Romeo and Juliet (The New Penguin Shakespeare)

Romeo and Juliet is one of the English playwright and poet William Shakespeare's most beloved and popular plays, remaining since its premiere one of the most performed as well. The story was derived by Shakespeare (1564 - 1616) from many sources. The version most contemporary to his own was the 1562 poem "The Tragicall History of Romeus and Juliet" by Arthur Brooke, which was an adaptation of a French piece by Pierre Boaistuau Boaistuau had adapted from the Italian. Indeed, aspects of the tragic story have recurred throughout Western literature since at least the third century. Shakespeare greatly intensified the pace of the story, compressed what initially unfolded over the course of several months into the space of five days--a period in which much transpires at daybreak, including the famous balcony scene where Romeo declares, "But soft, what light through yonder window breaks?/It is the east, and Juliet is the sun."  The play tells the story of two young lovers from feuding families, the Capulets and the Montagues, whose love ultimately leads to their tragic deaths. It opens with a street brawl between the Capulet and Montague households in Verona, Italy. Prince Escalus intervenes and declares that any future fighting will result in death. Romeo Montague, who is love-sick over a woman named Rosaline, attends a Capulet ball in disguise and falls in love with Juliet Capulet. Juliet also falls in love with Romeo, and they vow to marry the next day. Friar Laurence agrees to secretly marry the two, hoping their union will end the feud between their families. However, things quickly take a turn for the worse when Tybalt, Juliet's cousin, challenges Romeo to a duel and kills Romeo's friend Mercutio. Romeo avenges Mercutio's death by killing Tybalt and is banished from Verona. Juliet is forced to marry Count Paris but refuses and seeks Friar Laurence's help. He gives her a potion that will make her appear dead, and he plans to send word to Romeo of their plan to reunite after she wakes up. However, the message never reaches Romeo, and he hears only that Juliet is dead. He rushes to her tomb and kills himself, believing Juliet to be dead. When Juliet awakens and sees Romeo dead, she too takes her own life. So, to sum up, over the course of five days, these two teenagers fall desperately in love (Juliet is 13 and Romeo is around 16), and six people, including both of them, end up dead. "For never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo." Today, Romeo and Juliet remains one of Shakespeare's most popular and frequently performed plays, and it has been adapted into numerous films, operas, and other works of art. Some of the most famous movie adaptations of the play are: The 1986 classic directed by Franco Zeffirelli, Die in a Gunfight (2021) a modern adaptation, Romeo and Juliet: Beyond Words , a 2019 ballet adaptation, Shakespeare in Love , a 1998 movie interpretation of Shakespeare's life, Gnomeo & Juliet (2011) starring garden gnomes as the star crossed lovers, and the 1996 best reimagining ever, Romeo + Juliet with Claire Danes and Leonardo DiCaprio.

Read More: Identifying first editions of Romeo and Juliet (The New Penguin Shakespeare)

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