliet is not inspired by the idea of marrying Paris — in fact, she admits to not really having considered marriage at all. But, being a dutiful daughter, she accedes to her mother's wishes. This scene also introduces Juliet's nurse, the comic relief of the play, who recounts a bawdy anecdote about Juliet at great length and with much repetition. In the meantime, Montague and his wife fret to their nephew Benvolio about their son Romeo, who has long been moping for reasons unknown to them. Benvolio promises Montague that he will try to determine the cause. Benvolio queries Romeo and finds that his melancholy has its roots in his unrequited love for a girl named Rosaline (an unseen character). Romeo is infatuated but laments that she will not "ope her lap to saint-seducing gold." Perhaps most frustrating to Romeo is the fact that Rosaline "will not be hit with Cupid's arrow/ She hath Dian's wit". In other words, it's not that she finds Romeo himself objectionable, but that she has foresworn to marry or reproduce at all, and in fact, become a nun. Despite the good-natured taunts of his fellows, including the witty nobleman Mercutio (who gives his well known Queen Mab speech), Romeo resolves to attend the masquerade at the Capulet house, relying on not being spotted in his costume, in the hopes of meeting up with Rosaline.
Tybalt, Juliet's hot-blooded cousin, recognizes Romeo under his disguise and calls for his sword. Capulet, however, speaks kindly of Romeo and, having resolved that his family will not be first to violate the Prince's decree, sternly forbids Tybalt from confronting Romeo. Tybalt stalks off in a huff. Before the ball ends, the Nurse identifies Juliet for Romeo, and (separately) identifies Romeo for Juliet. Between Acts I and II is another prologue in Shakespearean sonnet form, spoken by the CHORUS. This prologue describes how Romeo is no longer pining over Rosaline, but instead is taken by Juliet. This prologue also includes foreshadowing, touching on the dangerous position that the two young lovers are in. Act IIEmboldened, Romeo risks his life by remaining on the Capulet estate after the party breaks up, to catch another glimpse of Juliet at her room, and in the famous balcony scene, the two eloquently declare their love for each other. This scene contains arguably the most famous line of Romeo and Juliet, "Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?" spoken by Juliet to the darkness ("wherefore" means "why" — Juliet is lamenting that Romeo is a Montague, and thus her enemy). The young lovers decide to marry without informing their parents, because they would obviously disallow it due to the planned union between Paris and Juliet, and because they are from enemy families. Image:Romeo and juliet brown.jpg Romeo and Juliet by Ford Madox Brown Juliet sends the nurse to find Romeo. Accompanied by one Peter, who carries her fan, the nurse exchanges some spicy insults with the bawdy Mercutio. With the help of Juliet's Nurse and the Franciscan Friar Lawrence, the two are married that day. The Friar performs the ceremony, hoping to bring the two families to peace with each other through their mutual union. Act IIIEvents take a darker turn after that. Tybalt, still smarting from the incident at the Capulets' ball, had previously sent a letter to the Montagues challenging Romeo to a duel. Meeting Romeo by happenstance, he attempts to provoke a fight. Romeo refuses to fight Tybalt because they are now kinsmen — although Tybalt doesn't know it, as he doesn't yet know that Romeo has married Juliet. Mercutio, who is also unaware of the marriage, is angered by Tybalt's insolence – and Romeo's seeming indifference – and takes up the challenges himself. Benvolio tries to make peace and reminds everyone of the Prince's decree. In the ensuing swordplay, Romeo attempts to allay Mercutio's anger, momentarily placing his arm around him. By doing so, however, Romeo inadvertently pulls Mercutio into Tybalt's rapier, fatally wounding him. Mercutio dies, wishing "a plague a'both your houses," before he passes. Romeo, in his anger, pursues and slays Tybalt. Although under the Prince of Verona's proclamation Romeo (and Montague and Capulet, as well) would be subject to the death penalty, the Prince instead fines the head of each house, and reduces Romeo's punishment to exile in recognition that Tybalt had killed Mercutio, who had not only been Romeo's friend but a kinsman of the Prince. Romeo is then exiled to Mantua after attempting to see Juliet one last time. Just after Romeo leaves Juliet's bedroom unseen, Capulet enters to tell the news to his daughter that he has arranged for her to marry Paris in three days' time, to console her perceived mourning for Tybalt, although it is in fact Romeo's exile that she mourns. Juliet is unwilling to enter this arranged marriage, telling her parents that she will not marry, and when she does, "it shall be Romeo, whom I know you hate." Capulet flies into a rage and threatens to disown her if she refuses the marriage. The Nurse tells Juliet that she should leave Romeo and just marry Paris, leaving only one person supporting her marriage to Romeo: Friar Lawrence Act IVJuliet visits Lawrence and tells him to either find a solution to her problem or she will commit suicide. Friar Lawrence, being a dabbler in herbal medicines and potions, gives Juliet a potion and a plan: the potion will put her into a death-like coma for "two and forty hours" (Act IV. Scene I); she is to take it and when discovered apparently dead, she will be laid in the family crypt. Meanwhile, the Friar will send a messenger to inform Romeo, so that he can rejoin her when she awakes. The two can then leave for Mantua and live happily ever after. Juliet is at first suspicious of the potion, thinking the Friar may be trying to kill her, but eventually takes it and falls 'asleep'. Act VImage:Johann Heinrich Füssli 060.jpg Romeo at Juliet's Deathbed, by Johann Heinrich Füssli The messenger of Friar Lawrence does not reach Romeo, due to a quarantine. Instead, Romeo learns of Juliet's supposed "death" from his manservant Balthasar. Grief-stricken, he buys strong poison from an Apothecary, returns to Verona in secret, and goes to the crypt, determined to join Juliet in death. There he encounters Paris, who has also come to mourn privately for his lost love. Paris assumes that Romeo has come to defile the Capulets' crypt and challenges him to a duel. Romeo kills Paris, and then after seeing Juliet one last time, takes the poison, exclaiming: " O true Apothecary! Thy drugs are quick! Thus with a kiss I die." At this point Juliet awakes and, seeing the dead, seeks answers. Friar Lawrence arrives, and tries to convince Juliet to come with him, but she refuses. He is frightened by a noise, and leaves Juliet alone in the crypt. The pain and shock of Romeo's death is too much for Juliet, and she stabs herself with his dagger. The two lovers lie dead together. The two feuding families (except Lady Montague, who had died of grief over her son's banishment) and the Prince converge upon the tomb and are horrified to find Romeo, Juliet, and Paris all lying dead. Friar Lawrence reveals the love and secret marriage of Romeo and Juliet. The families are reconciled by their children's deaths and agree to end their violent feud, as foretold by the prologue. The play ends with the Prince's brief elegy or lamentation on the fate of the two lovers:
Spoilers end here.
Cast of charactersRuling house of Verona
Image:Leighton - Reconciliation watercolor.jpg The Reconciliation of the Montagues and Capulets (1854) by Frederic Leighton Capulets
Servants
Montagues
Servants
Others
PerformanceThe first printed edition appeared in 1597, a "bad quarto" printed by John Danter. The superior Q2 followed in 1599, published by Cuthbert Burby and printed by Thomas Creede; Q2 contains 800 lines missing from Q1. (Q2 also has an interestingly defective stage direction: it reads "Enter Will Kempe" instead of "Enter Peter" in IV,v,102.) Q3, a reprint of Q2, followed in 1609; there was also an undated Q4. The play next appeared in print in the First Folio in 1623. After the theatres re-opened at the Restoration, Sir William Davenant staged a 1662 production in which Henry Harris played Romeo, Thomas Betterton was Mercutio, and Betterton's wife Mary Saunderson played Juliet. Thomas Otway's adaptation Caius Marius, one of the more extreme of the Restoration versions of Shakespeare, debuted in 1679. The scene is shifted from Renaissance Verona to ancient Rome; Romeo is Marius, Juliet is Lavinia, the feud is between patricians and plebians; Juliet/Lavina wakes from her potion before Romeo/Marius dies. Somewhat amazingly, Otway's version was a hit, and was acted for the next seventy years. Theophilus Cibber mounted his own adaptation in 1744, followed by David Garrick's in 1748. In 1750 came the so-called "Romeo and Juliet War," with Spranger Barry and Susannah Maria Arne (Mrs. Theophilus Cibber) at Covent Garden versus Garrick and Anne Bellamy at Drury Lane. Shakespeare's original returned to the stage in 1845 in the United States (with the sisters Charlotte and Susan Cushman as Romeo and Juliet),[1] and in 1847 in Britain (Samuel Phelps at Sadler's Wells).[2] Text of the play
Romeo and Juliet was published in two distinct quarto editions prior to the publication of the First Folio of 1623. These are referred to as Q1 and Q2. Q1 was published in 1597. Because its text contains numerous differences from the later editions, it is labelled a 'Bad Quarto' composited from actors' memories of their lines, rather than on Shakespeare's manuscript or theatre text. It may have been put together by the actors who had played the roles of Romeo and Paris, since their lines are reasonably complete and uncorrupted in comparison to the rest of the play. Modern people would consider this a "pirate" edition, but the practice was far from unusual at the time. Q2, a much more complete and reliable text, was first published in 1599, and reprinted in 1609, 1623 and 1637. Its title page describes it as "Newly corrected, augmented and amended". Scholars believe that this text was based on Shakespeare's pre-performance draft, since there are textual oddities such as variable tags for characters and "false starts" for speeches that were presumably struck through by the author but erroneously preserved by the typesetter. The First Folio text of 1623 seems to be based primarily on the 1609 reprint of Q2, with some clarifications and corrections possibly coming from a theatrical promptbook. CommentaryLike most of Shakespeare's plays, the greater part of Romeo and Juliet is written in iambic pentameter. However, the play is also notable for its copious use of rhymed verse, notably in the sonnet contained in Romeo and Juliet's dialogue in the scene where they first meet (Act I, Scene v, Lines 95-108). This sonnet figures Romeo as a blushing pilgrim (palmer) praying before an image of the Virgin Mary, as many people in early-sixteenth-century England did at shrines such as the shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham.[1] Because of its use of rhyme, its extravagant expressions of love, its Italian theme, and its implausible plot, Romeo and Juliet is considered to belong to Shakespeare's "lyrical period", along with the similarly poetic plays A Midsummer Night's Dream and Richard II. Although much of Shakespeare's work is done in blank verse (non-rhyming iambic pentameter), many times he uses iambic couplets within these blank verses. These are called herioc couplets. Romeo and Juliet is one of the earlier works in the Shakespearean canon, and while it is often classified as a tragedy, it does not bear the hallmarks of the 'great tragedies' like Hamlet and Macbeth. Some argue that Romeo and Juliet's demise does not stem from their own individual flaws, but from the actions of others or from accidents. Unlike the great tragedies, Romeo and Juliet is more a tragedy of mistiming and ill fate. Other commentators, such as Isaac Asimov, consider rashness and youth to be the tragic flaws of Romeo and Juliet, compounded by the ineffectuality of Friar Lawrence. In a major change from his source, Shakespeare put the sympathies with the young lovers. Matteo Bandello described the reasons for the play in his prologue: And to this end, good Reader, is this tragical matter written, to describe unto thee a couple of unfortunate lovers, thralling themselves to unhonest desire; neglecting the authority and advice of parents and friends; conferring their principal counsels with drunken gossips and superstitious friars (the naturally fit instruments of unchastity); attempting all adventures of peril for th' attaining of their wished lust; using auricular confession the key of whoredom and treason, for furtherance of their purpose; abusing the honourable name of lawful marriage to cloak the shame of stolen contracts; finally by all means of unhonest life hasting to most unhappy death. The legitimacy of marrying without parental consent was in fact fiercely debated at the time. The Catholic Church had, at the Council of Trent, ended centuries of debate by not including parental consent among the requirements for a valid marriage, but Protestant churches did not accept such unions, and in civil law, only England and Spain permitted marriage without parental consent. Style and themesIt has been noted that the plot of Romeo and Juliet is more that of a farce or Comedy of Errors than a tragedy, except that it lacks the vital last-minute save and that the main characters die at the end instead of "living happily ever after." In fact, it is crucial to an understanding of the play as a whole to compare it to traditional comedies of its day, such as Much Ado About Nothing, in that most of the characters, especially Romeo and Mercutio, would be recognized by the audience as comedic. Were it not for the prologue, which explicitly states that the play will end in death, Elizabethan audiences would have thought they were watching a comedy until Act III, Scene i[3]. As a reader or audience member, one should note the differences before and after this critical scene (the intermission is often put at the end of III.i., which unfortunately robs the play of the excruciating contrast between Act III, Scene i and Act III, Scene ii). Shakespeare often experiments with dramatic convention in this way - Romeo and Juliet could be called a "tragic comedy", just as many of the romances do not fit easily into conventional ideas about drama. While a long-running feud is ended, this is at the price of not only the two lovers' lives but those of an entire generation: Romeo, Mercutio, Tybalt, Juliet, Paris. The problem with this argument is that one must wonder how remorseful the families truly are. Throughout the play, Montague, Capulet, and the Prince speak of punishment in monetary terms (remember that the families were fined for Tybalt and Mercutio's deaths). At the end, the competition to see who can build a richer statue of the other's child seems petty, especially by comparison to Romeo and Juliet, who had found a love that does not rely on money. While on a surface level the play is about love, the underlying theme of Romeo and Juliet is the fight for power, which results in the death of all the young members of Montagues (except for Benvolio), Capulets and the Prince's House. The play shows a system which imposes its beliefs on the individual, preventing him or her from reaching happiness and leaving death as the only escape. AdaptationsThere have been many adaptations of Romeo and Juliet, created for many media. PlaysImage:Romeo and Juliet.jpg Romeo and Juliet statue in Central Park in New York City. Adaptations of Romeo and Juliet have used modern settings. For instance, a version of the play which had Romeo as a Palestinian and Juliet as a Jew in Israel and the Palestinian territories were made, which criticizes the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.[4] Similarly, versions have also been devised dealing with apartheid in South Africa, in which Romeo is black and Juliet is white.[5] A Native American version called "Kino and Teresa" was first produced in 2005 by Native Voices at the Autry in Los Angeles. Written by James Lujan, the historical play was set in 17th Century Santa Fe, seventeen years after the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 and revolved around the conflict between the Pueblo Indians and Spanish colonists.[6] Romeo and Juliet has been adapted in many ways over the years quite subtly. It is the basis for many famous musicals, most famously West Side Story and Moulin Rouge. OperaThe story was converted into the opera Roméo et Juliette by Charles Gounod in 1867 with a libretto written by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré. The Romeo and Juliet story was also the subject of Vincenzo Bellini's opera I Capuleti e i Montecchi, although Bellini and his librettist, Felice Romani, worked from Italian sources, and these were only distantly related to Shakespeare's work. In 2004 American composer Lee Hoiby also adapted Romeo and Juliet to write an opera of the same name. "Butterfly Lovers", a Chinese Opera, is commonly known as the Chinese version of Romeo and Juliet. BalletSeveral ballet adaptations of the story have been made, the first written in the 18th century. The best known feature music by Sergei Prokofiev, and a variety of choreographers have used this music. The first version featuring Prokofiev's music was performed in 1938. See: Romeo and Juliet (Prokofiev) MusicalThe "Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture" (1869, revised 1870, 1880), by Peter Tchaikovsky, contains one of the world's most famous melodies. The tremendously famous love theme in the middle of this long symphonic poem has been used countless times in commercials and movies. In 1957, the musical West Side Story debuted on Broadway, with music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. This version of "Romeo and Juliet" updated the setting to mid-20th century New York City and the warring families to ethnic gangs. West Side Story opened on the West End in London in 1958 and then was released as a film in 1961. In 1999, Terrence Mann's rock musical William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, co-written with Jerome Korman, premiered at the Ordway Theatre in St. Paul, Minnesota. It was not a critical success. Roméo et Juliette, de la Haine à l'Amour, a musical by Gérard Presgurvic, premiered on January 19, 2001 in the Palais de Congrès in Paris, France. By 2005, it had already attracted some six million people. "Once on This Island" is another musical adaptation that takes on the Romeo and Juliet theme. These star crossed lovers, Ti Moune and Daniel, were fated to love one another even with the pressures of their class and ethnic backgrounds upon them. However, it was only through death that they could be together. FilmSee also Shakespeare on screen (Romeo and Juliet) Film PerformancesThere have been over forty movie versions of the tale, with the first made in France in 1900. Some of the more notable adaptations include:
Film Adaptations
TelevisionThe Canadian-produced animated television special Romie-0 and Julie-8 (1979) is a science fiction adaptation of the play, recasting the lead characters as robots. The 2005 television movie "Pizza My Heart" is also based on Romeo and Juliet. This story takes place in Verona, New Jersey and is centered around the lives of two feuding pizzeria owners, the Prestolanis and the Montebellos. In 2007, Japanese animation studio Gonzo is to adapt Romeo and Juliet into an anime television series entitled Romeo x Juliet, the very first of its kind. Set in a futuristic, aerial city known as Neo Verona, the series is slated to premiere in Japan from April 2007. Documentaries"Romeo and Juliet in Sarajevo" - Though the “story” does not bear much resemblance to that of the original Shakespearean play, the characters and outcome are quite similar. The characters in both the play and the film (Romeo and Juliet and Admira and Boško) simply want to live their lives and be allowed to love one another, yet are tragically prevented from doing so, instead succumbing to an untimely death. Trivia
Origins and SourcesA common misconception is that the plot of Romeo and Juliet was invented by Shakespeare. In fact, his play is a dramatisation of Arthur Brooke's narrative poem The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet (1562). Shakespeare followed Brooke's poem closely[8] but enriched its texture by adding extra detail to both major and minor characters, in particular the Nurse and Mercutio. Brooke's poem was not original either, being a translation and adaptation of Giuletta e Romeo, by Matteo Bandello, included in his Novelle of 1554. This was in turn an adaptation of Luigi da Porto's Giulietta e Romeo, included in his Istoria novellamente ritrovata di due Nobili Amanti (c. 1530). This is the version that gave the story much of its modern form, including the names of the lovers, the rival families of Montecchi and Capuleti, and the location in Verona, in the Veneto. However, the earliest-known version of the tale is the 1476 story of Mariotto and Gianozza of Siena by Masuccio Salernitano, in Il Novellino (Novella XXXIII). Bandello's story was the most famous and was translated into French (and into English by Brooke). It was also adapted by Italian theatrical troupes, some of whom performed in London at the time that Shakespeare was writing his plays. One such performance or script could have inspired Shakespeare's version of Romeo and Juliet. This story of ill-fated lovers had obvious parallels with similar tales told throughout history, including those of Hero and Leander, Pyramus and Thisbe, Floris and Blanchefleur, Troilus and Cressida, Antony and Cleopatra, Layla and Majnun, Tristan and Iseult, Shirin and Farhad and Hagbard and Signy. Shakespeare was familiar with these stories, some of which were included in his other plays. The tale of Pyramus and Thisbe appears in comic mode in A Midsummer Night's Dream, while the Trojan War lovers, Troilus and Cressida, were given a history play of their own. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
