Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy that he wrote early on in his career. It is about the love affair that develops between two young Italians who come from families that are at odds with each other. Shakespeare wrote one of his most well-known plays during his lifetime, and it is also one of the most frequently performed, even more so than Hamlet. In modern times, the characters in the title are considered to be the quintessential examples of young lovers.The story of Romeo and Juliet is part of a long-standing ...
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Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy that he wrote early on in his career. It is about the love affair that develops between two young Italians who come from families that are at odds with each other. Shakespeare wrote one of his most well-known plays during his lifetime, and it is also one of the most frequently performed, even more so than Hamlet. In modern times, the characters in the title are considered to be the quintessential examples of young lovers.The story of Romeo and Juliet is part of a long-standing tradition of tragic romances that dates back to ancient times. The plot is based on an Italian story that was written by Matteo Bandello. In 1562, Arthur Brooke translated the story into verse and titled it The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet. In 1567, William Painter retold the story in prose and titled it The Palace of Pleasure. The plot was expanded by Shakespeare through the development of a number of supporting characters, particularly Mercutio and Paris. Shakespeare borrowed heavily from both of these but expanded the plot. It is suggested that the play was written between the years 1591 and 1595, and the quarto edition of the play was initially published in the year 1597. However, the text of the first quarto edition was of poor quality, and subsequent editions made corrections to the text to bring it closer to the original that Shakespeare had written.
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Add this copy of Romeo and Juliet to cart. $24.42, new condition, Sold by Ingram Customer Returns Center rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from NV, USA, published 2024 by Classic Wisdom Reprint.
This book is filled with scholarship on Shakespeare and his play Romeo and Juliet. It is not even laid out nicely with the notes on one page and text on another. I had to buy this copy for a class, but would not purchase it again if given the choice.
Barbara H
May 31, 2012
High School Requirement
If you are reading this for school, check out SparkNotes or Cliff's Notes for a translation you can understand. Especially the No Fear Shakespeare on Spark Notes.
CharlesJ
Apr 1, 2010
Not one of Shakespeare's more original plays
Romeo and Juliet, despite being one of the most popular of Shakespeare's plays, is neither his most well-written or his most original. It is well known that the story was based on an older one by an Italian writer (who probably got his from another Italian writer), so the fact that it is not terribly original is unsurprising. The writing style, however, is also somewhat lacking; many sections are halting because of the changes in rhyming patterns that Shakespeare decided to use, which makes them harder to read. The characters, especially Romeo, were not very easy to connect with; this will change according to opinion, though, and fans of romance will probably like them better than I. All in all, this play does not have the smooth and interesting feel of Shakespeare's later works, but may still appeal to those who like the "star-crossed lovers" theme.
Maggy
Feb 15, 2010
Overrated
Having both read this play, and seen it several times, I can't say that I was impressed. Everything goes exactly wrong; it lacks realism, and, though the language is, well, Shakespearean, the story is not supportive. If you like Shakespeare, you will probably like this work; however, there are much better Shakespearean works that just lack the press that this one has.
Selina
Oct 12, 2007
Classic
I realize "Romeo and Juliet" are most people's favorite. The story is not as intense as "Macbeth" or "Hamlet". In fact the story is rather dull. It is difficult to care about two characters who are self centered. This soap operish plot is not fun to read.
