Romeo and Juliet is a famous tragedy written by English playwright William Shakespeare. The play was probably first performed in 1596 and was first published in 1597.
Romeo and Juliet portrays two young lovers in Verona, Italy. They are caught in a bitter feud between their families, the Montagues and the Capulets. Romeo, a Montague, and his friends come uninvited to a masked ball given by the Capulets. At the ball, Romeo meets Juliet, a Capulet. They fall in love. The next day, the couple are secretly married by Friar Laurence. Returning from the wedding, Romeo meets Juliet’s cousin Tybalt, who tries to pick a fight with him. But Romeo refuses to fight his new relative. To defend the Montague honor, Romeo’s friend Mercutio accepts Tybalt’s challenge. As Romeo attempts to part the young men, Tybalt stabs and kills Mercutio. In revenge, Romeo kills Tybalt. The Prince of Verona is furious at the violence and exiles Romeo from the city.
Juliet’s father, unaware that Juliet is already married, tries to force her to marry a nobleman named Paris. To allow Juliet to escape from her father’s demand, Friar Laurence gives her a drug that puts her into a deathlike sleep. The friar sends a messenger to the exiled Romeo to tell him of the drug. However, the messenger is delayed. Romeo hears that Juliet is dead and hurries to the tomb where she has been placed. There, he takes poison and dies by Juliet’s side. Juliet awakens to find her husband dead and stabs herself. The discovery of the dead lovers convinces the two families that they must end their feud.
The popularity of Romeo and Juliet owes much to Shakespeare’s sympathy for the young lovers in the play. The play suggests that the boldness of young love is dangerous. However, Shakespeare does not present Romeo and Juliet as responsible for their fate. Instead, the play draws attention to the violence and aggressiveness that shape the adult world of the feuding aristocratic families. The success of the play also comes from the clearly drawn characters and liveliness and beauty of its language.
Loading the player...Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet: Romeo
The story of Romeo and Juliet has inspired a number of other artistic works. They include a symphonic poem by the French composer Hector Berlioz and an opera by another French composer, Charles Gounod. The play inspired an overture by the Russian composer Peter Tchaikovsky and a ballet by another Russian composer, Sergei Prokofiev. All of these works are called Romeo and Juliet. West Side Story, a popular stage musical that opened on Broadway in 1957, is also based on Shakespeare’s tragedy. The American composer Leonard Bernstein wrote the music for West Side Story. Stephen Sondheim, another American composer, wrote the words. Romeo and Juliet has also been filmed several times. 
