Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet was a tragic play written early in William Shakespeare's career. It was about two teenage lovers whose deaths finally bring peace to their fighting families. "Romeo and Juliet" is one of the most famous plays written by William Shakespeare throughout his life, and also among his most performed works. Today, the protagonists of this famous play are seen as archetypical youthful lovers.

Romeo and Juliet is a part of a tradition of sad love stories that dates back to antiquity. The storyline is inspired by an Italian story - transcribed into poetry by Arthur Brook in 1563 as The Tragical Tale of Romeus and Juliette - and repeated in prose by William Painters in Palaces of Pleasure in 1567. Shakespeare drew substantially from both, but he enlarged the story by including a number of secondary characters, especially Mercutio and Paris.

The drama, assumed to have been composed between 1592 and 1596, was published for the first time in quarto format in 1597. However, the text of the initial quarto printing was of low quality; hence, subsequent editions modified the text so that it was closer to Shakespeare's original.

Shakespeare's utilization of poetic story structure (incorporating more dramatic effects by moving between tragedy and comedy to heighten suspense, developing more side characters and several subplots to enhance the tale) has been lauded as an early indication of his theatrical genius. The play has been constantly adapted for stage, cinema, musical, and opera productions multiple times.

Year of Release: 1597

Goodreads Score: 3.7/5