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Romeo and Juliet

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For other meanings see Romeo (disambiguation) and Juliet (disambiguation).

The Most Excellent and Lamentable Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, commonly referred to as Romeo and Juliet, is a play by William Shakespeare concerning the fate of two young lovers who would do anything to be together. It is, perhaps, the most famous of his plays and is thought to be the most famous love story in Western history.

Romeo and Juliet by Ford Madox Brown


Plot

Romeo and Juliet statue in Central Park in New York City.

Template:Spoiler The play begins with a 14-line prologue in the form of a Shakespearean sonnet. The chorus explains to the audience that the story concerns two noble families of Verona, the Capulets and the Montagues, that have feuded for generations. The chorus also tells how the tragic suicide of the lovers "[buries] their parents' strife," ending the conflict.

Act I

The action starts with a typical street-brawl 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 (with their lives) 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 Capulet's niece, 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 Diane's wit". In other words, it's not that she finds Romeo himself objectionable, but that she has foresworn to marry at all (she has vowed not to fall in love, and to die a virgin). Benvolio tries to snap Romeo out of his dark mood, to no avail: 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.

Romeo attends the ball as planned, but he does not see Rosaline and falls instead for Juliet. They proclaim their love for one another with their "love sonnet" in which Romeo compares himself to a pilgrim and Juliet to the saint which is the object of his pilgrimage.

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.

Act II

Emboldened, 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. The young lovers decide to marry without informing their parents, because they would undoubtedly disallow it due to the hate between the clans and the planned union between Paris and Juliet.

Juliet sends the nurse to find Romeo. Accompanied by one Peter, who carries her fan, the nurse exchanges some spicy raillery with the bawdy Mercutio.

With the help of Juliet's Nurse and the Franciscan priest Friar Lawrence, the two are wedded the next day. Friar Lawrence performs the ceremony, hoping to bring the two families to peace with each other through their mutual union.

Act III

Events take a darker turn. Tybalt, still smarting from the incident at the Capulets' ball, meets up with Romeo and attempts to provoke a sword 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 challenge himself. In the ensuing swordplay, Romeo attempts to allay Mercutio's anger, momentarily placing his arm around him. By doing so, however, Romeo inadvertently allows Mercutio to be fatally wounded by Tybalt. Mercutio dies, wishing "a plague on both your houses." Romeo, in his anger, 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 relative of the Prince. Romeo flees 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 you know I hate." Capulet flies into a rage.

Act IV

Friar Lawrence, a dabbler in herbal medicines and potions, gives Juliet a potion and a plan: the potion will put her in a death-like coma for "two and forty hours" (Act IV. Scene I); she is to take it before her marriage day, 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 V

The Friar's messenger is unable to reach Romeo due to Mantua being under quarantine, and Romeo learns only of Juliet's supposed "death" from his manservant Balthasar. Grief-stricken, he buys some strong poison, returns to Verona in secret, and proceeds to the Capulets' crypt, determined to join Juliet in death. Upon arrival he encounters Paris, who has also come to mourn privately for his lost love. After killing Paris in a duel, Romeo drinks the poison after seeing Juliet one last time, exclaiming: "O true apothecary! Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die." (Act 5. Scene III)

Friar Lawrence then arrives and, entering upon the room, finds the dead bodies of Romeo and Paris. It is at this point that Juliet awakes and, seeing the surrounding death, seeks answers. Friar Lawrence, afraid of being apprehended by the city guards, urges Juliet to flee with him. Knowing all is lost, she replies to the Friar's offer with "Go, get thee hence, for I will not away." (Act 5. Scene III) Juliet cannot imagine a rewarding life without Romeo and so she stabs herself fatally with his dagger. The two lovers lie dead side by side, devoted until the last breath of life.

Romeo, Juliet, and Paris are found dead shortly thereafter by a squire, who runs off to alert others. As word spreads throughout Verona about the deaths, the two feuding families (except Lady Montague, who had died of grief for her son) and the Prince converge upon the tomb. They are horrified to find Romeo, Juliet, and Paris all lying dead, and Friar Lawrence (who has hurried to the crypt but is too late to prevent the tragedy) reveals to them the love and secret marriage of Romeo and Juliet. The feuding families are reconciled by their children's deaths and agree to end their violent feud, as explained by the prologue. The play ends with the Prince saying:

A glooming peace this morning with it brings;
The sun for sorrow will not show his head.
Go hence, to have more talk of these sad things;
Some shall be pardon'd, and some punished;
For never was a story of more woe
Than this of Juliet and her Romeo.

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 often referred to as Q1 and Q2 by Shakespeare scholars.

Q1 was published in 1597. It was neither licenced nor approved by the author, but appears to be a reconstructed or "reported" version of the play, likely by actors who had played the roles of Romeo and Paris, as their lines are reasonably complete and uncorrupted relative 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. Scholars believe that this text was taken from Shakespeare's actual draft, citing 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.

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Commentary

Like 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. 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.

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. However, others consider rashness and youth to be the tragic flaws of Romeo and Juliet -- to which the counterargument has been made, that if they had acted lessly rashly, they would not have spared themselves any of the tragedy, they would only have deprived themselves of their wedding night.

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 permited marriage without parental consent.

The play's most famous line is widely misunderstood. The word "wherefore" means "why", not "where", so when Juliet calls from the balcony, "O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?" she is asking why his name (by implication, his family's name) makes him an enemy of her family, as the next lines make clear: "Deny thy father, and refuse thy name ... that which we call a rose/By any other word would smell as sweet." (This instance has led to a more widespread misuse of "wherefore".)

Another of the play's famous phrases is often misquoted. The phrase "a rose/By any other word would smell as sweet" is commonly quoted as "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet."


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Farce

It 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." It can also be argued that not all is woe at the end. A long-running feud is ended, although at the price of the two lovers' lives, thus, no doubt, future deaths have been prevented.


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--207.157.145.10 19:04, 4 May 2006 (UTC)--207.157.145.10 19:04, 4 May 2006 (UTC)Bold textItalic text==Adaptations== There have been many adaptations of Romeo and Juliet, created for many media.

Plays

Other versions of the Romeo and Juliet play have been made, which had the "culture" of where the play was made as the "setting". For instance, a version of the play which had Romeo as a Palestinian and Juliet as a Jew in Israel and the Palestinian territories was made, which criticizes the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

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.

An updated version of Romeo and Juliet called Romeo/Juliet Remixed (or R0M30/JUL137 R3M1X3D) is set to a rave dance floor background with a kick-boxing Juliet and an Ecstasy-taking Romeo. Before the play begins, this interactive show features a choice of glowsticks (pink if one chooses to be a Montague, yellow if one chooses to be a Capulet,) an escort to a mock dance club called "Club Verona" where "theater"-goers dance and mingle with the cast and other audience members, as well as the chance to cheer on a crew of breakdancing Montagues or Capulets, and a chance to be on the venue's big screen. Romeo and Juliet communicate via cell phone and text messaging.

Opera

The story was converted into the opera Roméo et Juliette by Charles François 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.

Ballet

Several 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)

Musical

The musical West Side Story, also made into a film, is based on Romeo and Juliet but updates the story to mid-20th century New York City and the warring families to ethnic gangs.

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. It attracted already (2005) six million people.

The song "Exit Music (For a Film)" by Radiohead was made for the 1996 movie version (see below) of Romeo and Juliet and is sung from the point of view of someone waking up his lover and inviting them to join them in escaping from the oppression of their respective families through suicide.

Romeo and Juliet is also the name of a song by the British rock band Dire Straits.



Instrumental music

Among the instrumental pieces inspired by the play are Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet, Overture-Fantasy and Hector Berlioz's Roméo et Juliette "Symphonie dramatique", although the latter does have substantial vocal parts. Prokofiev also created three orchestra suites and a piano suite, Romeo and Juliet: Ten Pieces for Piano, based on the music from his ballet.

Movie versions

See also Shakespeare on screen (Romeo and Juliet)

There have been over forty movie versions of the tale, with the first made in France in 1900. Some of the more notable adaptations include:

1908 - Romeo and Juliet, a silent film made by Vitagraph Studios.
The first American production, it was directed by J. Stuart Blackton, the film starred Paul Panzer as Romeo and Florence Lawrence as Juliet.
1936 - Romeo and Juliet, produced by Irving Thalberg and directed by George Cukor
The 1936 screen version was one of the more notable of Classical Hollywood. Thalberg spared no expense, and showcased his wife, Norma Shearer, in the lead role. Romeo was played by Leslie Howard, John Barrymore was Mercutio, and Andy Devine was Peter, the servant to Juliet's nurse. However, the film was criticized because Howard and Shearer were both considerably older than the scripted roles.
Academy Awards nominations:
1954 - Romeo and Juliet directed by Renato Castellani.
A notable Italian production with a colourful setting. The cast includes Galina Ulanova, Laurence Harvey, Bolshoi Ballet, Mervyn Johns, Flora Robson, Yuri Zhdanov and Susan Shentall.
1968 - Romeo and Juliet, directed by Franco Zeffirelli
Filmed in Italy, the performance of the young Olivia Hussey as Juliet is a defining feature. It won Oscars for best cinematography and best costume design, and was nominated for Best Director. It also starred Leonard Whiting as Romeo - he was seen as 'the next big thing' in film at the time, but his career did not match up to expectations.
1978 - Romeo and Juliet, directed by Alvin Rakoff
for the BBC Television Shakespeare series. This production is generally unregarded due to its inexperienced stars and low production values, although Alan Rickman's Tybalt is notable.
1983 - Romeo and Juliet, directed by William Woodman
This film features an excellent set of costumes. The cast includes Alex Hyde-White, Blanche Baker, Esther Rolle, Dan Hamilton, and Frederic Hehne.
1996 - Romeo + Juliet, directed by Baz Luhrmann
Starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes in the title roles, Luhrmann gave the famous tale a modern setting. The production uses Luhrmann's signature flamboyant color and stylization.
At the Berlin International Film Festival 1997, it won:
  • Best Actor (Leonardo DiCaprio)
  • Alfred Bauer Prize
Academy Awards 1996 nominations:
1996 - Tromeo and Juliet, directed by Lloyd Kaufman
The Troma team put their own inimitable spin on the story, setting it in Manhattan in a punk milieu. Lemmy from Motörhead narrates.
2005 - Romeo & Juliet directed by Dave LaChapelle
Featuring Tamyra Gray as Juliet, Gus Carr as Romeo, and Mary J. Blige, this is a 10 minute promotional advertisement for the H&M clothing company. Released in September 2005, this commercial was shown online (H&M website) and during the trailers of certain theatrical films, and featured the new "&denim" selection. In this musical remake which features background music provided by Mary J. Blige, Romeo is gunned down in a drive-by shooting and Juliet sings over his body while he bleeds to death on the street. Due to complaints that the commercial glamorized gang violence and was H&M's attempt to use gun culture to sell their jeans to teenagers, H&M subsequently withdrew the ad from Canadian & U.S. markets and issued an apology.

The film West Side Story set in 1960's New York City was based on the story of Romeo and Juliet, with the Montagues becoming the Jets and the Capulets becoming the Sharks.

Shakespeare in Love is a fictional account of how Shakespeare writes the play against the clock inspired by his love of an upper-class woman. The movie also describes the start of Twelfth Night which was also inspired by the same woman. 

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Origins

A 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 Tragicall History of Romeus and Juliet (1562). Shakespeare followed Brooke's poem fairly closely 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 was the version that gave the story much of its modern form, including the names of the lovers, naming the rival families to the Montecchi and the Cappelletti, and shifting the action to Verona.

The earliest known version of the tale is the 1476 story of Mariotto and Gianozza of Siena by Masuccio Salernitano, in Il Novelino' (Novella XXXIII).

Bandello's story was the most famous one, being translated into French (and 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. This may have been an alternate or additional inspiration to Shakespeare in his version of Romeo and Juliet.

More generally, the story of the ill-fated lovers has parallels with many similar tales told throughout history, including Hero and Leander, Pyramus and Thisbe, Floris and Blanchefleur, Troilus and Cressida, Antony and Cleopatra, Layla and Majnun, Tristan and Isolde and Hagbard and Signy. One could say that these were the "Romeo and Juliet"s of their time periods.

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