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{{Short description|Tragedy by William Shakespeare}}
{{About|the play by William Shakespeare|the titular characters|Romeo|and|Juliet|other uses|Romeo and Juliet (disambiguation)}}
{{Pp-vandalism|small=yes}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2018}}
<!--This article uses British English with Cambridge spelling (-is- instead of -iz-)-->
{{Infobox play
| name = Romeo and Juliet
| image = Romeo and juliet brown.jpg
| alt = oil painting of a couple on a balcony
| caption = An 1870 painting depicting the play's balcony scene
| writer = [[William Shakespeare]]
| characters = {{plainlist|
* [[Romeo]]
* [[Juliet]]
* [[Count Paris]]
* [[Mercutio]]
* [[Tybalt]]
* [[Nurse (Romeo and Juliet)|The Nurse]]
* [[Rosaline]]
* [[Benvolio]]
* [[Friar Laurence]]
}}
| mute = <!-- List of characters that do not speak (encloses lists with {{plainlist}}) -->
| setting = Italy ([[Verona]] and [[Mantua]])
| premiere = 1597{{efn|see {{section link||Shakespeare's day}}}}
| place =
| orig_lang = [[Early Modern English]]
| series = [[First Quarto]]
| subject = [[Romance (love)|Love]]
| genre = [[Shakespearean tragedy]]
}}
{{Listen
|filename=Romeo and Juliet Act 1.ogg
|title="Romeo and Juliet: Act I"
|description=The opening act of ''Romeo and Juliet''.<br />See also: Acts [[Commons:File:Romeo and Juliet Act 2.ogg|II]], [[Commons:File:Romeo and Juliet Act 3.ogg|III]], [[Commons:File:Romeo and Juliet Act 4.ogg|IV]], [[Commons:File:Romeo and Juliet Act 5.ogg|V]]}}
'''''The
''Romeo and Juliet'' belongs to a tradition of tragic [[Romance (love)|romances]] stretching back to [[Ancient history|antiquity]]. The plot is based on an Italian tale written by [[Matteo Bandello]], translated into verse as ''[[The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet]]'' by [[Arthur Brooke (poet)|Arthur Brooke]] in 1562, and retold in prose in ''Palace of Pleasure'' by [[William Painter (author)|William Painter]] in 1567. Shakespeare borrowed heavily from both but expanded the plot by developing a number of supporting characters, in particular [[Mercutio]] and [[Count Paris|Paris]]. Believed to have been written between 1591 and 1595, the play was first published in a [[quarto]] version in 1597. The text of the first quarto version was of poor quality, however, and later editions corrected the text to conform more closely with Shakespeare's original.
Shakespeare's use of poetic [[dramatic structure]] (including effects such as switching between comedy and tragedy to heighten tension, the expansion of minor characters, and numerous sub-plots to embellish the story) has been praised as an early sign of his dramatic skill. The play ascribes different poetic forms to different characters, sometimes changing the form as the character develops. Romeo, for example, grows more adept at the [[sonnet]] over the course of the play.
''Romeo and Juliet'' has been adapted numerous times for stage, film, musical, and opera venues. During the [[English Restoration]], it was revived and heavily revised by [[William Davenant]]. [[David Garrick]]'s 18th-century version also modified several scenes, removing material then considered indecent, and [[Georg Benda]]'s ''[[Romeo und Julie]]'' omitted much of the action and used a happy ending. Performances in the 19th century, including [[Charlotte Cushman]]'s, restored the original text and focused on greater [[Realism (theatre)|realism]]. [[John Gielgud]]'s 1935 version kept very close to Shakespeare's text and used Elizabethan costumes and staging to enhance the drama. In the 20th and into the 21st century, the play has been adapted to film in versions as diverse as [[George Cukor]]'s ''[[Romeo and Juliet (1936 film)|Romeo and Juliet]]'' (1936), [[Franco Zeffirelli]]'s ''[[Romeo and Juliet (1968 film)|Romeo and Juliet]]'' (1968), [[Baz Luhrmann]]'s ''[[Romeo + Juliet]]'' (1996), and [[Carlo Carlei]]'s [[Romeo & Juliet (2013 film)|''Romeo and Juliet'']] (2013).
==Characters==
{{Main|Characters in Romeo and Juliet}}
{{div col|colwidth=20em|rules=yes}}
'''Ruling house of Verona'''
* [[Characters in Romeo and Juliet#Prince Escalus|Prince Escalus]] is the ruling Prince of [[Verona]].
* [[Count Paris]] is a kinsman of Escalus who wishes to marry Juliet.
* [[Mercutio]] is another kinsman of Escalus, a friend of Romeo.
'''House of Capulet'''
* [[
* [[Characters in Romeo and Juliet#Lady Capulet|Lady Capulet]] is the matriarch of the house of Capulet.
* [[Juliet Capulet]], the 13-year-old daughter of Capulet, is the play's female protagonist.
* [[Tybalt]] is a cousin of Juliet, the nephew of Lady Capulet.
* [[Nurse (Romeo and Juliet)|The Nurse]] is Juliet's personal attendant and confidante.
* [[Rosaline]] is Lord Capulet's niece, Romeo's love in the beginning of the story.
* {{anchor|Gregory}}Peter, Sampson, and Gregory are servants of the Capulet household.
'''House of Montague'''
* [[Characters in Romeo and Juliet#Montague|Montague]] is the patriarch of the house of Montague.
* [[Characters in Romeo and Juliet#Montague's wife|Lady Montague]] is the matriarch of the house of Montague.
* [[Romeo Montague]], the son of Montague, is the play's male protagonist.
* [[Benvolio]] is Romeo's cousin and best friend.
* Abram and Balthasar are servants of the Montague household.
'''Others'''
* [[Friar Laurence]] is a [[Franciscan]] friar and Romeo's confidant.
* Friar John is sent to deliver Friar Laurence's letter to Romeo.
* An Apothecary who reluctantly sells Romeo poison.
* A Chorus reads a [[prologue]] to each of the first two acts.
{{div col end}}
==Synopsis==
[[File:Francesco Hayez 053.jpg|thumb|left|upright|''[[The Last Kiss of Romeo and Juliet]]'' by [[Francesco Hayez]], 1823]]
The play, set in [[Verona]], Italy, begins with a street brawl between [[Characters in Romeo and Juliet#House of Montague|Montague]] and [[Characters in Romeo and Juliet#House of Capulet|Capulet]] servants who, like the masters they serve, are sworn enemies. [[Characters in Romeo and Juliet#Prince Escalus|Prince Escalus of Verona]] intervenes and declares that further breach of the peace will be punishable by death. Later, [[Count Paris]] talks to Capulet about marrying his daughter [[Juliet]], but Capulet asks Paris to wait another two years and invites him to attend a planned Capulet [[Ball (dance)|ball]]. Lady Capulet and Juliet's Nurse try to persuade Juliet to accept Paris's courtship.
Meanwhile, [[Benvolio]] talks with his cousin [[Romeo]], Montague's son, about Romeo's recent depression. Benvolio discovers that it stems from unrequited infatuation for a girl named [[Rosaline]], one of Capulet's nieces. Persuaded by Benvolio and [[Mercutio]], Romeo attends the ball at the Capulet house in hopes of meeting Rosaline. However, Romeo instead meets and falls in love with Juliet. Juliet's cousin, [[Tybalt]], is enraged at Romeo for sneaking into the ball but is stopped from killing Romeo by Juliet's father, who does not wish to shed blood in his house. After the ball, in what is now famously known as the "balcony scene," Romeo sneaks into the Capulet orchard and overhears Juliet at her window vowing her love to him in spite of her family's hatred of the Montagues. Romeo makes himself known to her, and they agree to be married. With the help of [[Friar Laurence]], who hopes to reconcile the two families through their children's union, they are secretly married the next day.
Tybalt, meanwhile, still incensed that Romeo had sneaked into the Capulet ball, challenges him to a duel. Romeo, now considering Tybalt his kinsman, refuses to fight. Mercutio is offended by Tybalt's insolence, as well as Romeo's "vile submission",<ref>''Romeo and Juliet'', III.i.73.</ref> and accepts the duel on Romeo's behalf. Mercutio is fatally wounded when Romeo attempts to break up the fight, and declares a curse upon both households before he dies ("[[A plague on both your houses!]]"). Grief-stricken and racked with guilt, Romeo confronts and slays Tybalt.
Montague argues that Romeo has justly executed Tybalt for the murder of Mercutio. The Prince, now having lost a kinsman in the warring families' feud, exiles Romeo from Verona, under penalty of death if he ever returns. Romeo secretly spends the night in Juliet's chamber, where they [[consummation|consummate]] their marriage. Capulet, misinterpreting Juliet's grief, agrees to marry her to Count Paris and threatens to disown her when she refuses to become Paris's "joyful bride".<ref>''Romeo and Juliet'', III.v.115.</ref> When she then pleads for the marriage to be delayed, her mother rejects her.
Juliet visits Friar Laurence for help, and he offers her a potion that will put her into a deathlike coma or [[catalepsy]] for "two and forty hours".<ref>''Romeo and Juliet'', IV.i.105.</ref> The Friar promises to send a messenger, Friar John, to inform Romeo of the plan so that he can rejoin her when she awakens. On the night before the wedding, she takes the drug and, when discovered apparently dead, she is laid in the family [[crypt]].
Friar John, however, is unable to deliver the message about Juliet to Romeo because the onset of a plague makes travel impossible. Instead, Romeo learns of Juliet's apparent death from his servant, Balthasar. Heartbroken, Romeo buys poison from an [[apothecary]] and goes to the Capulet crypt. He encounters Paris who has come to mourn Juliet privately. Believing Romeo to be a vandal, Paris confronts him and, in the ensuing battle, Romeo kills Paris. Still believing Juliet to be dead, he drinks the poison. Juliet then awakens and, discovering that Romeo is dead, stabs herself with his dagger and joins him in death. The feuding families and the Prince meet at the tomb to find all three dead. Friar Laurence recounts the story of the two "star-cross'd lovers", fulfilling the curse that Mercutio swore. The families are reconciled by their children's deaths and agree to end their violent feud. The play ends with the Prince's elegy for the lovers: "For never was a story of more woe / Than this of Juliet and her Romeo."<ref>''Romeo and Juliet'', V.iii.308–309.</ref>
==
''Romeo and Juliet'' borrows from a tradition of tragic love stories dating back to antiquity. One of these is [[Pyramus and Thisbe]], from [[Ovid]]'s ''[[Metamorphoses]]'', which contains parallels to Shakespeare's story: the lovers' parents despise each other, and Pyramus falsely believes his lover Thisbe is dead.{{sfn|Halio|1998|p=93}} The ''[[Ephesian Tale|Ephesiaca]]'' of [[Xenophon of Ephesus]], written in the 3rd century, also contains several similarities to the play, including the separation of the lovers, and a potion that induces a deathlike sleep.{{sfn|Gibbons|1980|p=33}}
One of the earliest references to the names ''Montague'' and ''Capulet'' is from [[Dante Alighieri|Dante]]'s ''[[Divine Comedy]]'', who mentions the Montecchi (''Montagues'') and the Cappelletti (''Capulets'') in canto six of ''[[Purgatorio]]'':{{sfn|Moore|1930|pp=264–77}}
{{Blockquote|
<poem>Come and see, you who are negligent,
Montagues and Capulets, Monaldi and Filippeschi
One lot already grieving, the other in fear.{{sfn|Higgins|1998|p=223}}</poem>}}
However, the reference is part of a polemic against what Dante saw as moral decay of [[Florence]], [[Lombardy]], and the [[Italian states]] in general; through his characters, Dante aimed to chastise [[Albert I of Germany]] for neglecting what Dante felt were his responsibilities towards Italy ("you who are negligent") as "[[King of the Romans]]", as well as successive [[pope]]s for their encroachment from purely spiritual affairs, thus leading to a climate of incessant bickering and warfare between [[Guelphs and Ghibellines|rival political parties]] in Lombardy. History records the name of the family ''Montague'' as being lent to such a political party in [[Verona]], but that of the ''Capulets'' as from a [[Cremona|Cremonese]] family, both of whom play out their conflict in Lombardy as a whole rather than within the confines of Verona.{{sfn|Higgins|1998|p=585}} Allied to rival political factions, the parties are grieving ("One lot already grieving") because their endless warfare has led to the destruction of both parties,{{sfn|Higgins|1998|p=585}} rather than a grief from the loss of their ill-fated offspring as the play sets forth, which appears to be a solely poetic creation within this context.
[[File:Masuccio Salernitano.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Masuccio Salernitano]], author of ''Mariotto & Ganozza'' (1476), the earliest known version of the Romeo & Juliet tale]]
The earliest known version of the ''Romeo and Juliet'' tale akin to Shakespeare's play is the story of Mariotto and Ganozza by [[Masuccio Salernitano]], in the 33rd novel of his ''Il Novellino'' published in 1476.{{sfn|Hosley|1965|p=168}} Salernitano sets the story in [[Siena]] and insists its events took place in his own lifetime. His version of the story includes the secret marriage, the colluding friar, the fray where a prominent citizen is killed, Mariotto's exile, Ganozza's forced marriage, the potion plot, and the crucial message that goes astray. In this version, Mariotto is caught and beheaded and Ganozza dies of grief.{{sfn|Gibbons|1980|pp=33–34}}{{sfn|Levenson|2000|p=4}}
[[File:Luigi da Porto-Giulietta e Romeo.jpg|thumb|left|175px|Frontispiece of ''Giulietta e Romeo'' by [[Luigi da Porto]], 1530]]
[[Luigi da Porto]] (1485–1529) adapted the story as ''Giulietta e Romeo''{{sfn|da Porto|1831}} and included it in his ''Historia novellamente ritrovata di due nobili amanti'' ''(A Newly-Discovered History of two Noble Lovers''), written in 1524 and published posthumously in 1531 in Venice.{{sfn|Prunster|2000|pp=2–3}}{{sfn|Moore|1937|pp=38–44}} Da Porto drew on ''Pyramus and Thisbe'', [[Giovanni Boccaccio|Boccaccio]]'s ''[[Decameron]]'', and Salernitano's ''Mariotto e Ganozza'', but it is likely that his story is also autobiographical: He was a soldier present at a ball on 26 February 1511, at a residence of the pro-[[Republic of Venice|Venice]] Savorgnan clan in [[Udine]], following a peace ceremony attended by the opposing pro-[[Holy Roman Empire|Imperial]] Strumieri clan. There, Da Porto fell in love with Lucina, a Savorgnan daughter, but the family feud frustrated their courtship. The next morning, [[Friulian Revolt of 1511|the Savorgnans led an attack on the city]], and many members of the Strumieri were murdered. Years later, still half-paralyzed from a battle-wound, Luigi wrote ''Giulietta e Romeo'' in [[Montorso Vicentino]] (from which he could see the "castles" of Verona), dedicating the ''novella'' to the ''bellisima e leggiadra'' (the beautiful and graceful) Lucina Savorgnan.{{sfn|da Porto|1831}}{{sfn|Muir|1998|pp=86–89}} Da Porto presented his tale as historically factual and claimed it took place at least a century earlier than Salernitano had it, in the days Verona was ruled by Bartolomeo della Scala<ref>Da Porto does not specify ''which'' Bartolomeo is intended, whether [[Bartolomeo I della Scala|Bartolomeo I]] (''regnat'' 1301–1304) or [[Bartolomeo II della Scala|Bartolomeo II]] (''regnat'' 1375–1381), though the association of the former with his patronage of Dante makes him perhaps slightly more likely, given that Dante specifically mentions the Cappelletti and Montecchi in his ''Commedia''.</ref> (anglicized as [[Prince Escalus]]).
[[File:Arthur Brooke Tragicall His.jpg|thumb|Title page of [[Arthur Brooke (poet)|Arthur Brooke]]'s poem, ''Romeus and Juliet'']]
Da Porto presented the narrative in close to its modern form, including the names of the lovers, the rival families of Montecchi and Capuleti (Cappelletti) and the ___location in Verona.{{sfn|Hosley|1965|p=168}} He named the [[friar Laurence]] (''frate Lorenzo'') and introduced the characters [[Mercutio]] (''Marcuccio Guertio''), [[Tybalt]] (''Tebaldo Cappelletti''), [[Count Paris]] (''conte (Paride) di [[:it:Lodron|Lodrone]]''), the faithful servant, and [[Nurse (Romeo and Juliet character)|Giulietta's nurse]]. Da Porto originated the remaining basic elements of the story: the feuding families, Romeo—left by his mistress—meeting Giulietta at a dance at her house, the love scenes (including the balcony scene), the periods of despair, Romeo killing Giulietta's cousin (Tebaldo), and the families' reconciliation after the lovers' suicides.{{sfn|Scarci|1993–1994}} In da Porto's version, Romeo takes poison and Giulietta keeps her breath until she dies.<ref>{{Cite web|url= https://archive.org/details/GiuliettaERomeoNovellaStoricaDiLuigiDaPortoDiVicenza/page/n29/mode/2up|title=Historia novellamente ritrovata di due nobili amanti, (A Newly-Discovered History of two Noble Lovers)|last=Da Porto|first=Luigi}}</ref>
In 1554, [[Matteo Bandello]] published the second volume of his ''Novelle'', which included his version of ''Giulietta e Romeo'',{{sfn|Moore|1937|pp=38–44}} probably written between 1531 and 1545. Bandello lengthened and weighed down the plot while leaving the storyline basically unchanged (though he did introduce [[Benvolio]]).{{sfn|Scarci|1993–1994}} Bandello's story was translated into French by [[Pierre Boaistuau]] in 1559 in the first volume of his ''Histoires Tragiques''. Boaistuau adds much moralising and sentiment, and the characters indulge in rhetorical outbursts.{{sfn|Gibbons|1980|pp=35–36}}
In his 1562 [[Narrative poetry|narrative poem]] ''[[The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet]]'', Arthur Brooke translated Boaistuau faithfully but adjusted it to reflect parts of Chaucer's ''[[Troilus and Criseyde]]''.{{sfn|Gibbons|1980|p=37}} There was a trend among writers and playwrights to publish works based on Italian ''novelle''—Italian tales were very popular among theatre-goers—and Shakespeare may well have been familiar with [[William Painter (author)|William Painter]]'s 1567 collection of Italian tales titled ''Palace of Pleasure''.{{sfn|Keeble|1980|p=18}} This collection included a version in prose of the ''Romeo and Juliet'' story named ''"The goodly History of the true and constant love of Romeo and Juliett"''. Shakespeare took advantage of this popularity: ''[[The Merchant of Venice]]'', ''[[Much Ado About Nothing]]'', ''[[All's Well That Ends Well]]'', ''[[Measure for Measure]]'', and ''Romeo and Juliet'' are all from Italian ''novelle''. ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a dramatization of Brooke's translation, and Shakespeare follows the poem closely but adds detail to several major and minor characters (the Nurse and Mercutio in particular).{{sfn|Roberts|1902|pp=41–44}}{{sfn|Gibbons|1980|pp=32, 36–37}}{{sfn|Levenson|2000|pp=8–14}}
[[Christopher Marlowe]]'s ''[[Hero and Leander (poem)|Hero and Leander]]'' and ''[[Dido, Queen of Carthage (play)|Dido, Queen of Carthage]]'', both similar stories written in Shakespeare's day, are thought to be less of a direct influence, although they may have helped create an atmosphere in which tragic love stories could thrive.{{sfn|Gibbons|1980|p=37}}
==Date and text==
[[File:Romeoandjuliet1597.jpg|thumb|left|Title page of the first edition]]
It is unknown when exactly Shakespeare wrote ''Romeo and Juliet''. Juliet's Nurse refers to an earthquake she says occurred 11 years ago.<ref>''Romeo and Juliet'', I.iii.23.</ref> This may refer to the [[1580 Dover Straits earthquake|Dover Straits earthquake of 1580]], which would date that particular line to 1591. Other earthquakes—both in England and in Verona—have been proposed in support of the different dates.{{sfn|Gibbons|1980|pp=26–27}} But the play's stylistic similarities with ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream]]'' and other plays conventionally dated around 1594–95, place its composition sometime between 1591 and 1595.{{sfn|Gibbons|1980|pp=29–31}}{{efn|As well as ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream]]'', Gibbons draws parallels with ''[[Love's Labour's Lost]]'' and ''[[Richard II (play)|Richard II]]''.{{sfn|Gibbons|1980|pp=29–31}}}} One conjecture is that Shakespeare may have begun a draft in 1591, which he completed in 1595.{{sfn|Gibbons|1980|p=29}}
Shakespeare's ''Romeo and Juliet'' was published in two [[quarto (text)|quarto]] editions prior to the publication of the [[First Folio]] of 1623. These are referred to as Q1 and Q2. The first printed edition, Q1, appeared in early 1597, printed by John Danter. Because its text contains numerous differences from the later editions, it is labelled a so-called '[[bad quarto]]'; the 20th-century editor T. J. B. Spencer described it as "a detestable text, probably a reconstruction of the play from the imperfect memories of one or two of the actors", suggesting that it had been pirated for publication.{{sfn|Spencer|1967|p=284}} An alternative explanation for Q1's shortcomings is that the play (like many others of the time) may have been heavily edited before performance by the playing company.{{sfn|Halio|1998|pp=1–2}} However, "the theory, formulated by [Alfred] Pollard," that the 'bad quarto' was reconstructed from memory by some of the actors is now under attack. Alternative theories are that some or all of 'the bad quartos' are early versions by Shakespeare or abbreviations made either for Shakespeare's company or for other companies."{{sfn|Wells|2013}} In any event, its appearance in early 1597 makes 1596 the latest possible date for the play's composition.{{sfn|Gibbons|1980|pp=26–27}}
[[File:First Folio Title Page of Romeo and Juliet.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.8|The title page from the [[First Folio]], printed in 1623]]
The superior Q2 called the play ''The Most Excellent and Lamentable Tragedie of Romeo and Juliet''. It was printed in 1599 by [[Thomas Creede]] and published by [[Cuthbert Burby]]. Q2 is about 800 lines longer than Q1.{{sfn|Halio|1998|pp=1–2}} Its title page describes it as "Newly corrected, augmented and amended". Scholars believe that Q2 was based on Shakespeare's pre-performance draft (called his [[foul papers]]) since there are 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. It is a much more complete and reliable text and was reprinted in 1609 (Q3), 1622 (Q4) and 1637 (Q5).{{sfn|Spencer|1967|p=284}} In effect, all later Quartos and Folios of ''Romeo and Juliet'' are based on Q2, as are all modern editions since editors believe that any deviations from Q2 in the later editions (whether good or bad) are likely to have arisen from editors or compositors, not from Shakespeare.{{sfn|Halio|1998|pp=1–2}}
The First Folio text of 1623 was based primarily on Q3, with clarifications and corrections possibly coming from a theatrical prompt book or Q1.{{sfn|Spencer|1967|p=284}}{{sfn|Gibbons|1980|p=21}} Other Folio editions of the play were printed in 1632 (F2), 1664 (F3), and 1685 (F4).{{sfn|Gibbons|1980|p=ix}} Modern versions—that take into account several of the Folios and Quartos—first appeared with [[Nicholas Rowe (dramatist)|Nicholas Rowe]]'s 1709 edition, followed by [[Alexander Pope]]'s 1723 version. Pope began a tradition of editing the play to add information such as stage directions missing in Q2 by locating them in Q1. This tradition continued late into the [[Romanticism|Romantic]] period. Fully annotated editions first appeared in the [[Victorian period]] and continue to be produced today, printing the text of the play with footnotes describing the sources and culture behind the play.{{sfn|Halio|1998|pp=8–9}}
==Themes and motifs==
Scholars{{who|date=August 2025}} have found it extremely difficult to assign one specific, overarching [[Theme (literature)|theme]] to the play. Proposals for a main theme include a discovery by the characters that human beings are neither wholly good nor wholly evil, but instead are more or less alike,{{sfn|Bowling|1949|pp=208–20}} awaking out of a dream and into reality, the danger of hasty action, or the power of tragic fate. None of these have widespread support. However, even if an overall theme cannot be found it is clear that the play is full of several small thematic elements that intertwine in complex ways. Several of those most often debated by scholars are discussed below.{{sfn|Halio|1998|p=65}}
===Love===
{{quote box
| width = 23em|<poem>
"'''Romeo'''
If I profane with my unworthiest hand
This holy shrine, the gentle sin is this:
My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand
To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss.
'''Juliet'''
Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much,
Which mannerly devotion shows in this;
For saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch,
And palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss."
</poem>|—''Romeo and Juliet'', Act I, Scene V<ref>''Romeo and Juliet'', I.v.92–99.</ref>
}}
''Romeo and Juliet'' is sometimes considered to have no unifying theme, save that of young love.{{sfn|Bowling|1949|pp=208–20}} Romeo and Juliet have become emblematic of young lovers and doomed love. Since it is such an obvious subject of the play, several scholars have explored the language and historical context behind the romance of the play.{{sfn|Honegger|2006|pp=73–88}}
On their first meeting, Romeo and Juliet use a form of communication recommended by many etiquette authors in Shakespeare's day: metaphor. By using metaphors of saints and sins, Romeo was able to test Juliet's feelings for him in a non-threatening way. This method was recommended by [[Baldassare Castiglione]] (whose works had been translated into English by this time). He pointed out that if a man used a metaphor as an invitation, the woman could pretend she did not understand him, and he could retreat without losing honour. Juliet, however, participates in the metaphor and expands on it. The religious metaphors of "shrine", "pilgrim", and "saint" were fashionable in the poetry of the time and more likely to be understood as romantic rather than blasphemous, as the concept of sainthood was associated with the Catholicism of an earlier age.{{sfn|Groves|2007|pp=68–69}} Later in the play, Shakespeare removes the more daring allusions to Christ's resurrection in the tomb he found in his source work: Brooke's ''[[The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet|Romeus and Juliet]]''.{{sfn|Groves|2007|p=61}}
[[File:Act II Scene ii – Juliet on the Balcony.jpg|thumb|left|Watercolor by [[John Masey Wright]] of Act II, Scene ii (the balcony scene).]]
In the later balcony scene, Shakespeare has Romeo overhear Juliet's soliloquy, but in Brooke's version of the story, her declaration is done alone. By bringing Romeo into the scene to eavesdrop, Shakespeare breaks from the normal sequence of courtship. Usually, a woman was required to be modest and shy to make sure that her suitor was sincere, but breaking this rule serves to speed along the plot. The lovers are able to skip courting and move on to plain talk about their relationship—agreeing to be married after knowing each other for only one night.{{sfn|Honegger|2006|pp=73–88}} In the final suicide scene, there is a contradiction in the message—in the Catholic religion, suicides were often thought to be condemned to Hell, whereas people who die to be with their loves under the "[[Courtly love|Religion of Love]]" are joined with their loves in Paradise. Romeo and Juliet's love seems to be expressing the "Religion of Love" view rather than the Catholic view. Another point is that, although their love is passionate, it is only consummated in marriage, which keeps them from losing the audience's sympathy.{{sfn|Siegel|1961|pp=371–92}}
The play arguably equates love and sex with death. Throughout the story, both Romeo and Juliet, along with the other characters, fantasise about [[Personifications of death|it as a dark being]], often equating it with a lover. Capulet, for example, when he first discovers Juliet's (faked) death, describes it as having [[virginity|deflowered]] his daughter.<ref>''Romeo and Juliet'', II.v.38–42.</ref> Juliet later erotically compares Romeo and death. Right before her suicide, she grabs Romeo's dagger, saying "O happy dagger! This is thy sheath. There rust, and let me die."<ref>''Romeo and Juliet'', V.iii.169–170.</ref>{{sfn|MacKenzie|2007|pp=22–42}}
===
{{quote box
| width = 23em|"O, I am fortune's fool!"|—Romeo, Act III Scene I<ref>''Romeo and Juliet'', III.i.138.</ref>
}}
Scholars are divided on the role of fate in the play. No consensus exists on whether the characters are truly fated to die together or whether the events take place by a series of unlucky chances. Arguments in favour of fate often refer to the description of the lovers as "[[star-crossed|star-cross'd]]". This phrase seems to hint that the stars have predetermined the lovers' future.{{sfn|Evans|1950|pp=841–65}} [[John W. Draper]] points out the parallels between the Elizabethan belief in [[Humorism|the four humours]] and the main characters of the play (for example, Tybalt as a choleric). Interpreting the text in the light of humours reduces the amount of plot attributed to chance by modern audiences.{{sfn|Draper|1939|pp=16–34}} Still, other scholars see the play as a series of unlucky chances—many to such a degree that they do not see it as a tragedy at all, but an emotional [[melodrama]].{{sfn|Draper|1939|pp=16–34}} Ruth Nevo believes the high degree to which chance is stressed in the narrative makes ''Romeo and Juliet'' a "lesser tragedy" of happenstance, not of character. For example, Romeo's challenging Tybalt is not impulsive; it is, after Mercutio's death, the expected action to take. In this scene, Nevo reads Romeo as being aware of the dangers of flouting [[Norm (sociology)|social norms]], identity, and commitments. He makes the choice to kill, not because of a [[tragic flaw]], but because of circumstance.{{sfn|Nevo|1972|pp=241–58}}
===Duality (light and dark)===
{{quote box
| width = 23em|<poem>
"O brawling love, O loving hate,
O any thing of nothing first create!
O heavy lightness, serious vanity,
Misshapen chaos of well-seeming forms,
Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health,
Still-waking sleep, that is not what it is!"
</poem>|—Romeo, Act I, Scene I<ref>''Romeo and Juliet'', I.i.167–171.</ref>
}}
Scholars have long noted Shakespeare's widespread use of light and dark [[Imagery (literature)|imagery]] throughout the play. [[Caroline Spurgeon]] considers the theme of light as "symbolic of the natural beauty of young love" and later critics have expanded on this interpretation.{{sfn|Nevo|1972|pp=241–58}}{{sfn|Parker|1968|pp=663–74}} For example, both Romeo and Juliet see the other as light in a surrounding darkness. Romeo describes Juliet as being like the sun,<ref>''Romeo and Juliet'', II.ii.</ref> brighter than a torch,<ref>''Romeo and Juliet'', I.v.42.</ref> a jewel sparkling in the night,<ref>''Romeo and Juliet'', I.v.44–45.</ref> and a bright angel among dark clouds.<ref>''Romeo and Juliet'', II.ii.26–32.</ref> Even when she lies apparently dead in the tomb, he says her "beauty makes / This vault a feasting presence full of light."<ref>''Romeo and Juliet'', I.v.85–86.</ref> Juliet describes Romeo as "day in night" and "Whiter than snow upon a raven's back."<ref>''Romeo and Juliet'', III.ii.17–19.</ref>{{sfn|Halio|1998|pp=55–56}} This contrast of light and dark can be expanded as symbols—contrasting love and hate, youth and age in a metaphoric way.{{sfn|Nevo|1972|pp=241–58}} Sometimes these intertwining metaphors create [[Irony|dramatic irony]]. For example, Romeo and Juliet's love is a light in the midst of the darkness of the hate around them, but all of their activity together is done in night and darkness while all of the feuding is done in broad daylight. This paradox of imagery adds atmosphere to the [[Ethical dilemma|moral dilemma]] facing the two lovers: loyalty to family or loyalty to love. At the end of the story, when the morning is gloomy and the sun hiding its face for sorrow, light and dark have returned to their proper places, the outward darkness reflecting the true, inner darkness of the family feud out of sorrow for the lovers. All characters now recognise their folly in light of recent events, and things return to the natural order, thanks to the love and death of Romeo and Juliet.{{sfn|Parker|1968|pp=663–74}} The "light" theme in the play is also heavily connected to the theme of time since light was a convenient way for Shakespeare to express the passage of time through descriptions of the sun, moon, and stars.{{sfn|Tanselle|1964|pp=349–61}}
===Time===
{{quote box
| width = 23em|"These times of woe afford no time to woo."|—Paris, Act III, Scene IV<ref>''Romeo and Juliet'', III.iv.8–9.</ref>
}}
Time plays an important role in the language and plot of the play. Both Romeo and Juliet struggle to maintain an imaginary world void of time in the face of the harsh realities that surround them. For instance, when Romeo swears his love to Juliet by the moon, she protests "O swear not by the moon, th'inconstant moon, / That monthly changes in her circled orb, / Lest that thy love prove likewise variable."<ref>''Romeo and Juliet'', II.ii.109–111.</ref> From the very beginning, the lovers are designated as "star-cross'd"<ref>''Romeo and Juliet'', I.0.6.</ref>{{efn|Levenson defines "star-cross'd" as "thwarted by a malign star".{{sfn|Levenson|2000|p=142}}}} referring to an [[astrology|astrologic]] belief associated with time. Stars were thought to control the fates of humanity, and as time passed, stars would move along their course in the sky, also charting the course of human lives below. Romeo speaks of a foreboding he feels in the stars' movements early in the play, and when he learns of Juliet's death, he defies the stars' course for him.{{sfn|Draper|1939|pp=16–34}}{{sfn|Muir|2005|pp=34–41}}
Another central theme is haste: Shakespeare's ''Romeo and Juliet'' spans a period of four to six days, in contrast to Brooke's poems spanning nine months.{{sfn|Tanselle|1964|pp=349–61}} Scholars such as G. Thomas Tanselle believe that time was "especially important to Shakespeare" in this play, as he used references to "short-time" for the young lovers as opposed to references to "long-time" for the "older generation" to highlight "a headlong rush towards doom".{{sfn|Tanselle|1964|pp=349–61}} Romeo and Juliet fight time to make their love last forever. In the end, the only way they seem to defeat time is through a death that makes them immortal through art.{{sfn|Lucking|2001|pp=115–26}}
Time is also connected to the theme of light and dark. In Shakespeare's day, plays were most often performed at noon or in the afternoon in broad daylight.{{efn|When performed in the central yard of an inn and in public theaters such as the [[Globe Theatre]] the only source of lighting was daylight. When performed at Court, inside the stately home of a member of the nobility and in indoor theaters such as the [[Blackfriars theatre]] candle lighting was used and plays could be performed even at night.}} This forced the playwright to use words to create the illusion of day and night in his plays. Shakespeare uses references to the night and day, the stars, the moon, and the sun to create this illusion. He also has characters frequently refer to days of the week and specific hours to help the audience understand that time has passed in the story. All in all, no fewer than 103 references to time are found in the play, adding to the illusion of its passage.{{sfn|Halio|1998|pp=55–58}}{{sfn|Driver|1964|pp=363–70}}
==Criticism and interpretation==
===Critical history===
[[File:Samuel Pepys.jpg|thumb|right|Portrait of the earliest recorded critic of the play, [[Samuel Pepys]], by [[John Hayls]]. Oil on canvas, 1666.]]
The earliest known critic of the play was diarist [[Samuel Pepys]], who wrote in 1662: "it is a play of itself the worst that I ever heard in my life."{{sfn|Scott|1987|p=415}} Poet [[John Dryden]] wrote 10 years later in praise of the play and its comic character Mercutio: "Shakespear show'd the best of his skill in his ''Mercutio'', and he said himself, that he was forc'd to kill him in the third Act, to prevent being killed by him."{{sfn|Scott|1987|p=415}} Criticism of the play in the 18th century was less sparse but no less divided. Publisher [[Nicholas Rowe (dramatist)|Nicholas Rowe]] was the first critic to ponder the theme of the play, which he saw as the just punishment of the two feuding families. In mid-century, writer [[Charles Gildon]] and philosopher [[Lord Kames]] argued that the play was a failure in that it did not follow the classical rules of drama: the tragedy must occur because of some [[Hamartia|character flaw]], not an accident of fate. Writer and critic [[Samuel Johnson]], however, considered it one of Shakespeare's "most pleasing" plays.{{sfn|Scott|1987|p=410}}
In the later part of the 18th and through the 19th century, criticism centred on debates over the moral message of the play. Actor and playwright [[David Garrick]]'s 1748 adaptation excluded Rosaline: Romeo abandoning her for Juliet was seen as fickle and reckless. Critics such as [[Charles Dibdin]] argued that Rosaline had been included in the play in order to show how reckless the hero was and that this was the reason for his tragic end. Others argued that Friar Laurence might be Shakespeare's spokesman in his warnings against undue haste. At the beginning of the 20th century, these moral arguments were disputed by critics such as [[Richard Green Moulton]]: he argued that accident, and not some character flaw, led to the lovers' deaths.{{sfn|Scott|1987|pp=411–12}}
===Dramatic structure===
In ''Romeo and Juliet'', Shakespeare employs several dramatic techniques that have garnered praise from critics, most notably the abrupt shifts from comedy to tragedy (an example is the [[punning]] exchange between Benvolio and Mercutio just before Tybalt arrives). Before Mercutio's death in Act III, the play is largely a comedy.{{sfn|Shapiro|1964|pp=498–501}} After his accidental demise, the play suddenly becomes serious and takes on a tragic tone. When Romeo is banished, rather than executed, and Friar Laurence offers Juliet a plan to reunite her with Romeo, the audience can still hope that all will end well. They are in a "breathless state of suspense" by the opening of the last scene in the tomb: If Romeo is delayed long enough for the Friar to arrive, he and Juliet may yet be saved.{{sfn|Bonnard|1951|pp=319–27}} These shifts from hope to despair, reprieve, and new hope serve to emphasise the tragedy when the final hope fails and both the lovers die at the end.{{sfn|Halio|1998|pp=20–30}}
Shakespeare also uses sub-plots to offer a clearer view of the actions of the main characters. For example, when the play begins, Romeo is in love with Rosaline, who has refused all of his advances. Romeo's infatuation with her stands in obvious contrast to his later love for Juliet. This provides a comparison through which the audience can see the seriousness of Romeo and Juliet's love and marriage. Paris' love for Juliet also sets up a contrast between Juliet's feelings for him and her feelings for Romeo. The formal language she uses around Paris, as well as the way she talks about him to her Nurse, show that her feelings clearly lie with Romeo. Beyond this, the [[Subplot|sub-plot]] of the Montague–Capulet feud overarches the whole play, providing an atmosphere of hate that is the main contributor to the play's tragic end.{{sfn|Halio|1998|pp=20–30}}
===Language===
Shakespeare uses a variety of poetic forms throughout the play. He begins with a 14-line [[prologue]] in the form of a [[Shakespearean sonnet]], spoken by a Chorus. Most of ''Romeo and Juliet'' is, however, written in [[blank verse]], and much of it in strict [[iambic pentameter]], with less rhythmic variation than in most of Shakespeare's later plays.{{sfn|Halio|1998|p=51}} In choosing forms, Shakespeare matches the poetry to the character who uses it. Friar Laurence, for example, uses [[sermon]] and [[sententiae]] forms and the Nurse uses a unique [[blank verse]] form that closely matches [[colloquial speech]].{{sfn|Halio|1998|p=51}} Each of these forms is also moulded and matched to the emotion of the scene the character occupies. For example, when Romeo talks about Rosaline earlier in the play, he attempts to use the [[Petrarchan sonnet]] form. Petrarchan sonnets were often used by men to exaggerate the beauty of women who were impossible for them to attain, as in Romeo's situation with Rosaline. This sonnet form is used by Lady Capulet to describe Count Paris to Juliet as a handsome man.{{sfn|Halio|1998|pp=47–48}} When Romeo and Juliet meet, the poetic form changes from the Petrarchan (which was becoming archaic in Shakespeare's day) to a then more contemporary sonnet form, using "pilgrims" and "saints" as metaphors.{{sfn|Halio|1998|pp=48–49}} Finally, when the two meet on the balcony, Romeo attempts to use the sonnet form to pledge his love, but Juliet breaks it by saying "Dost thou love me?"<ref>''Romeo and Juliet'', II.ii.90.</ref> By doing this, she searches for true expression, rather than a poetic exaggeration of their love.{{sfn|Halio|1998|pp=49–50}} Juliet uses monosyllabic words with Romeo but uses formal language with Paris.{{sfn|Levin|1960|pp=3–11}} Other forms in the play include an [[epithalamium]] by Juliet, a [[Epic poetry|rhapsody]] in Mercutio's [[Queen Mab]] speech, and an [[elegy]] by Paris.{{sfn|Halio|1998|pp=51–52}} Shakespeare saves his prose style most often for the common people in the play, though at times he uses it for other characters, such as Mercutio.{{sfn|Halio|1998|pp=52–55}} Humour, also, is important: scholar [[Molly Mahood]] identifies at least 175 puns and wordplays in the text.{{sfn|Bloom|1998|pp=92–93}} Many of these jokes are sexual in nature, especially those involving Mercutio and the Nurse.{{sfn|Wells|2004|pp=11–13}}
===Psychoanalytic criticism===
Early [[Psychoanalytic criticism|psychoanalytic critics]] saw the problem of ''Romeo and Juliet'' in terms of Romeo's impulsiveness, deriving from "ill-controlled, partially disguised aggression",{{sfn|Halio|1998|p=82}} which leads both to Mercutio's death and to the double suicide.{{sfn|Halio|1998|p=82}}{{efn|Halio here quotes [[Karl Menninger|Karl A. Menninger's]] ''Man Against Himself'' (1938).{{sfn|Menninger|1938}}}} ''Romeo and Juliet'' is not considered to be exceedingly psychologically complex, and sympathetic psychoanalytic readings of the play make the tragic male experience equivalent with sicknesses.{{sfn|Appelbaum|1997|pp=251–72}} Norman Holland, writing in 1966, considers Romeo's dream<ref>''Romeo and Juliet'', V.i.1–11.</ref> as a realistic "wish fulfilling fantasy both in terms of Romeo's adult world and his hypothetical childhood at stages oral, phallic and oedipal" – while acknowledging that a dramatic character is not a human being with mental processes separate from those of the author.{{sfn|Halio|1998|pp=81, 83}} Critics such as [[Julia Kristeva]] focus on the hatred between the families, arguing that this hatred is the cause of Romeo and Juliet's passion for each other. That hatred manifests itself directly in the lovers' language: Juliet, for example, speaks of "my only love sprung from my only hate"<ref>''Romeo and Juliet'', I.v.137.</ref> and often expresses her passion through an anticipation of Romeo's death.{{sfn|Halio|1998|pp=84–85}} This leads on to speculation as to the playwright's psychology, in particular to a consideration of Shakespeare's grief for the death of his son, [[Hamnet Shakespeare|Hamnet]].{{sfn|Halio|1998|p=85}}
===Feminist criticism===
[[Feminist literary criticism|Feminist literary critics]] argue that the blame for the family feud lies in Verona's [[patriarchal society]]. For [[Coppélia Kahn]], for example, the strict, masculine code of violence imposed on Romeo is the main force driving the tragedy to its end. When Tybalt kills Mercutio, Romeo shifts into a violent mode, regretting that Juliet has made him so "effeminate".<ref>''Romeo and Juliet'', III.i.112.</ref> In this view, the younger males "become men" by engaging in violence on behalf of their fathers, or in the case of the servants, their masters. The feud is also linked to male virility, as the numerous jokes about maidenheads aptly demonstrate.{{sfn|Kahn|1977|pp=5–22}}{{sfn|Halio|1998|pp=87–88}} Juliet also submits to a female code of docility by allowing others, such as the Friar, to solve her problems for her. Other critics, such as Dympna Callaghan, look at the play's feminism from a [[Historicism|historicist]] angle, stressing that when the play was written the feudal order was being challenged by increasingly centralised government and the advent of capitalism. At the same time, emerging [[Puritan]] ideas about marriage were less concerned with the "evils of female sexuality" than those of earlier eras and more sympathetic towards love-matches: when Juliet dodges her father's attempt to force her to marry a man she has no feeling for, she is challenging the patriarchal order in a way that would not have been possible at an earlier time.{{sfn|Halio|1998|pp=89–90}}
===Queer theory===
[[File:Drury Lane Playbill of Romeo and Juliet.jpg|thumb|right|The playbill from a 1753 production at the [[Theatre Royal, Drury Lane|Theatre Royal]] in Drury Lane starring [[David Garrick]]]]
A number of critics have found the character of Mercutio to have unacknowledged homoerotic desire for Romeo.{{sfn|Levenson|2000|pp=25–26}} [[Jonathan Goldberg]] examined the sexuality of Mercutio and Romeo utilising [[queer theory]] in ''Queering the Renaissance'' (1994), comparing their friendship with sexual love.{{sfn|Goldberg|1994}} Mercutio, in friendly conversation, mentions Romeo's [[phallus]], suggesting traces of [[homoeroticism]].{{sfn|Halio|1998|pp=85–86}} An example is his joking wish "To raise a spirit in his mistress' circle ... letting it there stand / Till she had laid it and conjured it down."<ref>''Romeo and Juliet'', II.i.24–26.</ref>{{sfn|Rubinstein|1989|p=54}} Romeo's homoeroticism can also be found in his attitude to Rosaline, a woman who is distant and unavailable and brings no hope of offspring. As Benvolio argues, she is best replaced by someone who will reciprocate. Shakespeare's [[procreation sonnets]] describe another young man who, like Romeo, is having trouble creating offspring and who may be seen as being a homosexual. Goldberg believes that Shakespeare may have used Rosaline as a way to express homosexual problems of procreation in an acceptable way. In this view, when Juliet says "...that which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet",<ref>''Romeo and Juliet'', II.ii.43–44.</ref> she may be raising the question of whether there is any difference between the beauty of a man and the beauty of a woman.{{sfn|Goldberg|1994|pp=221–27}}
===The balcony scene===
The balcony scene was introduced by Da Porto in 1524. He had Romeo walk frequently by her house, "sometimes climbing to her chamber window", and wrote, "It happened one night, as love ordained, when the moon shone unusually bright, that whilst Romeo was climbing the balcony, the young lady ... opened the window, and looking out saw him".{{sfn|da Porto|1868|p=10}} After this they have a conversation in which they declare eternal love to each other. A few decades later, Bandello greatly expanded this scene, diverging from the familiar one: Julia has her nurse deliver a letter asking Romeo to come to her window with a rope ladder, and he climbs the balcony with the help of his servant, Julia and the nurse (the servants discreetly withdraw after this).{{sfn|Scarci|1993–1994}}
<!-- FIXME: I'm really not sure if the next paragraph is relevant. Comments on the The Atlantic website already tore down Leveen's argument, even without referring to the original Da Porto story.-->
Nevertheless, in October 2014, Lois Leveen pointed out in ''[[The Atlantic]]'' that the original Shakespeare play did not contain a balcony; it just says that Juliet appears at a window.{{sfn|Leveen|2014}} The word ''balcone'' is not known to have existed in the English language until two years after Shakespeare's death.{{sfn|OED: balcony}} The balcony was certainly used in [[Thomas Otway]]'s 1679 play, ''[[The History and Fall of Caius Marius]]'', which had borrowed much of its story from ''Romeo and Juliet'' and placed the two lovers in a balcony reciting a speech similar to that between Romeo and Juliet. Leveen suggested that during the 18th century, [[David Garrick]] chose to use a balcony in his adaptation and revival of ''Romeo and Juliet'' and modern adaptations have continued this tradition.{{sfn|Leveen|2014}}
==Legacy==
===Shakespeare's day===
[[File:British - Richard Burbage - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|right|[[Richard Burbage]], probably the first actor to portray [[Romeo Montague|Romeo]]{{sfn|Halio|1998|p=97}}]]
''Romeo and Juliet'' ranks with ''[[Hamlet]]'' as one of Shakespeare's most performed plays. Its many adaptations have made it one of his most enduring and famous stories.{{sfn|Halio|1998|p=ix}} Even in Shakespeare's lifetime, it was extremely popular. Scholar Gary Taylor measures it as the sixth most popular of Shakespeare's plays, in the period after the death of [[Christopher Marlowe]] and [[Thomas Kyd]] but before the ascendancy of [[Ben Jonson]] during which Shakespeare was London's dominant playwright.{{sfn|Taylor|2002|p=18}}{{efn|The five more popular plays, in descending order, are [[Henry VI, Part 1]], [[Richard III (play)|Richard III]], [[Pericles, Prince of Tyre|Pericles]], [[Hamlet]] and [[Richard II (play)|Richard II]].{{sfn|Taylor|2002|p=18}}}} The date of the first performance is unknown. The First Quarto, printed in 1597, reads "it hath been often (and with great applause) plaid publiquely", setting the first performance before that date. The [[Lord Chamberlain's Men]] were certainly the first to perform it. Besides their strong connections with Shakespeare, the [[Second Quarto]] names one of its actors, [[William Kempe|Will Kemp]], instead of Peter, in a line in Act V. [[Richard Burbage]] was probably the first Romeo, being the company's chief tragedian; and Master [[Robert Gough (actor)|Robert Goffe]] (a boy), the first Juliet.{{sfn|Halio|1998|p=97}} The premiere is likely to have been at [[The Theatre]], with other early productions at the [[Curtain Theatre|Curtain]].{{sfn|Levenson|2000|p=62}} ''Romeo and Juliet'' is one of the first Shakespeare plays to have been performed outside England: a shortened and simplified version was performed in [[Nördlingen]] in 1604.{{sfn|Dawson|2002|p=176}}
===Restoration and 18th-century theatre===
All theatres were closed down by the [[puritan]] government on 6 September 1642. Upon the [[Stuart Restoration|restoration]] of the monarchy in 1660, two patent companies (the [[King's Company]] and the [[Duke's Company]]) were established, and the existing theatrical repertoire was divided between them.{{sfn|Marsden|2002|p=21}}
[[File:Mary Saunderson 17th century.jpg|thumb|left|[[Mary Saunderson]], probably the first woman to play Juliet professionally]]
Sir [[William Davenant]] of the [[Duke's Company]] staged a 1662 adaptation in which Henry Harris played Romeo, [[Thomas Betterton]] Mercutio, and Betterton's wife [[Mary Saunderson]] Juliet: she was probably the first woman to play the role professionally.{{sfn|Halio|1998|pp=100–02}} Another version closely followed Davenant's adaptation and was also regularly performed by the Duke's Company. This was a tragicomedy by James Howard, in which the two lovers survive.{{sfn|Levenson|2000|p=71}}
[[Thomas Otway]]'s ''[[The History and Fall of Caius Marius]]'', one of the more extreme of the Restoration adaptations of Shakespeare, debuted in 1679. The scene is shifted from Renaissance Verona to [[ancient Rome]] with a balcony featuring; Romeo is Marius, Juliet is Lavinia, the feud is between [[patricians]] and [[plebeians]]; Juliet/Lavinia wakes from her potion before Romeo/Marius dies. Otway's version was a hit, and was acted for the next seventy years.{{sfn|Halio|1998|pp=100–02}} His innovation in the closing scene was even more enduring, and was used in adaptations throughout the next 200 years: [[Theophilus Cibber]]'s adaptation of 1744, and [[David Garrick]]'s of 1748 both used variations on it.{{sfn|Marsden|2002|pp=26–27}} These versions also eliminated elements deemed inappropriate at the time. For example, Garrick's version transferred all language describing Rosaline to Juliet, to heighten the idea of faithfulness and downplay the [[love-at-first-sight]] theme.{{sfn|Branam|1984|pp=170–79}}{{sfn|Stone|1964|pp=191–206}} In 1750, a "Battle of the Romeos" began, with [[Spranger Barry]] and [[Susannah Maria Arne]] (Mrs. Theophilus Cibber) at [[Royal Opera House|Covent Garden]] versus David Garrick and [[George Anne Bellamy]] at [[Theatre Royal, Drury Lane|Drury Lane]].{{sfn|Pedicord|1954|p=14}}
The earliest known production in North America was an amateur one: on 23 March 1730, a physician named Joachimus Bertrand placed an advertisement in the ''Gazette'' newspaper in New York, promoting a production in which he would play the apothecary.{{sfn|Morrison|2007|p=231}} The first professional performances of the play in North America were those of the [[American Company|Hallam Company]].{{sfn|Morrison|2007|p=232}}
===19th-century theatre===
[[File:Harvard Theatre Collection - Charlotte and Susan Cushman TCS 45.jpg|thumb|right|The American Cushman sisters, [[Charlotte Cushman|Charlotte]] and [[Susan Webb Cushman|Susan]], as Romeo and Juliet in 1846]]
Garrick's altered version of the play was very popular, and ran for nearly a century.{{sfn|Halio|1998|pp=100–02}} Not until 1845 did Shakespeare's original return to the stage in the United States with the sisters [[Susan Webb Cushman|Susan]] and [[Charlotte Cushman]] as Juliet and Romeo, respectively,{{sfn|Gay|2002|p=162}} and then in 1847 in Britain with [[Samuel Phelps]] at [[Sadler's Wells Theatre]].{{sfn|Halliday|1964|pp=125, 365, 420}} Charlotte Cushman adhered to Shakespeare's version, beginning a string of eighty-four performances. Her portrayal of Romeo was considered genius by many. ''[[The Times]]'' wrote: "For a long time Romeo has been a convention. Miss Cushman's Romeo is a creative, a living, breathing, animated, ardent human being."{{sfn|The Times|1845}}{{sfn|Gay|2002|p=162}} [[Victoria of the United Kingdom|Queen Victoria]] wrote in her journal that "no-one would ever have imagined she was a woman".{{sfn|Potter|2001|pp=194–95}} Cushman's success broke the Garrick tradition and paved the way for later performances to return to the original storyline.{{sfn|Halio|1998|pp=100–02}}
Professional performances of Shakespeare in the mid-19th century had two particular features: firstly, they were generally [[star vehicle]]s, with supporting roles cut or marginalised to give greater prominence to the central characters. Secondly, they were "pictorial", placing the action on spectacular and elaborate sets (requiring lengthy pauses for scene changes) and with the frequent use of [[Tableau vivant|tableaux]].{{sfn|Levenson|2000|p=84}} [[Henry Irving]]'s 1882 production at the [[Lyceum Theatre, London|Lyceum Theatre]] (with himself as Romeo and [[Ellen Terry]] as Juliet) is considered an archetype of the pictorial style.{{sfn|Schoch|2002|pp=62–63}} In 1895, Sir [[Johnston Forbes-Robertson]] took over from Irving and laid the groundwork for a more natural portrayal of Shakespeare that remains popular today. Forbes-Robertson avoided the showiness of Irving and instead portrayed a down-to-earth Romeo, expressing the poetic dialogue as realistic prose and avoiding melodramatic flourish.{{sfn|Halio|1998|pp=104–05}}
American actors began to rival their British counterparts. [[Edwin Booth]] (brother to [[John Wilkes Booth]]) and Mary McVicker (soon to be Edwin's wife) opened as Romeo and Juliet at the sumptuous [[Booth's Theatre]] (with its European-style [[stage machinery]], and an air conditioning system unique in New York) on 3 February 1869. Some reports said it was one of the most elaborate productions of ''Romeo and Juliet'' ever seen in America; it was certainly the most popular, running for over six weeks and earning over $60,000 ({{inflation|US|60000|1869|fmt=eq|r=-6}}).{{sfn|Winter|1893|pp=46–47, 57}}{{inflation-fn|US|group=lower-alpha}}{{efn|Booth's ''Romeo and Juliet'' was rivalled in popularity only by his own "hundred night ''Hamlet''" at [[The Winter Garden]] of four years before.}} The programme noted that: "The tragedy will be produced in strict accordance with historical propriety, in every respect, following closely the text of Shakespeare."{{efn|First page of the program for the opening night performance of ''Romeo and Juliet'' at Booth's Theatre, 3 February 1869.}}
The 19th century also marked the first time ''Romeo and Juliet'' was performed in Italy.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-01-09 |title=Shakespeare in Italian |url=https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/blogs/shakespeare-italian/ |access-date=2025-08-08 |website=Shakespeare Birthplace Trust}}</ref> The first four Italian translations of the play appeared in the early 19th century: in 1814 by Michele Leoni (although his translation was based on the 1778 French version by Pierre Le Tourneur),<ref>{{Cite book |last=Shakespeare |first=William |title=Romeo e Giulietta |date=1814 |publisher=Giovanni Marenigh |___location=Florence |language=Italian |translator-last=Leoni |translator-first=Michele |id=SBN: CFIE005414}}</ref> in 1831 by Gaetano Barbieri,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Shakespeare |first=William |title=Romeo e Giulietta |publisher=Truffi |year=1831 |series=Opere di Guglielmo Shakespeare |___location=Milan |language=Italian |translator-last=Barbieri |translator-first=Gaetano |id=SBN: MIL0615058}}</ref> in 1838 by Carlo Rusconi,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Shakespeare |first=William |title=Teatro completo di Shakespeare |publisher=Minerva |year=1838 |volume=1-2 |___location=Padua |language=Italian |translator-last=Rusconi |translator-first=Carlo |id=SBN: LO10405750}}</ref> and in 1847 by Giulio Carcano.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Shakespeare |first=William |title=Giulietta e Romeo |publisher=Pirola |year=1847 |series=Teatro scelto di Gugliemo Shakespeare |volume=2.2 |___location=Milan |language=Italian |translator-last=Carcano |translator-first=Giulio |id=SBN: LO10540986}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Shakespeare all'opera. Riscritture e allestimenti di "Romeo e Giulietta" |date= |publisher=Edizioni di Pagina |year=2018 |isbn=978-8874706464 |editor-last=Biggi |editor-first=Maria Ida |series=Visioni teatrali |___location=Bari |editor-last2=Girardi |editor-first2=Michele}}</ref> However, it was first staged in Italy only in 1869, when [[Ernesto Rossi (actor)|Ernesto Rossi]] produced a successful adaptation and performed as Romeo at the [[Teatro Re]] in Milan. Despite its late debut, the production marked a significant moment in the growing interest in the Bard’s works, which had been present in Italy since the early decades of the 19th century. From as early as 1818, authors such as [[Luigi Scevola]], Giuseppe Morosini, [[Angeliki Palli|Angelica Palli]], and especially [[Cesare della Valle]]—whose ''Giulietta e Romeo'' (1826) dominated the stage for decades until being replaced by Rossi’s Shakespearean version—had created original works on the Veronese subject. Often compared by contemporary critics to Shakespeare’s tragedy, these adaptations offered a different interpretation of the story, which also influenced Rossi’s later staging. In these Italian dramas, the lovers do not engage in any reflection on their individuality nor do they struggle to assert their choices; rather, they are swept away by a whirlwind of sudden passion and inescapable events, to which they passively submit.<ref>{{Citation |last=Calvi |first=Lisanna |title="Giulietta e Romeo From early nineteenth-century Italian adaptations to Ernesto Rossi’s Shakespearean debut (1869)" |date=2017 |url=https://iris.univr.it/handle/11562/973205?utm_source=chatgpt.com&mode=simple |access-date=2025-08-09 |publisher=NLD |isbn=978-90-272-0912-2}}</ref>
The first professional performance of the play in Japan may have been George Crichton Miln's company's production, which toured to [[Yokohama]] in 1890.{{sfn|Holland|2002|pp=202–03}} Throughout the 19th century, ''Romeo and Juliet'' had been Shakespeare's most popular play, measured by the number of professional performances. In the 20th century it would become the second most popular, behind ''[[Hamlet]]''.{{sfn|Levenson|2000|pp=69–70}}
===20th-century theatre===
In 1933, the play was revived by actress [[Katharine Cornell]] and her director husband [[Guthrie McClintic]] and was taken on a [[Katharine Cornell#The 1933–1934 tour|seven-month nationwide tour]] throughout the United States. It starred [[Orson Welles]], [[Brian Aherne]] and [[Basil Rathbone]]. The production was a modest success, and so upon the return to New York, Cornell and McClintic revised it, and for the first time the play was presented with almost all the scenes intact, including the Prologue. The new production opened on Broadway in December 1934. Critics wrote that Cornell was "the greatest Juliet of her time", "endlessly haunting", and "the most lovely and enchanting Juliet our present-day theatre has seen".{{sfn|Mosel|1978|p=354}}
[[File:Portrait of John Gielgud 2 by Carl Van Vechten cropped.jpeg|thumb|[[John Gielgud]], who was among the more famous 20th-century actors to play Romeo, Friar Laurence and Mercutio on stage]]
[[John Gielgud]]'s [[Noël Coward Theatre|New Theatre]] production in 1935 featured Gielgud and [[Laurence Olivier]] as Romeo and Mercutio, exchanging roles six weeks into the run, with [[Peggy Ashcroft]] as Juliet.{{sfn|Smallwood|2002|p=102}} Gielgud used a scholarly combination of Q1 and Q2 texts and organised the set and costumes to match as closely as possible the [[Elizabethan era|Elizabethan period]]. His efforts were a huge success at the box office, and set the stage for increased [[historical realism]] in later productions.{{sfn|Halio|1998|pp=105–07}} Olivier later compared his performance and Gielgud's: "John, all spiritual, all spirituality, all beauty, all abstract things; and myself as all earth, blood, humanity ... I've always felt that John missed the lower half and that made me go for the other ... But whatever it was, when I was playing Romeo I was carrying a torch, I was trying to sell realism in Shakespeare."{{sfn|Smallwood|2002|p=110}}
[[Peter Brook]]'s 1947 version was the beginning of a different style of ''Romeo and Juliet'' performances. Brook was less concerned with realism, and more concerned with translating the play into a form that could communicate with the modern world. He argued, "A production is only correct at the moment of its correctness, and only good at the moment of its success."{{sfn|Halio|1998|pp=107–09}} Brook excluded the final reconciliation of the families from his performance text.{{sfn|Levenson|2000|p=87}}
Throughout the century, audiences, influenced by the cinema, became less willing to accept actors distinctly older than the teenage characters they were playing.{{sfn|Holland|2001|p=207}} A significant example of more youthful casting was in [[Franco Zeffirelli]]'s [[Old Vic]] production in 1960, with [[John Stride]] and [[Judi Dench]], which would serve as the basis for his [[Romeo and Juliet (1968 film)|1968 film]].{{sfn|Levenson|2000|p=87}} Zeffirelli borrowed from Brook's ideas, altogether removing around a third of the play's text to make it more accessible. In an interview with ''[[The Times]]'', he stated that the play's "twin themes of love and the total breakdown of understanding between two generations" had contemporary relevance.{{sfn|Levenson|2000|p=87}}{{efn|Levenson provides the quote from the 1960 interview with Zeffirelli in ''[[The Times]]''.{{sfn|The Times|1960}}}}
Recent performances often set the play in the contemporary world. For example, in 1986, the [[Royal Shakespeare Company]] set the play in modern [[Verona]]. Switchblades replaced swords, feasts and balls became drug-laden rock parties, and Romeo killed himself by [[hypodermic needle]].
Neil Bartlett's production of Romeo and Juliet themed the play very contemporary with a cinematic look which started its life at the Lyric Hammersmith, London then went to West Yorkshire Playhouse for an exclusive run in 1995. The cast included Emily Woof as Juliet, Stuart Bunce as Romeo, Sebastian Harcombe as Mercutio, Ashley Artus as Tybalt, Souad Faress as Lady Capulet and Silas Carson as Paris.{{sfn|Halio|1998|p=110}} In 1997, the [[Folger Shakespeare Library#Performances and events|Folger Shakespeare Theatre]] produced a version set in a typical suburban world. Romeo sneaks into the Capulet barbecue to meet Juliet, and Juliet discovers Tybalt's death while in class at school.{{sfn|Halio|1998|pp=110–12}}
The play is sometimes given a historical setting, enabling audiences to reflect on the underlying conflicts. For example, adaptations have been set in the midst of the [[Israeli–Palestinian conflict]],{{sfn|Pappe|1997|p=63}} in the [[apartheid]] era in South Africa,{{sfn|Quince|2000|pp=121–25}} and in the aftermath of the [[Pueblo Revolt]].{{sfn|Munro|2016|pp=68–69}} Similarly, [[Peter Ustinov]]'s 1956 comic adaptation, ''[[Romanoff and Juliet (play)|Romanoff and Juliet]]'', is set in a fictional mid-European country in the depths of the [[Cold War]].{{sfn|Howard|2000|p=297}} A mock-Victorian revisionist version of ''Romeo and Juliet''{{'s}} final scene (with a happy ending, Romeo, Juliet, Mercutio, and Paris restored to life, and Benvolio revealing that he is Paris's love, Benvolia, in disguise) forms part of the 1980 stage-play ''[[The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (play)|The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby]]''.{{sfn|Edgar|1982|p=162}} ''Shakespeare's R&J'', by Joe Calarco, spins the classic in a modern tale of gay teenage awakening.{{sfn|Marks|1997}} A recent comedic musical adaptation was ''[[The Second City]]'s Romeo and Juliet Musical: The People vs. Friar Laurence, the Man Who Killed Romeo and Juliet'', set in modern times.{{sfn|Houlihan|2004}}
In the 19th and 20th centuries, ''Romeo and Juliet'' has often been the choice of Shakespeare plays to open a classical theatre company, beginning with [[Edwin Booth]]'s inaugural production of that play in his theatre in 1869, the newly re-formed company of the [[Old Vic]] in 1929 with [[John Gielgud]], [[Martita Hunt]], and [[Margaret Webster]],{{sfn|Barranger|2004|p=47}} as well as the [[Riverside Shakespeare Company]] in its founding production in New York City in 1977, which used the 1968 film of [[Franco Zeffirelli]]'s production as its inspiration.{{sfn|The New York Times|1977}}
===21st-century theatre===
In 2009, [[Shakespeare's Globe]] ran a production of ''Romeo and Juliet'' which was directed by [[Dominic Dromgoole]], and starred [[Adetomiwa Edun]] as Romeo and [[Ellie Kendrick]] as Juliet.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Dromgoole|first=Dominic|date=2009|title=''Romeo & Juliet (2009)''|url=https://player.shakespearesglobe.com/productions/romeo-juliet-2009/|publisher=[[Shakespeare's Globe]]}}</ref>
In 2013, ''[[Romeo and Juliet (2013 Broadway play)|Romeo and Juliet]]'' ran on Broadway at [[Richard Rodgers Theatre]] from 19 September to 8 December for 93 regular performances after 27 previews starting on 24 August with [[Orlando Bloom]] and [[Condola Rashad]] in the starring roles.{{sfn|Hetrick|Gans|2013}}
A production of the play starring [[Tom Holland]] and [[Francesca Amewudah-Rivers]] ran at [[Duke of York's Theatre]] in [[London]]'s [[West End theatre|West End]] from 11 May 2024 for a 12-week limited run. The production was directed by [[Jamie Lloyd (director)|Jamie Lloyd]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Wiegand |first=Chris |date=2024-02-06 |title=Tom Holland leaps from Spider-Man to Shakespeare's Romeo in West End |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2024/feb/06/tom-holland-spider-man-shakespeare-romeo-west-end-jamie-lloyd |access-date=2024-02-06 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2024/03/tom-holland-romeo-juliet-juliet-francesca-amewudah-rivers-1235870565/|title=Tom Holland's Romeo Finds His Juliet In Brit Newcomer Francesca Amewudah-Rivers|date=28 March 2024 |publisher=Deadline}}</ref>
A production of the play starring [[Kit Connor]] and [[Rachel Zegler]] opened on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] in Fall 2024. The production featured music by [[Jack Antonoff]], direction by [[Sam Gold]], and movement by [[Sonya Tayeh]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wright |first=Joshua |title=Rachel Zegler & Kit Connor Will Star in Sam Gold-Directed ROMEO + JULIET on Broadway |url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Rachel-Zegler-Kit-Connor-Will-Star-in-Sam-Gold-Directed-ROMEO-JULIET-on-Broadway-20240416 |access-date=2024-04-16 |website=BroadwayWorld.com |language=en}}</ref> The production achieved the youngest ticket buying audience in Broadway history <ref>{{cite web|title=Broadway's Romeo and Juliet Recouped Reveals Youngest Average Audience in History |url=https://playbill.com/article/broadways-romeo-juliet-recouped-reveals-youngest-average-audience-in-history |access-date=April 28, 2025 |website=Playbill |language=en}}</ref> and received a [[Drama League Award]] nomination for Best Revival of a Play, along with Connor receiving a nomination for Distinguished Performance.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Culwell-Block |first=Logan |date=April 22, 2025 |title=2025 Drama League Awards Nominations Are Out; Read the Full List |url=https://playbill.com/article/2025-drama-league-awards-nominations-are-out-read-the-full-list |access-date=April 23, 2025 |website=Playbill}}</ref> It also received an [[Outer Critics Circle Awards|Outer Critics Circle Award]] nomination for Best Revival of a Play, along with Connor receiving a nomination for Outstanding Lead Performer in a Broadway Play.<ref>{{cite web|title=Death Becomes Her Leads 2025 Outer Critics Circle Award Nominations; Read the Full List|first=Logan|last=Culwell-Block|date=April 25, 2025|website=Playbill|url=https://playbill.com/article/death-becomes-her-leads-2025-outer-critics-circle-award-nominations-read-the-full-list|access-date=April 26, 2025}}</ref> The play received a [[Tony Awards]] nomination for Best Revival of a Play, the first Tony nomination for a revival of this play in history. <ref>{{Cite web |date=May 1, 2025 |title=2025 Tony Award Nominations |url=https://www.tonyawards.com/news/2025-tony-award-nominations/ |access-date=June 9, 2025 |website=Tony Awards}}</ref>
[[File:Stairwell Theater presents Romeo & Juliet - 2018, Brooklyn, NYC - directed by Sam Gibbs.jpg|thumb|In 2018, independent theater company Stairwell Theater presented ''Romeo and Juliet'' with a [[basketball]] theme]]
===Ballet===
The best-known ballet version is [[Sergei Prokofiev|Prokofiev]]'s ''[[Romeo and Juliet (Prokofiev)|Romeo and Juliet]]''.{{sfn|Nestyev|1960|p=261}} Originally commissioned by the [[Mariinsky Ballet|Kirov Ballet]], it was rejected by them when Prokofiev attempted a happy ending and was rejected again for the experimental nature of its music. It has subsequently attained an "immense" reputation, and has been choreographed by [[Romeo and Juliet (Cranko)|John Cranko]] (1962) and [[Kenneth MacMillan]] (1965) among others.{{sfn|Sanders|2007|pp=66–67}}
In 1977, [[Michael Smuin]]'s production of one of the play's most dramatic and impassioned dance interpretations was debuted in its entirety by [[San Francisco Ballet]]. This production was the first full-length ballet to be broadcast by the [[PBS]] series "[[Great Performances]]: Dance in America"; it aired in 1978.{{sfn|Winn|2007}}
Dada Masilo, a South African dancer and choreographer, reinterpreted Romeo and Juliet in a new modern light. She introduced changes to the story, notably that of presenting the two families as multiracial.{{sfn|Curnow|2010}}
===Music===
{{quote box|<poem>
"Romeo loved Juliet
Juliet, she felt the same
When he put his arms around her
He said Julie, baby, you're my flame
Thou givest fever ..."
</poem>|—[[Peggy Lee]]'s rendition of "[[Fever (1956 song)|Fever]]"{{sfn|Buhler|2007|p=156}}{{sfn|Sanders|2007|p=187}}
}}
At least 24 operas have been based on ''Romeo and Juliet''.{{sfn|Meyer|1968|pp=38}} The earliest, ''[[Romeo und Julie]]'' in 1776, a [[Singspiel]] by [[Georg Benda]], omits much of the action of the play and most of its characters and has a happy ending. It is occasionally revived. The best-known is [[Charles Gounod|Gounod]]'s 1867 ''[[Roméo et Juliette]]'' (libretto by [[Jules Barbier]] and [[Michel Carré]]), a critical triumph when first performed and frequently revived today.{{sfn|Huebner|2002}}{{sfn|Holden|1993|p=393}} [[Vincenzo Bellini|Bellini's]] ''[[I Capuleti e i Montecchi]]'' is also revived from time to time, but has sometimes been judged unfavourably because of its perceived liberties with Shakespeare; however, Bellini and his librettist, [[Felice Romani]], worked from Italian sources—principally Romani's libretto for ''[[Giulietta e Romeo (Vaccai)|Giulietta e Romeo]]'' by [[Nicola Vaccai]]—rather than directly adapting Shakespeare's play.{{sfn|Collins|1982|pp=532–38}} Among later operas, there is [[Heinrich Sutermeister]]'s 1940 work ''[[Romeo und Julia]]''{{sfn|Levi|2002}} and [[Pascal Dusapin]]'s first opera {{ill|Roméo et Juliette (Dusapin)|lt=Roméo et Juliette|italic=yes|fr}} on a libretto by [[Olivier Cadiot]] (1988).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Shakespeare and Opera {{!}} Music, Plays & Adaptations {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Shakespeare-and-Opera-1369569 |access-date=2023-12-20 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>
''[[Roméo et Juliette (symphony)|Roméo et Juliette]]'' by [[Hector Berlioz|Berlioz]] is a "symphonie dramatique", a large-scale work in three parts for mixed voices, chorus, and orchestra, which premiered in 1839.{{sfn|Sanders|2007|pp=43–45}} [[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky|Tchaikovsky]]'s [[Romeo and Juliet (Tchaikovsky)|''Romeo and Juliet'' Fantasy-Overture]] (1869, revised 1870 and 1880) is a 20-minute [[symphonic poem]], containing the famous melody known as the "love theme".{{sfn|Stites|1995|p=5}} Tchaikovsky's device of repeating the same musical theme at the ball, in the balcony scene, in Juliet's bedroom and in the tomb<ref>''Romeo and Juliet'', I.v, II.ii, III.v, V.iii.</ref> has been used by subsequent directors: for example, [[Nino Rota]]'s love theme is used in a similar way in the 1968 film of the play, as is [[Des'ree]]'s "[[Kissing You (Des'ree song)|Kissing You]]" in the 1996 film.{{sfn|Sanders|2007|pp=42–43}} Other classical composers influenced by the play include [[Henry Hugh Pearson]] (''Romeo and Juliet, overture for orchestra'', Op. 86), [[Johan Svendsen|Svendsen]] (''Romeo og Julie'', 1876), [[Frederick Delius|Delius]] (''[[A Village Romeo and Juliet]]'', 1899–1901), [[Wilhelm Stenhammar|Stenhammar]] (''Romeo och Julia'', 1922), and [[Dmitri Kabalevsky|Kabalevsky]] (''Incidental Music to Romeo and Juliet'', Op. 56, 1956).{{sfn|Sanders|2007|p=42}}
The play influenced several [[jazz]] works, including [[Peggy Lee]]'s "[[Fever (1956 song)|Fever]]".{{sfn|Sanders|2007|p=187}} [[Duke Ellington]]'s ''[[Such Sweet Thunder]]'' contains a piece entitled "The Star-Crossed Lovers"<ref>''Romeo and Juliet'', I.0.6.</ref> in which the pair are represented by tenor and alto saxophones: critics noted that Juliet's sax dominates the piece, rather than offering an image of equality.{{sfn|Sanders|2007|p=20}} The play has frequently influenced [[popular music]], including works by [[The Supremes]], [[Bruce Springsteen]], [[Tom Waits]], [[Lou Reed]],{{sfn|Sanders|2007|p=187–88}} and [[Taylor Swift]].{{sfn|Swift|2009}} The most famous such track is [[Dire Straits]]' "[[Romeo and Juliet (Dire Straits song)|Romeo and Juliet]]".{{sfn|Buhler|2007|p=157}}
The most famous musical theatre adaptation is ''[[West Side Story]]'' with music by [[Leonard Bernstein]] and lyrics by [[Stephen Sondheim]]. It débuted on Broadway in 1957 and in the West End in 1958 and was twice adapted as popular films in [[West Side Story (1961 film)|1961]] and in [[West Side Story (2021 film)|2021]]. This version updated the setting to mid-20th-century New York City and the warring families to ethnic gangs.{{sfn|Sanders|2007|pp=75–76}} Other musical adaptations include [[Terrence Mann]]'s 1999 rock musical ''William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet'', co-written with Jerome Korman;{{sfn|Ehren|1999}} Gérard Presgurvic's 2001 ''[[Roméo et Juliette, de la Haine à l'Amour]]''; [[Riccardo Cocciante]]'s 2007 ''[[Giulietta e Romeo (musical)|Giulietta & Romeo]]''{{sfn|Arafay|2005|p=186}} and [[Johan Christher Schütz]]; and Johan Petterssons's 2013 adaptation ''Carnival Tale ([[:sv:Tivolisaga|Tivolisaga]])'', which takes place at a travelling carnival.<ref>Review from NT: {{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/jcschutz/photos/a.528350423902821/528350467236150/?type=3&theater|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200618205504/https://www.facebook.com/jcschutz/photos/a.528350423902821/528350467236150/?type=3&theater|archive-date=2020-06-18|title=Den fina recensionen i NT :) Skriver... - Johan Christher Schütz {{!}} Facebook| website=[[Facebook]] }}</ref>
===Literature and art===
[[File:Johann Heinrich Füssli 060.jpg|170px|thumb|''Romeo at Juliet's Deathbed'', [[Henry Fuseli]], 1809]]
''Romeo and Juliet'' had a profound influence on subsequent literature. Before then, romance had not even been viewed as a worthy topic for tragedy.{{sfn|Levenson|2000|pp=49–50}} In [[Harold Bloom]]'s words, Shakespeare "invented the formula that the sexual becomes the erotic when crossed by the shadow of death".{{sfn|Bloom|1998|p=89}} Of Shakespeare's works, ''Romeo and Juliet'' has generated the most—and the most varied—adaptations, including prose and verse narratives, drama, opera, orchestral and choral music, ballet, film, television, and painting.{{sfn|Levenson|2000|p=91}}{{efn|Levenson credits this list of genres to [[Stanley Wells]].}} The word "Romeo" has even become synonymous with "male lover" in English.{{sfn|OED: romeo}}
''Romeo and Juliet'' was parodied in Shakespeare's own lifetime: [[Henry Porter (playwright)|Henry Porter]]'s ''Two Angry Women of Abingdon'' (1598) and [[Thomas Dekker (writer)|Thomas Dekker]]'s ''[[Blurt, Master Constable]]'' (1607) both contain balcony scenes in which a virginal heroine engages in bawdy wordplay.{{sfn|Bly|2001|p=52}} The play directly influenced later [[Literature|literary works]]. For example, the preparations for a performance form a major plot in [[Charles Dickens]]' ''[[Nicholas Nickleby]]''.{{sfn|Muir|2005|pp=352–62}}
''Romeo and Juliet'' is one of Shakespeare's most-illustrated works.{{sfn|Fowler|1996|p=111}} The first known illustration was a woodcut of the tomb scene,<ref>''Romeo and Juliet'', V.iii.</ref> thought to be created by [[Elisha Kirkall]], which appeared in [[Nicholas Rowe (dramatist)|Nicholas Rowe]]'s 1709 edition of Shakespeare's plays.{{sfn|Fowler|1996|pp=112–13}} Five paintings of the play were commissioned for the [[Boydell Shakespeare Gallery]] in the late 18th century, one representing each of the five acts of the play.{{sfn|Fowler|1996|p=120}} Early in the 19th century, [[Henry Thomson (painter)|Henry Thomson]] painted ''Juliet after the Masquerade'', an {{ws|[[s:Poems of Letitia Elizabeth Landon (L. E. L.) in The Literary Souvenir, 1828/Juliet after the Masquerade|engraving]]}} of which was published in The Literary Souvenir, 1828, with an accompanying poem by [[Letitia Elizabeth Landon]]. The 19th-century fashion for "pictorial" performances led to directors' drawing on paintings for their inspiration, which, in turn, influenced painters to depict actors and scenes from the theatre.{{sfn|Fowler|1996|pp=126–27}} In the 20th century, the play's most iconic visual images have derived from its popular film versions.{{sfn|Orgel|2007|p=91}}
[[David Blixt]]'s 2007 novel ''The Master Of Verona'' imagines the origins of the famous Capulet-Montague feud, combining the characters from Shakespeare's Italian plays with the historical figures of Dante's time.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-312-36144-0 |title=The Master of Verona |website=Publishers Weekly |access-date=14 July 2021 }}</ref> Blixt's subsequent novels ''Voice Of The Falconer'' (2010), ''Fortune's Fool'' (2012), and ''The Prince's Doom'' (2014) continue to explore the world, following the life of Mercutio as he comes of age. More tales from Blixt's ''Star-Cross'd'' series appear in ''Varnished Faces: Star-Cross'd Short Stories'' (2015) and the plague anthology, ''We All Fall Down'' (2020). Blixt also authored ''Shakespeare's Secrets: Romeo & Juliet'' (2018), a collection of essays on the history of Shakespeare's play in performance, in which Blixt asserts the play is structurally not a Tragedy, but a Comedy-Gone-Wrong. In 2014 Blixt and his wife, stage director Janice L Blixt, were guests of the city of [[Verona, Italy]] for the launch of the Italian language edition of ''The Master Of Verona'', staying with Dante's descendants and filmmaker Anna Lerario, with whom Blixt collaborated on a film about the life of Veronese prince [[Cangrande della Scala]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.veronaeconomia.it/2014/05/05/leggi-notizia/argomenti/annunci-e-varie/articolo/biografia-di-david-blixt.html |title=Biografia di David Blixt |trans-title=Biography of David Blixt |website=veronaeconomia.it |date=5 May 2014 |language=it |access-date=14 July 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.verona-in.it/2013/10/24/film-documentario-cangrande-il-principe-verona/ |title=Film documentario su Cangrande, il Principe di Verona |website=Verona-in.it |language=it |trans-title=Documentary film on Cangrande, the Prince of Verona |date=24 October 2013 |access-date=14 July 2021 }}</ref>
[[Lois Leveen]]'s 2014 novel ''Juliet's Nurse'' imagined the fourteen years leading up to the events in the play from the point of view of the nurse. The nurse has the third largest number of lines in the original play; only the eponymous characters have more lines.{{sfn|Kirkus Reviews|2017}}
The play was the subject of a 2017 General Certificate of Secondary Education ([[GCSE]]) question by the [[Oxford, Cambridge and RSA Examinations]] board that was administered to {{circa|14000}} students. The board attracted widespread media criticism and derision after the question appeared to confuse the Capulets and the Montagues,{{sfn|Sabur|2017}}{{sfn|Marsh|2017}}{{sfn|Richardson|2017}} with exams regulator Ofqual describing the error as unacceptable.{{sfn|Pells|2017}}
''Romeo and Juliet'' was adapted into [[manga]] format by publisher UDON Entertainment's Manga Classics imprint and was released in May 2018.<ref>Manga Classics: Romeo and Juliet (2018) UDON Entertainment {{ISBN|978-1-947808-03-4}}</ref>
===Screen===
{{Main|Romeo and Juliet on screen}}
<!--This is a SUMMARY. Please do not add new information or details here, but instead at the main film article [[Romeo and Juliet on screen]]!-->
''Romeo and Juliet'' may be the most-filmed play of all time.{{sfn|Brode|2001|p=42}} The most notable theatrical releases were [[George Cukor]]'s multi-[[Academy Award|Oscar]]-nominated [[Romeo and Juliet (1936 film)|1936 production]], [[Franco Zeffirelli]]'s [[Romeo and Juliet (1968 film)|1968 version]], and [[Baz Luhrmann]]'s 1996 MTV-inspired ''[[William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet|Romeo + Juliet]]''. The latter two were both, in their time, the highest-grossing Shakespeare film ever.{{sfn|Rosenthal|2007|p=225}} ''Romeo and Juliet'' was first filmed in the silent era, by [[Georges Méliès]], although his film is now lost.{{sfn|Brode|2001|p=42}} The play was first heard on film in ''[[The Hollywood Revue of 1929]]'', in which [[John Gilbert (actor)|John Gilbert]] recited the balcony scene opposite [[Norma Shearer]].{{sfn|Brode|2001|p=43}}
Shearer and [[Leslie Howard]], with a combined age over 75, played the teenage lovers in [[George Cukor]]'s [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer|MGM]] [[Romeo and Juliet (1936 film)|1936 film version]]. Neither critics nor the public responded enthusiastically. Cinema-goers considered the film too "arty", staying away as they had from Warner's ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935 film)|A Midsummer Night's Dream]]'' a year before: leading to Hollywood abandoning the Bard for over a decade.{{sfn|Brode|2001|p=48}} [[Renato Castellani]] won the ''[[Golden Lion#Golden Lion|Grand Prix]]'' at the [[Venice Film Festival]] for his [[Romeo and Juliet (1954 film)|1954 film of ''Romeo and Juliet'']].{{sfn|Tatspaugh|2000|p=138}} His Romeo, [[Laurence Harvey]], was already an experienced screen actor.{{sfn|Brode|2001|pp=48–49}} By contrast, [[Susan Shentall]], as Juliet, was a secretarial student who was discovered by the director in a London pub and was cast for her "pale sweet skin and honey-blonde hair".{{sfn|Brode|2001|p=51}}{{efn|Brode quotes [[Renato Castellani]].}}
Stephen Orgel describes [[Franco Zeffirelli]]'s [[Romeo and Juliet (1968 film)|1968 ''Romeo and Juliet'']] as being "full of beautiful young people, and the camera and the lush technicolour make the most of their sexual energy and good looks".{{sfn|Orgel|2007|p=91}} Zeffirelli's teenage leads, [[Leonard Whiting]] and [[Olivia Hussey]], had virtually no previous acting experience but performed capably and with great maturity.{{sfn|Brode|2001|pp=51–25}}{{sfn|Rosenthal|2007|p=218}} Zeffirelli has been particularly praised{{efn|Brode cites Anthony West of [[Vogue (magazine)|Vogue]] and [[Mollie Panter-Downes]] of [[The New Yorker]] as examples.{{sfn|Brode|2001|pp=51–53}}}} for his presentation of the duel scene as bravado getting out-of-control.{{sfn|Brode|2001|p=53}} The film courted controversy by including a nude wedding-night scene<ref>''Romeo and Juliet'', III.v.</ref> while Olivia Hussey was only fifteen.{{sfn|Rosenthal|2007|pp=218–20}}
[[Baz Luhrmann]]'s 1996 ''[[Romeo + Juliet]]'' and its [[Romeo + Juliet (soundtrack)|accompanying soundtrack]] successfully targeted the "[[MTV Generation]]": a young audience of similar age to the story's characters.{{sfn|Tatspaugh|2000|p=140}} Far darker than Zeffirelli's version, the film is set in the "crass, violent and superficial society" of Verona Beach and Sycamore Grove.{{sfn|Tatspaugh|2000|p=142}} [[Leonardo DiCaprio]] was Romeo and [[Claire Danes]] was Juliet.
The play has been widely adapted for TV and film. In 1960, [[Peter Ustinov]]'s [[cold-war]] stage parody, ''[[Romanoff and Juliet (1961 film)|Romanoff and Juliet]]'' was filmed.{{sfn|Howard|2000|p=297}} The 1961 film ''[[West Side Story (1961 film)|West Side Story]]''—set among New York gangs—featured the Jets as white youths, equivalent to Shakespeare's Montagues, while the Sharks, equivalent to the Capulets, are Puerto Rican.{{sfn|Rosenthal|2007|pp=215–16}} In 2006, Disney's ''[[High School Musical]]'' made use of ''Romeo and Juliet''{{'s}} plot, placing the two young lovers in different high-school cliques instead of feuding families.{{sfn|Symonds|2017|p=172}} Film-makers have frequently featured characters performing scenes from ''Romeo and Juliet''.{{sfn|McKernan|Terris|1994|pp=141–56}}{{efn|McKernan and Terris list 39 instances of uses of ''Romeo and Juliet'', not including films of the play itself.}} The [[conceit]] of dramatising Shakespeare writing ''Romeo and Juliet'' has been used several times,{{sfn|Lanier|2007|p=96}}{{sfn|McKernan|Terris|1994|p=146}} including [[John Madden (director)|John Madden]]'s 1998 ''[[Shakespeare in Love]]'', in which Shakespeare writes the play against the backdrop of his own doomed love affair.{{sfn|Howard|2000|p=310}}{{sfn|Rosenthal|2007|p=228}} An [[anime series]] produced by [[Gonzo (company)|Gonzo]] and [[SKY Perfect Well Think]], called ''[[Romeo x Juliet]]'', was made in 2007 and the [[Romeo and Juliet (2013 film)|2013 version]] is the latest English-language film based on the play. In 2013, [[Sanjay Leela Bhansali]] directed the Bollywood film ''[[Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela]]'', a contemporary version of the play which starred [[Ranveer Singh]] and [[Deepika Padukone]] in leading roles. The film was a commercial and critical success.{{sfn|Goyal|2013}}{{sfn|International Business Times|2013}} In February 2014, [[BroadwayHD]] released a filmed version of the [[Romeo and Juliet (2013 Broadway play)|2013 Broadway Revival]] of ''Romeo and Juliet''. The production starred [[Orlando Bloom]] and [[Condola Rashad]].{{sfn|Lee|2014}}
===Modern social media and virtual world productions===
In April and May 2010, the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Mudlark Production Company presented a version of the play, entitled ''[[Such Tweet Sorrow]]'', as an improvised, real-time series of tweets on Twitter. The production used RSC actors who engaged with the audience as well each other, performing not from a traditional script but a "Grid" developed by the Mudlark production team and writers Tim Wright and Bethan Marlow. The performers also make use of other media sites such as [[YouTube]] for pictures and video.{{sfn|Kennedy|2010}}
=== Architecture ===
A [[Juliet balcony]] (or Juliette balcony) is a [[balustrade]] connected to the façade of a building.
=== Astronomy ===
Two of [[Uranus]]’s moons, [[Juliet (moon)|Juliet]] and [[Mab (moon)|Mab]], are named for the play.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Uranus Moons|url=https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/moons/uranus-moons/overview|access-date=2021-02-11|website=NASA Solar System Exploration}}</ref>
=== Video games ===
''[[The Sims 2]]'' features a neighborhood called Veronaville that features the Capps (Capulet) and the Monty (Montague) families as playable families. The game features the patriarchs of the Capps and Monty families as hating each other, with a love triangle throughout the neighborhood.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://gamerant.com/sims-5-shakespeare-reference-romeo-monty-juliette-capp-family-drama-lore/|title=The Sims 5 Has to Give Closure to the Series' Shakespearean Star-Crossed Lovers|last=Josi|first=Shayna|website=gamerant.com|publisher=[[Valnet]]|date=April 6, 2023|access-date=January 7, 2025}}</ref>
==Scene by scene==
<gallery>
Image:Romeo and Juliet Q2 Title Page-2.jpg|Title page of the [[Second Quarto]] of ''Romeo and Juliet'' published in 1599
Image:Prologue.jpg|Act I prologue
Image:Scene-1.jpg|Act I scene 1: Quarrel between Capulets and Montagues
Image:Scene 2.jpg|Act I scene 2
Image:Scene 3.jpg|Act I scene 3
Image:Scene 4.jpg|Act I scene 4
Image:Act I scene 5.jpg|Act I scene 5
Image:Miller-RomeoJulietAct1.jpg|Act I scene 5: Romeo's first interview with Juliet
Image:Act 2 prologue.jpg|Act II prologue
Image:Act II Scene III.jpg|Act II scene 3
Image:Smirke-JulietNurse.jpg|Act II scene 5: Juliet intreats her nurse
Image:Act II Scene VI.jpg|Act II scene 6
Image:Rigaud-RomeoJuliet.jpg|Act III scene 5: Romeo takes leave of Juliet
Image:Opie-JulietsDeath.jpg|Act IV scene 5: Juliet's fake death
Image:Romeo and Juliet (Act IV, scene V).jpg|Act IV scene 5: Another depiction
Image:Northcote-JulietAwakes.jpg|Act V scene 3: Juliet awakes to find Romeo dead
</gallery>
== See also ==
* [[Pyramus and Thisbe]]
*[[Lovers of Cluj-Napoca]]
*[[Lovers of Teruel]]
*''[[Antony and Cleopatra]]''
*[[Tristan and Iseult]]
* ''[[Mem and Zin]]''
* [[List of idioms attributed to Shakespeare]]
==Notes and references==
===Notes===
{{notelist|30em}}
===References===
{{refbegin}}
All references to ''Romeo and Juliet'', unless otherwise specified, are taken from the Arden Shakespeare second edition (Gibbons, 1980) based on the Q2 text of 1599, with elements from Q1 of 1597.{{sfn|Gibbons|1980|p=vii}} Under its referencing system, which uses Roman numerals, II.ii.33 means act 2, scene 2, line 33, and a 0 in place of a scene number refers to the prologue to the act.
{{refend}}
{{reflist|20em}}
== Sources ==
=== Editions of ''Romeo and Juliet'' ===
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book
|title = Romeo and Juliet
|last = Shakespeare
|first = William
|author-link = William Shakespeare
|display-authors = 0
|editor-last = Gibbons
|editor-first = Brian
|year = 1980
|series = [[The Arden Shakespeare]], second series
|publisher = [[Thomson Learning]]
|___location = London
|isbn = 978-1-903436-41-7
|ref = {{harvid|Gibbons|1980}}
}}
* {{cite book
|title = Romeo and Juliet
|last = Shakespeare
|first = William
|author-link = William Shakespeare
|display-authors = 0
|editor-last = Levenson
|editor-first = Jill L.
|year = 2000
|series = [[The Oxford Shakespeare]]
|publisher = [[Oxford University Press]]
|___location = Oxford
|isbn = 0-19-281496-6
|ref = {{harvid|Levenson|2000}}
}}
* {{cite book
|title = Romeo and Juliet
|last = Shakespeare
|first = William
|author-link = William Shakespeare
|display-authors = 0
|editor-last = Spencer
|editor-first = T.J.B.
|year = 1967
|series = The New Penguin Shakespeare
|___location = London
|publisher = [[Penguin Publishing|Penguin]]
|isbn = 978-0-14-070701-4
|ref = {{harvid|Spencer|1967}}
}}
{{refend}}
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|jstor = 2871016
}}
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|url = http://www.secondcity.com/?id=touring/theatricals/romeo/reviews&reviewid=34
|url-status = dead
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|archive-date = 5 May 2006
}}
* {{cite book
|chapter = Shakespeare's Cinematic Offshoots
|last = Howard
|first = Tony
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|title = The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare on Film
|url = https://archive.org/details/cambridgecompani00jack_577
|url-access = limited
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|year = 2000
|publisher = [[Cambridge University Press]]
|___location = Cambridge
|isbn = 0-521-63975-1
}}
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}}
* {{cite news
|title = ''Ram-leela'' Review Roundup: Critics Hail Film as Best Adaptation of ''Romeo and Juliet''
|author = <!-- staff writers, no byline -->
|newspaper = [[International Business Times]]
|date = 15 November 2013
|url = http://www.ibtimes.co.in/ram-leela-review-roundup-critics-hail-film-as-best-adaptation-of-039romeo-and-juliet039-522423
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|ref = {{harvid|International Business Times|2013}}
}}
* {{cite journal
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|year = 1977
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|doi = 10.2307/3194631
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|jstor = 3194631
}}
* {{cite book
|title = Romeo and Juliet: Study Notes
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|first = N.H.
|year = 1980
|series = [[York Notes]]
|publisher = Longman
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}}
* {{cite news
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}}
* {{cite web
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|author = <!-- staff writers, no byline -->
|website = [[Kirkus Reviews]]
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}}
* {{cite book
|chapter = Shakespeare: myth and biographical fiction
|last = Lanier
|first = Douglas
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|title = The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare and Popular Culture
|url = https://archive.org/details/cambridgecompani00shau
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|editor-first = Robert
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|isbn = 978-0-521-60580-9
}}
* {{cite news
|title = ''Romeo and Juliet'': Orlando Bloom's Broadway Debut Released in Theaters for Valentine's Day
|last = Lee
|first = Ashley
|newspaper = [[The Hollywood Reporter]]
|date = 14 February 2014
|access-date = 27 December 2017
|url = https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/romeo-juliet-orlando-blooms-broadway-677491
|url-status = live
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160318135556/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/romeo-juliet-orlando-blooms-broadway-677491
|archive-date = 18 March 2016
}}
* {{cite web
|title = Romeo and Juliet Has No Balcony
|last = Leveen
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|work = [[The Atlantic]]
|date = 28 October 2014
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}}
* {{cite Grove
|title = Romeo und Julia
|last = Levi
|first = Erik
|year = 2002
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}}
* {{cite journal
|title = Form and Formality in Romeo and Juliet
|last = Levin
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|year = 1960
|journal = [[Shakespeare Quarterly]]
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|doi = 10.2307/2867423
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|jstor = 2867423
}}
* {{cite journal
|title = Uncomfortable Time in Romeo And Juliet
|last = Lucking
|first = David
|year = 2001
|journal = [[English Studies]]
|volume = 82
|issue = 2
|pages = 115–26
|doi = 10.1076/enst.82.2.115.9595
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}}
* {{cite journal
|title = Love, sex and death in ''Romeo and Juliet''
|last = MacKenzie
|first = Clayton G.
|year = 2007
|journal = [[English Studies]]
|volume = 88
|issue = 1
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|doi = 10.1080/00138380601042675
|s2cid = 163788708
}}
* {{cite news
|title = A plague o' both your houses: error in GCSE exam paper forces apology
|last = Marsh
|first = Sarah
|work = [[The Guardian]]
|date = 26 May 2017
|url = https://www.theguardian.com/education/2017/may/26/error-gcse-paper-leads-to-apology-ocr-exam-board-romeo-and-juliet-tybalt-shakespeare
|access-date = 27 May 2017
}}
* {{cite book
|title = Walking Shadows: Shakespeare in the National Film and Television Archive
|last1 = McKernan
|first1 = Luke
|last2 = Terris
|first2 = Olwen
|year = 1994
|publisher = [[British Film Institute]]
|___location = London
|isbn = 0-85170-486-7
}}
* {{cite web
|title = Juliet of the Five O'Clock Shadow, and Other Wonders
|last = Marks
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|date = 29 September 1997
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|access-date = 10 November 2008
}}
* {{cite book
|chapter = Shakespeare from the Restoration to Garrick
|last = Marsden
|first = Jean I.
|pages = [https://archive.org/details/cambridgecompani00well_687/page/n37 21]–36
|title = The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare on Stage
|url = https://archive.org/details/cambridgecompani00well_687
|url-access = limited
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|editor2-last = Stanton
|editor2-first = Sarah
|year = 2002
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|___location = Cambridge
|isbn = 978-0-521-79711-5
}}
* {{cite book
|title = Man Against Himself
|url = https://archive.org/details/managainsthimsel00mennrich
|url-access = registration
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|first = Karl A.
|author-link = Karl Menninger
|publisher = [[Harcourt Brace and Company]]
|___location = New York
|year = 1938
}}
* {{cite journal
|title = Measure for Measure: Shakespeare and Music
|last = Meyer
|first = Eve R.
|year = 1968
|journal = [[Music Educators Journal]]
|volume = 54
|issue = 7
|pages = 36–38, 139–43
|issn = 0027-4321
|doi = 10.2307/3391243
|publisher = [[The National Association for Music Education]]
|jstor = 3391243
|s2cid = 144806778
}}
* {{cite journal
|title = The Origins of the Legend of Romeo and Juliet in Italy
|last = Moore
|first = Olin H.
|year = 1930
|journal = [[Speculum (journal)|Speculum]]
|volume = 5
|issue = 3
|pages = 264–77
|issn = 0038-7134
|doi = 10.2307/2848744
|publisher = [[Medieval Academy of America]]
|jstor = 2848744
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}}
* {{cite journal
|title = Bandello and 'Clizia'
|last = Moore
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|year = 1937
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}}
* {{cite book
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|last = Morrison
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|title = The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare and Popular Culture
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|editor-first = Robert
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|___location = Cambridge
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}}
* {{cite book
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|author-link = Tad Mosel
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|year = 1978
|isbn = 978-0-316-58537-8
|ol = 4728341M
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}}
* {{cite book
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}}
* {{cite book
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|last = Muir
|first = Kenneth
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|___location = New York
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}}
* {{cite book
|chapter = Performance History
|last = Munro
|first = Ian
|pages = 53–78
|title = Romeo and Juliet: A Critical Reader
|editor1-last = Lupton
|editor1-first = Julia Reinhard
|series = Arden Early Modern Drama Guides
|publisher = [[Bloomsbury Publishing]]
|year = 2016
|isbn = 978-1-4742-1637-1
}}
* {{cite book
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|first = Israel
|year = 1960
|publisher =[[Stanford University Press]]
|___location = Stanford
}}
* {{cite book
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|url = https://archive.org/details/tragicforminshak0000nevo
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|first = Ruth
|year = 1972
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|___location = Princeton, NJ
|isbn = 0-691-06217-X
}}
* {{cite news
|title = Weekender Guide: Shakespeare on The Drive
|author = <!-- staff writers, no byline -->
|website = [[The New York Times]]
|date = 19 August 1977
|page = 46
|url = https://www.nytimes.com/1977/08/19/archives/new-jersey-weekly-weekender-guide-friday-weekender-guide.html
|ref = {{harvid|The New York Times|1977}}
}}
* {{cite OED
|term = balcony
|id = 14823
|access-date = 24 December 2017
|ref = {{harvid|OED: balcony}}
}}
* {{cite OED
|term = romeo
|id = 167159
|access-date = 24 December 2017
|ref = {{harvid|OED: romeo}}
}}
* {{cite book
|chapter = Shakespeare Illustrated
|last = Orgel
|first = Stephen
|pages = [https://archive.org/details/cambridgecompani00shau/page/n77 67]–92
|title = The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare and Popular Culture
|url = https://archive.org/details/cambridgecompani00shau
|url-access = limited
|editor = Shaughnessy, Robert
|year = 2007
|publisher = [[Cambridge University Press]]
|___location = Cambridge
|isbn = 978-1-139-00152-6
|doi = 10.1017/CCOL9780521844291
|via = [[Cambridge Core]]
}}
* {{cite journal
|title = Post-Zionist Critique on Israel and the Palestinians Part III: Popular Culture
|last = Pappe
|first = Ilan
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|publisher = [[University of California Press]]
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|eissn = 1533-8614
|volume = 26
|issue = 4
|year = 1997
|pages = 60–69
|doi = 10.2307/2537907
|jstor = 2537907
|url = https://ore.exeter.ac.uk/repository/bitstream/10871/15239/2/Post-Zionist%20CritiqueIII.pdf
|url-access = subscription
|hdl = 10871/15239
|hdl-access = free
}}
* {{cite journal
|title = Light and Dark Imagery in Romeo and Juliet
|last = Parker
|first = D.H.
|year = 1968
|journal = [[Queen's Quarterly]]
|volume = 75
|issue = 4
}}
* {{cite book
|title = The Theatrical Public in the Time of David Garrick
|url = https://archive.org/details/theatricalpublic00pedi
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|last = Pedicord
|first = Harry William
|year = 1954
|publisher = King's Crown Press
|___location = New York
}}
* {{cite news
|title = Capulets and Montagues: UK exam board admit mixing names up in Romeo and Juliet paper
|last = Pells
|first = Raquel
|work = [[The Independent]]
|date = 26 May 2017
|url = https://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/romeo-and-juliet-ocr-uk-exam-board-mix-up-capulets-montagues-names-paper-questions-a7757826.html
|access-date = 27 May 2017
}}
* {{cite book
|title = Istoria Novellamente Ritrovata di Due Nobili Amanti
|last = da Porto
|first = Luigi
|author-link = Luigi Da Porto
|___location = [[Venice]]
|year = 1831
|orig-year = first published {{circa|1531}}
|language = it
|url = http://www.classicitaliani.it/cinquecento/Giulietta_Romeo/da_porto_giulietta_romeo.htm
|access-date = 28 December 2015
|archive-date = 29 April 2015
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150429185921/http://www.classicitaliani.it/cinquecento/giulietta_romeo/da_porto_giulietta_romeo.htm
|url-status = dead
}}
* {{cite book
|chapter = The Original Story of Romeo and Juliet
|last = da Porto
|first = Luigi
|author-link = Luigi da Porto
|translator-last = Pace-Sanfelice
|translator-first = G.
|title = The original story of Romeo and Juliet by Luigi da Porto. From which Shakespeare evidently drew the subject of his drama. Being the Italian text of 1530, and an English translation, together with a critical preface, historical and bibliographical notes and illustrations.
|editor-last = Pace-Sanfelice
|editor-first = G.
|year = 1868
|___location = Cambridge
|publisher = Deighton, Bell, and co
|hdl = 2027/mdp.39015082232961
}}
* {{cite book
|chapter = Shakespeare in the Theatre, 1660–1900
|last = Potter
|first = Lois
|pages = 183–98
|title = The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare
|editor = Wells, Stanley |editor2=deGrazia Margreta
|year = 2001
|publisher = [[Cambridge University Press]]
|___location = Cambridge
|isbn = 0-521-65881-0
}}
* {{cite book
|title = Romeo and Juliet Before Shakespeare: Four Early Stories of Star-crossed Love
|last1 = da Porto
|first1 = Luigi
|author-link1 = Luigi Da Porto
|last2 = Bandello
|first2 = Matteo
|author-link2 = Matteo Bandello
|last3 = Boaistuau
|first3 = Pierre
|author-link3 = Pierre Boaistuau
|last4 = Salernitano
|first4 = Masuccio
|author-link4 = Masuccio Salernitano
|display-authors = 0
|editor-last = Prunster
|editor-first = Nicole
|translator-last = Prunster
|translator-first = Nicole
|year = 2000
|publisher = [[Centre for Reformation and Renaissance Studies]]
|___location = Toronto
|volume = 8
|series = Renaissance and reformation texts in translation
|isbn = 0-7727-2015-0
|issn = 0820-750X
|ref = {{harvid|Prunster|2000}}
}}
* {{cite book
|title = Shakespeare in South Africa: Stage Productions During the Apartheid Era
|last = Quince
|first = Rohan
|year = 2000
|publisher = Peter Lang
|___location = New York
|isbn = 978-0-8204-4061-3
}}
* {{cite news
|title = GCSE exam error: Board accidentally rewrites Shakespeare
|last = Richardson
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|work = [[BBC News]]
|date = 26 May 2017
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|access-date = 27 May 2017
}}
* {{cite journal
|title = The Sources of Romeo and Juliet
|last = Roberts
|first = Arthur J.
|year = 1902
|journal = [[Modern Language Notes]]
|volume = 17
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|issn = 0149-6611
|doi = 10.2307/2917639
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|jstor = 2917639
}}
* {{cite book
|title = BFI Screen Guides: 100 Shakespeare Films
|last = Rosenthal
|first = Daniel
|year = 2007
|publisher = [[British Film Institute]]
|___location = London
|isbn = 978-1-84457-170-3
}}
* {{cite book
|title = A Dictionary of Shakespeare's Sexual Puns and their Significance
|last = Rubinstein
|first = Frankie
|year = 1989
|publisher = [[Macmillan Publishing|Macmillan]]
|___location = London
|isbn = 0-333-48866-0
|edition = Second
}}
* {{cite news
|title = Exam board apologises after error in English GCSE paper which confused characters in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet
|last = Sabur
|first = Rozina
|work = [[The Daily Telegraph]]
|date = 26 May 2017
|url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/05/26/exam-board-apologises-error-english-gcse-paper/
|access-date = 26 May 2017
}}
* {{cite book
|title = Shakespeare and Music: Afterlives and Borrowings
|last = Sanders
|first = Julie
|year = 2007
|publisher = [[Polity Press]]
|___location = Cambridge
|isbn = 978-0-7456-3297-1
}}
* {{cite journal
|title = From Mariotto and Ganozza to Romeo and Giulietta: Metamorphoses of a Renaissance Tale
|last = Scarci
|first = Manuela
|year = 1993–1994
|journal = Scripta Mediterranea
|publisher = Canadian Institute for Mediterranean Studies
|volume = 14–15
|url = http://scripta.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/scripta/article/viewFile/39826/36049
}}
* {{cite book
|title = The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare on Stage
|url = https://archive.org/details/cambridgecompani00well_687
|url-access = limited
|chapter = Pictorial Shakespeare
|last = Schoch
|first = Richard W.
|editor1-last = Wells
|editor1-first = Stanley
|editor1-link = Stanley Wells
|editor2-last = Stanton
|editor2-first = Sarah
|year = 2002
|pages = [https://archive.org/details/cambridgecompani00well_687/page/n78 62]–63
|publisher = [[Cambridge University Press]]
|___location = Cambridge
|isbn = 978-0-521-79711-5
}}
* {{cite book
|title = Shakespearean Criticism: Excerpts from the Criticism of William Shakespeare's Plays & Poetry, from the First Published Appraisals to Current Evaluations
|editor1-last = Scott
|editor1-first = Mark W.
|year = 1987
|volume = 5
|publisher = [[Gale Research]]
|___location = Detroit
|isbn = 978-0-8103-6129-4
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}}
* {{cite journal
|title = Romeo and Juliet: Reversals, Contraries, Transformations, and Ambivalence
|last = Shapiro
|first = Stephen A.
|year = 1964
|journal = [[College English]]
|volume = 25
|issue = 7
|pages = 498–501
|doi = 10.2307/373235
|publisher = [[National Council of Teachers of English]]
|jstor = 373235
}}
* {{cite journal
|title = Christianity and the Religion of Love in Romeo and Juliet
|last = Siegel
|first = Paul N.
|year = 1961
|publisher = [[Folger Shakespeare Library]]
|journal = [[Shakespeare Quarterly]]
|volume = 12
|issue = 4
|pages = 371–92
|doi = 10.2307/2867455
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}}
* {{cite book
|chapter = Twentieth-century Performance: the Stratford and London companies
|last = Smallwood
|first = Robert
|pages = [https://archive.org/details/cambridgecompani00well_687/page/n114 98]–117
|title = The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare on Stage
|url = https://archive.org/details/cambridgecompani00well_687
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|editor1-last = Wells
|editor1-first = Stanley
|editor1-link = Stanley Wells
|editor2-last = Stanton
|editor2-first = Sarah
|year = 2002
|publisher = [[Cambridge University Press]]
|___location = Cambridge
|isbn = 978-0-521-79711-5
}}
* {{cite book
|title = Culture and Entertainment in Wartime Russia
|editor-last = Stites
|editor-first = Richard
|year = 1995
|___location = Bloomington
|publisher = [[Indiana University Press]]
|isbn = 978-0-253-20949-8
}}
* {{cite journal
|title = Romeo and Juliet: The Source of its Modern Stage Career
|last = Stone
|first = George Winchester Jr
|year = 1964
|journal = [[Shakespeare Quarterly]]
|publisher = [[Folger Shakespeare Library]]
|volume = 15
|issue = 2
|pages = 191–206
|doi = 10.2307/2867891
|jstor = 2867891
}}
* {{cite magazine
|title = 10 Questions for Taylor Swift
|last = Swift
|first = Taylor
|subject-link = Taylor Swift
|date = 23 April 2009
|magazine = [[Time (magazine)|Time]]
|url = https://content.time.com/time/video/player/0,32068,20867219001_1893645,00.html
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090426054137/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1893502,00.html
|archive-date = 26 April 2009
|url-status = live
|access-date = 9 April 2022
}}
* {{cite book
|chapter = 'We're All in This Together': Being Girls and Boys in ''High School Musical'' (2006)
|last = Symonds
|first = Dominic
|pages = 169–84
|title = The Disney Musical on Stage and Screen: Critical Approaches from 'Snow White' to 'Frozen'
|editor-last = Rodosthenous
|editor-first = George
|publisher = [[Bloomsbury Publishing]]
|year = 2017
|isbn = 978-1-4742-3419-1
}}
* {{cite journal
|title = Time in Romeo and Juliet
|last = Tanselle
|first = G. Thomas
|year = 1964
|journal = [[Shakespeare Quarterly]]
|publisher = [[Folger Shakespeare Library]]
|volume = 15
|issue = 4
|pages = 349–61
|doi = 10.2307/2868092
|jstor = 2868092
}}
* {{cite book
|chapter = The tragedies of love on film
|last = Tatspaugh
|first = Patricia
|pages = [https://archive.org/details/cambridgecompani00jack_577/page/n150 135]–59
|title = The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare on Film
|url = https://archive.org/details/cambridgecompani00jack_577
|url-access = limited
|year = 2000
|editor1-last = Jackson
|editor1-first = Russell
|publisher = [[Cambridge University Press]]
|___location = Cambridge
|isbn = 0-521-63975-1
}}
* {{cite book
|title = The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare on Stage
|url = https://archive.org/details/cambridgecompani00well_687
|url-access = limited
|chapter = Shakespeare plays on Renaissance Stages
|last = Taylor
|first = Gary
|pages = [https://archive.org/details/cambridgecompani00well_687/page/n61 1]–20
|year = 2002
|editor1-last = Wells
|editor1-first = Stanley
|editor1-link = Stanley Wells
|editor2-last = Stanton
|editor2-first = Sarah
|publisher = [[Cambridge University Press]]
|___location = Cambridge
|isbn = 978-0-521-79711-5
}}
* {{cite news
|title = Haymarket Theatre
|author = <!-- no byline -->
|newspaper = [[The Times]]
|date = 31 December 1845
|page = 5
|url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/15968848/
|ref = {{harvid|The Times|1845}}
}}
* {{cite news
|title = The Zeffirelli Way: Revealing Talk by Florentine Director
|author = <!-- no byline -->
|newspaper = [[The Times]]
|___location = London
|date = 19 September 1960
|issue = 54880
|page = 4
|url = http://find.galegroup.com/ttda/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=TTDA&userGroupName=wes_ttda&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=AdvancedSearchForm&docId=CS67985203&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0
|id = Gale Document #CS67985203
|via = [[Gale Group]]
|url-access = subscription
|ref = {{harvid|The Times|1960}}
}}
* {{cite book
|title = Looking for Sex in Shakespeare
|last = Wells
|first = Stanley
|author-link = Stanley Wells
|year = 2004
|___location = Cambridge
|publisher = [[Cambridge University Press]]
|isbn = 0-521-54039-9
}}
* {{cite book
|title = An A–Z Guide to Shakespeare (2 ed.)
|last = Wells
|first = Stanley
|author-link = Stanley Wells
|year = 2013
|publisher = [[Oxford University Press]]
|isbn = 978-0-19-174076-3
}}
* {{cite news
|title = Michael Smuin: 1938-2007 / Prolific dance director had showy career
|last = Winn
|first = Steven
|date = 24 April 2007
|work = [[San Francisco Chronicle]]
|url = http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/MICHAEL-SMUIN-1938-2007-Prolific-dance-2575617.php
|access-date = 14 October 2013
}}
* {{cite book
|title = The Life and Art of Edwin Booth
|last = Winter
|first = William
|year = 1893
|___location = London
|publisher = [[MacMillan and Co]]
|url = https://archive.org/details/lifeartofedwinbo00mattuoft
}}
{{refend}}
==External links==
{{
* {{StandardEbooks|Standard Ebooks URL=https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/william-shakespeare/romeo-and-juliet}}
* {{gutenberg|no=1513|name=Romeo and Juliet}}
* [http://www.bl.uk/works/romeo-and-juliet ''Romeo and Juliet''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170110105624/http://www.bl.uk/works/romeo-and-juliet |date=10 January 2017 }} at the British Library
* [http://
* [http://www.shakespeare-
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140301182936/http://
* {{librivox book |title=Romeo and Juliet |author=William Shakespeare}}
{{Romeo and Juliet}}
{{Romeo and Juliet film adaptations}}
{{Shakespeare}}
{{West Side Story}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Featured article}}
[[Category:Romeo and Juliet| ]]
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