Romeo and Juliet

language and are per$or!ed !ore o$ten than those o$ any other playwright"

-ha*espeare was born and brought up in -trat$ord upon A(on" At the age o$ 1+, he !arried Anne #athaway, with who! he had three %hildren. -usanna, and twins #a!net and /udith" 'etween 15+5 and 1502, he began a su%%ess$ul %areer in 1ondon as an a%tor, writer, and part owner o$ a playing %o!pany %alled the1ord 2ha!berlain's 3en, later *nown as the 4ing's 3en" #e appears to ha(e retired to -trat$ord around 1613 at age 40, where he died three years later" 5ew re%ords o$ -ha*espeare's pri(ate li$e sur(i(e, and there has been %onsiderable spe%ulation about su%h !atters as his physi%al appearan%e, se)uality, religious belie$s, and whether the wor*s attributed to hi! were written by others" William Shakespeare (26 April 1564 (baptised) 23 April 1616 was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre e!inent dra!atist" #e is o$ten %alled England's national poet and the &'ard o$ A(on" #is e)tant wor*s, in%luding so!e %ollaborations, %onsist o$ about 3+ plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrati(e poe!s, and a $ew other (erses, the authorship o$ so!e o$ whi%h is un%ertain" #is plays ha(e been translated into e(ery !a,or li(ing -ha*espeare produ%ed !ost o$ his *nown wor* between 15+0 and 1613" #is early plays were !ainly %o!edies and histories, genres he raised to the pea* o$ sophisti%ation and artistry by the end o$ the 16th %entury" #e then wrote !ainly tragedies until about 166+, in%luding Romeo and Juliet, #a!let, 4ing 1ear, 7thello, and 3a%beth, %onsidered so!e o$ the $inest wor*s in the English language" 8n his last phase, he wrote tragi%o!edies, also *nown as ro!an%es, and %ollaborated with other playwrights" Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the %areer o$ 9illia!

-ha*espeare about two young star a!ong -ha*espeare's !ost popular %rossed lo(ers whose deaths ulti!ately plays during his li$eti!e and, along with re%on%ile their $euding $a!ilies" 8t was #a!let, is one o$ his !ost $re:uently per$or!ed plays" ;oday, the title %hara%ters are regarded as ar%hetypal young lo(ers"8t belongs to a tradition o$ tragi% ro!an%es stret%hing ba%* to anti:uity" 8ts plot is based on an 8talian tale, translated into (erse as ;he ;ragi%al #istory o$ <o!eus and /uliet by Arthur 'roo*e in 1562 and retold in prose in =ala%e o$ =leasure by 9illia! =ainter in 156>" -ha*espeare borrowed hea(ily $ro! both but, to e)pand the plot, de(eloped supporting %hara%ters, parti%ularly 3er%utio and =aris" 'elie(ed to ha(e been written between 1501 and 1505, the play was $irst published in a :uarto (ersion in 150>" ;his te)t was o$ poor :uality, and later editions %orre%ted it, bringing it !ore in line with -ha*espeare's original" Characters in Romeo and Juliet Ruling house of Verona House of Montague Prince Escalus is the ruling Prince of Montague is the patriarch of the Verona house of Montague. Count Paris is a kinsman of Escalus ady Montague is the matriarch of who wishes to marry Juliet. the house of Montague. Mercutio is another kinsman of Romeo is the son of Montague, and Escalus, and a friend of Romeo. the play$s male protagonist. +en(olio is Romeo$s cousin and &est friend. House of Capulet ,&ram and +althasar are ser(ants of Capulet is the patriarch of the house the Montague household. of Capulet. ady Capulet is the matriarch of the house of Capulet. -thers Juliet is the !"#year#old daughter of .riar aurence is a .ranciscan friar, Capulet, and the play$s female and is Romeo$s confidant. protagonist. .riar John is sent to deli(er .riar %y&alt is a cousin of Juliet, and the aurence$s letter to Romeo. nephew of Capulet$s wife. ,n ,pothecary who reluctantly sells %he 'urse is Juliet$s personal Romeo poison. attendant and confidante. Rosaline is ord Capulet$s niece, , Chorus reads a prologue to each and Romeo$s lo(e in the &eginning of the first two acts. of the story.

Peter, )ampson and *regory are ser(ants of the Capulet household.

ACT I /ears ago there li(ed in the city of Verona in 0taly two no&le families, the Montagues and Capulets. 1nfortunately, there e2isted much &ad &lood &etween them. %heir animosity was so pronounced that they could not stand the sight of one another.

E(en the ser(ants of the house carried on the animosity of their masters. %he &loody feuds of the two families led the Prince to order all &rawls to cease on pain of death. Romeo, son of old Montague, is a handsome young man. He fancies he is in lo(e with Rosaline, who disdains his lo(e. ,s a result, Romeo is depressed. %o cure him of his lo(e, his friend +en(olio induces him to attend a masked &all at the Capulets, where he could encounter other &eauties and forget Rosaline. ,t the &all, Romeo is attracted &y a girl who he learns is Juliet, daughter of the Capulets. %hey seal their lo(e with a kiss. Juliet, on learning Romeo3s identity from a ser(ant, confesses to herself that her only lo(e has sprung from her only hate. Meanwhile, the fiery %y&alt, Juliet3s cousin, recogni4es Romeo and challenges him. -ld Capulet for&ids him to insult or harm any guest. %y&alt (ows to settle the score with Romeo later. ACT II %hat night Romeo lingers in Capulet3s garden, standing in the orchard &eneath Juliet3s &alcony. He sees Juliet leaning o(er the railing, hears her calling out his name, and wishes that he were not a Montague. He re(eals his presence, and they resol(e, after an ardent lo(e scene, to &e married secretly. 'e2t morning, Juliet sends her 'urse to make final arrangements for the wedding to &e performed at the cell of .riar awrence. %he .riar, who is a confessor to &oth the houses, feels that this union &etween a Montague and a Capulet will dissol(e the enmity &etween the two houses. ACT III Meanwhile, %y&alt has &een seeking Romeo to a(enge the latter3s intrusion at the &all. He encounters Romeo returning from .riar awrence3s cell. Romeo, softened &y his newfound lo(e and his marriage to Juliet, refuses to &e drawn into a 5uarrel with %y&alt, now his kinsman &y marriage. Mercutio grapples with %y&alt and is slain. ,roused to fury &y the death of his friend, Romeo fights with %y&alt and kills him and takes shelter in the .riar3s cell. %he Prince, on hearing of the trou&le, &anishes Romeo. %he .riar ad(ises Romeo to spend the night with Juliet and then flee to Mantua. Meanwhile, Juliet3s parents, &elie(ing her grief to &e due to her cousin %y&alt3s death, seek to alle(iate her distress &y planning her immediate marriage to Paris, a kinsman of the Prince. ACT IV 0n despair, Juliet seeks .riar awrence3s ad(ice. He gi(es her a sleeping potion, which for a time will cause her to appear dead. %hus, on the day of her supposed marriage to Paris, she will &e carried to the family (ault. +y the time she awakens, Romeo will &e summoned to the (ault and take her away to Mantua. ACT V %he .riar3s letter fails to reach Romeo. 6hen he hears of Juliet3s death through +altha4ar, Romeo procures a deadly poison from an apothecary and secretly returns to Verona to say his last farewell to his deceased wife and die &y her side. 0n the Capulet tom&, Romeo encounters Paris, who has come to strew flowers on Juliet3s gra(e. Paris challenges Romeo, and in the fight that ensues, Paris is killed. %hen at Juliet3s side,

Romeo drinks the poison and dies. 6hen Juliet awakens from her deep sleep, she reali4es Romeo3s error and kills herself with his dagger. )ummoned to the tom& &y the aroused watchman, ord Capulet and ord Montague ring their hands in anguish. %he Prince listens to .riar awrence3s story of the unhappy fate of the star#crossed lo(ers, Romeo and Juliet. He re&ukes the Capulets and Montagues for their &loody feud. %he Capulets and Montague decide to reconcile as a result of the deaths of their children.

<o!eo and /uliet has &een adapted numerous times for stage, film, musical and opera. 7uring the English Restoration, it was re(i(ed and hea(ily re(ised &y 6illiam 7a(enant. 7a(id *arrick$s !8th#century (ersion also modified se(eral scenes, remo(ing material then considered indecent, and *eorg +enda$s operatic adaptation omitted much of the action and added a happy ending. Performances in the !9th century, including Charlotte Cushman$s, restored the original te2t, and focused on greater realism. John *ielgud$s !9": (ersion kept (ery close to )hakespeare$s te2t, and used Eli4a&ethan costumes and staging to enhance the drama. 0n the ;<th and into the ;!st century, the play has &een adapted in (ersions as di(erse as *eorge Cukor$s comparati(ely faithful !9"= production, .ranco >effirelli$s !9=8 (ersion, +a4 uhrmann$s !99= M%V#inspired <o!eo ? /uliet and the ;<!" non#)hakespearian adaptation &y Carlo Carlei ?it@.