Romeo and Juliet 1597

Set during five of the most intensely dramatic days ever portrayed, ROMEO AND JULIET was probably written in 1594 or 1595, and first published in a 1597 edition, as transcribed by actors who had performed it. Other editions appeared later, but even the more authoritative versions, such as that of 1599--probably drawn from Shakespeare's own manuscript copies--lack the detailed stage directions present in the actors' transcription; thus, modern editions incorporate several sources. ROMEO AND JULIET is among the most often performed of Shakespeare's works, and it has been among the most beloved since its earliest days. The story of ROMEO AND JULIET was derived by Shakespeare from many sources, including a 1562 poem "The Tragicall History of Romeus and Iuliet" by Arthur Brooke, which itself was an adaptation of a French piece by Pierre Boaistuau, which Boaistuau had adapted from an Italian source. Shakespeare accelerated the pace of the story by compressing the events into five days --a period in which much transpires at daybreak, including the famous balcony scene in which Romeo declares, "But soft, what light through yonder window breaks?/It is the east, and Juliet is the sun." Romeo is forced to woo Juliet in secret because of the impassioned rivalry between his family, the Montagues, and Juliet's, the Capulets. Despite the intensity of their family's mutual disdain, the young lovers strive to marry. However, fate intervenes to keep them apart, and, when the Montagues and Capulets discover the folly of their ways, it's too late. Shakespeare's tragedy of young love has been adapted in every conceivable medium, including a "Little Rascals" short, the Broadway musical "West Side Story," and a 1968 Franco Zefferelli film.