Romeo and Juliet

By William Shakespeare

Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career near the end of the 16th century. This story of a love that can never be truly realized and the tragedy that ensues, involves two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately reconcile their feuding families, the Montagues and the Capulets, who had been engaged in a blood feud for many years.

Based upon an Italian tale which was translated by 16th century English poet Arthur Brooke into the narrative poem “The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet,” Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet was among his most popular plays during the Bard’s lifetime and along with Hamlet, is one of his most frequently performed plays today.

Romeo and Juliet had a profound influence on subsequent literature. The archetypal young lovers in Romeo and Juliet, regarded as one of the greatest and most tragic love stories of all time, has generated the most, and most varied, adaptations, including prose and verse narratives, drama, opera, orchestral and choral music, ballet, film, television, and painting. Before then, romance had not even been viewed as a worthy topic for tragedy.

As Harold Bloom writes, Shakespeare "invented the formula that the sexual becomes the erotic when crossed by the shadow of death.” The word "Romeo" has even become synonymous with "male lover" in English.

• Language: English
• Publisher: G&D Media
• Release date: May 8, 2020
• ISBN: 9781722524104

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare (1564–1616) is arguably the most famous playwright to ever live. Born in England, he attended grammar school but did not study at a university. In the 1590s, Shakespeare worked as partner and performer at the London-based acting company, the King’s Men. His earliest plays were Henry VI and Richard III, both based on the historical figures. During his career, Shakespeare produced nearly 40 plays that reached multiple countries and cultures. Some of his most notable titles include Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet and Julius Caesar. His acclaimed catalog earned him the title of the world’s greatest dramatist.

Book preview

THE PROLOGUE

[Enter Chorus.]

CHORUS.

Two households, both alike in dignity,

In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,

From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,

Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.

From forth the fatal loins of these two foes

A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life;

Whose misadventur’d piteous overthrows

Doth with their death bury their parents’ strife.

The fearful passage of their death-mark’d love,

And the continuance of their parents’ rage,

Which, but their children’s end, nought could remove,

Is now the two hours’ traffic of our stage;

The which, if you with patient ears attend,

What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend.

[Exit.]

ACT I

SCENE I

A PUBLIC PLACE

[Enter SAMPSON and GREGORY armed with swords and bucklers.]

SAMPSON.

Gregory, on my word, we’ll not carry coals.

GREGORY.

No, for then we should be colliers.

SAMPSON.

I mean, if we be in choler, we’ll draw.

GREGORY.

Ay, while you live, draw your neck out o’ the collar.

SAMPSON.

I strike quickly, being moved.

GREGORY.

But thou art not quickly moved to strike.

SAMPSON.

A dog of the house of Montague moves me.

GREGORY.

To move is to stir; and to be valiant is to stand: therefore, if thou art moved, thou runn’st away.

SAMPSON.

A dog of that house shall move me to stand.

I will take the wall of any man or maid of Montague’s.

GREGORY.

That shows thee a weak slave, for the weakest goes to the wall.

SAMPSON.

True, and therefore women, being the weaker vessels, are ever thrust to the wall: therefore I will push Montague’s men from the wall, and thrust his maids to the wall.

GREGORY.

The quarrel is between our masters and us their men.

SAMPSON.

’Tis all one, I will show myself a tyrant: when I have fought with the men I will be civil with the maids, I will cut off their heads.

GREGORY.

The heads of the maids?

SAMPSON.

Ay, the heads of the maids, or their maidenheads; take it in what sense thou wilt.

GREGORY.

They must take it in sense that feel it.

SAMPSON.

Me they shall feel while I am able to stand: and ’tis known I am a pretty piece of flesh.

GREGORY.

’Tis well thou art not fish; if thou hadst, thou hadst been poor John. Draw thy tool; here comes of the house of Montagues.

[Enter ABRAM and BALTHASAR.]

SAMPSON.

My naked weapon is out: quarrel, I will back thee.

GREGORY.

How? Turn thy back and run?

SAMPSON.

Fear me not.

GREGORY.

No, marry; I fear thee!

SAMPSON.

Let us take the law of our sides; let them begin.

GREGORY.

I will frown as I pass by, and let them take it as they list.

SAMPSON.

Nay, as they dare. I will bite my thumb at them, which is disgrace to them if they bear it.

ABRAM.

Do you bite your thumb at us, sir?

SAMPSON.

I do bite my thumb, sir.

ABRAM.

Do you bite your thumb at us, sir?

SAMPSON.

Is the law of our side if I say ay?

GREGORY.

No.

SAMPSON.

No sir, I do not bite my thumb at you, sir; but I bite my thumb, sir.

GREGORY.

Do you quarrel, sir?

ABRAM.

Quarrel, sir? No, sir.

SAMPSON.

But if you do, sir, am for you. I serve as good a man as you.

ABRAM.

No better.

SAMPSON.

Well, sir.

[Enter BENVOLIO.]

GREGORY.

Say better; here comes one of my master’s kinsmen.

SAMPSON.

Yes, better, sir.

ABRAM.

You lie.

SAMPSON.

Draw, if you be men. Gregory, remember thy swashing blow.

[They fight.]

BENVOLIO.

Part, fools! put up your swords, you know not what you do.

[Beats down their swords.]

[Enter TYBALT.]

TYBALT.

What, art thou drawn among these heartless hinds?

Turn thee Benvolio, look upon thy death.

BENVOLIO.

I do but keep the peace, put up thy sword,

Or manage it to part these men with me.

TYBALT.

What, drawn, and talk of peace? I hate the word

As I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee:

Have at thee, coward.

[They fight.]

[Enter three or four Citizens with clubs.]

FIRST CITIZEN.

Clubs, bills and partisans! Strike! Beat them down!

Down with the Capulets! Down with the Montagues!

[Enter CAPULET in his gown, and LADY CAPULET.]

CAPULET.

What noise is this? Give me my long sword, ho!

LADY CAPULET.

A crutch, a crutch! Why call you for a sword?

CAPULET.

My sword, I say! Old Montague is come,

And flourishes his blade in spite of me.

[Enter MONTAGUE and his LADY MONTAGUE.]

MONTAGUE.

Thou villain Capulet! Hold me not, let me go.

LADY MONTAGUE.

Thou shalt not stir one foot to seek a foe.

[Enter PRINCE ESCALUS, with Attendants.]

PRINCE.

Rebellious subjects, enemies to peace,

Profaners of this neighbour-stained steel,—

Will they not hear? What, ho! You men, you beasts,

That quench the fire of your pernicious rage

With purple fountains issuing from your veins,

On pain of torture, from those bloody hands

Throw your mistemper’d weapons to the ground

And hear the sentence of your moved prince.

Three civil brawls, bred of an airy word,

By thee, old Capulet, and Montague,

Have thrice disturb’d the quiet of our streets,

And made Verona’s ancient citizens

Cast by their grave beseeming ornaments,

To wield old partisans, in hands as old,

Canker’d with peace, to part your canker’d hate.

If ever you disturb our streets again,

Your lives shall pay the forfeit of the peace.

For this time all the rest depart away:

You, Capulet, shall go along with me,

And Montague, come you this afternoon,

To know our farther pleasure in this case,

To old Free-town, our common judgement-place.

Once more, on pain of death, all men depart.

[Exeunt PRINCE and Attendants; CAPULET, LADY CAPULET, TYBALT, CITIZENS and SERVANTS.]

MONTAGUE.

Who set this ancient quarrel new abroach?

Speak, nephew, were you by when it began?

BENVOLIO.

Here were the servants of your adversary

And yours, close fighting ere I did approach.

I drew to part them, in the instant came

The fiery Tybalt, with his sword prepar’d,

Which, as he breath’d defiance to my ears,

He swung about his head, and cut the winds,

Who nothing hurt withal, hiss’d him in scorn.

While we were interchanging thrusts and blows

Came more and more, and fought on part and part,

Till the Prince came, who parted either part.

LADY MONTAGUE.

O where is Romeo, saw you him today?

Right glad I am he was not at this fray.

BENVOLIO.

Madam, an hour before the worshipp’d sun

Peer’d forth the golden window of the east,

A troubled mind drave me to walk abroad,

Where underneath the grove of sycamore

That westward rooteth from this city side,

So early walking did I see your son.

Towards him I made, but he was ware of me,

And stole into the covert of the wood.

I, measuring his affections by my own,

Which then most sought where most might not be found,

Being one too many by my weary self,

Pursu’d my humour, not pursuing his,

And gladly shunn’d who gladly fled from me.

MONTAGUE.

Many a morning hath he there been seen,

With tears augmenting the fresh morning’s dew,

Adding to clouds more clouds with his deep sighs;

But all so soon as the all-cheering sun

Should in the farthest east begin to draw

The shady curtains from Aurora’s bed,

Away from light steals home my heavy son,

And private in his chamber pens himself,

Shuts up his windows, locks fair daylight out

And makes himself an artificial night.

Black and portentous must this humour prove,

Unless good counsel may the cause remove.

BENVOLIO.

My noble uncle, do you know the cause?

MONTAGUE.

I neither know it nor can learn of him.

BENVOLIO.

Have you importun’d

Reviews for Romeo and Juliet

[malydon · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Interest/Reading Level: Ages 12 and upSynopsis: Romeo and Juliet is the quintessential tragic romance. While written over 500 years ago, the story of passionate love between two teenagers remains a current theme today. Juliet Capulet’s father has told Count Paris, a suitor, that Juliet is too young to marry and he must wait two years. Paris is very in love with Juliet, but Juliet does not love him. Romeo Montague is in love with Rosaline but his love is not returned. The Capulet’s have a party and Romeo with his cousins, crash the event. Romeo sees Juliet and Juliet sees Romeo and it is love at first sight. However, their families have had a long feud and it is unlikely they would ever be able to marry. Juliet wants to marry in secret. Romero, needing some counsel, seeks Friar Laurence for advice. Within a day of the party, Friar Laurence marries the young couple in secret hoping that the marriage will heal the feud between the families. Friar Laurence warns the couple that their love is intense and cannot last long. Benvolio (related to the Prince) and Mercutio (Romeo’s cousin) meet Tybalt (Juliet’s cousin) and other Capulets. Tybalt wants to fight Romeo. Romeo refuses to fight and Mercutio takes up Tybalt’s challenge. When Romeo steps between them, Tybalt kills Mercutio with his sword. In turn, Romeo kills Tybalt. When the Prince hears of the deaths, he does not order Romeo’s execution but banishes him from Verona. Juliet hears the news of her cousin’s death and Romeo’s banishment. Romeo cannot bear leaving his new wife and goes to Friar Laurence for more advice. Friar Laurence tells Romeo he must leave before dawn and tells him to go to Mantua. Friar Laurence is in hopes that he can convince both families to reconcile with the news of their children marrying. Paris still wants to marry Juliet and as her parents have no knowledge of her marriage to Romeo, set a wedding date to be in three days. Juliet’s mother tells her of the wedding and Juliet says no to the marriage. Juliet goes to Friar Laurence for help. Friar Laurence gives her a potion to simulate her death to avoid marrying Paris. He assures her that he will give Romeo the information and Romeo will return to rescue her from the tomb. She drinks the poison, her family believes she is dead, and they bury her in the family tomb. Friar Laurence sends Friar John to Romeo with a letter explaining all the details. But the city officials in Mantua believe he is carrying the plague and refuse to let him enter the city. Romeo returns to Verona upon hearing of Juliet’s death. Romeo starts to open Juliet’s tomb when Paris appears. Paris and Romeo fight and Paris is killed. Romeo says goodbye to Juliet and drinks poison, falling dead at Juliet’s side. Juliet wakes up and sees Romeo is dead. She takes Romeo’s dagger and kills herself. When the families find out, they are bound by shared grief and agree to end the feud.Review: Without a doubt, this is one of my all time favorite love stories. I first read it in high school when my English teacher provided each act on mimeographed paper. She had made a class set and we read the play in class. This was back in the day when class sets of books were unheard of. This particular book is well thought out providing a couple of pages of Shakespeare’s original copy written 1599 as samples of plays written in his time period. The book has footnotes the text references written in bold and the annotations written in standard type. The cover of the book has a dark-haired young man with a blonde young women looking into his eyes. The young people are dressed in current clothing, not period clothing. This is from Penguin Group (Puffin) and they are marketing the teen population by making the illustrations enticing. Other titles they have done like this include Hamlet, Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, and Dracula. Once inside the cover, the play is classic Shakespeare. The old English is a bit difficult to read, but with so many versions of the movie available, most students have a good idea of the story line. The task for the teacher is to cut through the language and work through the words to understand the meaning of the dialogue. Act 5, Scene 3, Line 29 begins Friar Laurence’s explanation of the events surrounding the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. He claims it is his fault that they are dead and offers his life in sacrifice. This is my favorite monologue of the play. Shakespeare captures all the events and outcome is the simple friar’s speech. It is as beautiful as is the last line of the time-honored tragedy. “For never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo.”

[dinadansfriend · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

While designing a board game based in Verona, Italy in the 1400's, I ended up reading the play 14 times. It stands up very well. If you're looking for a brilliant treatment in a film, the Francesco Zefferelli version is near perfect. Try to get a version that doesn't edit the Tibault/Mercutio sword-fight, a magnificent dramatic sequence. But for reading aloud in an evening, this is a great experience as well. Should I tell you that the male brain isn't fully matured until the age of 26? It is germane to the plot.

[glennbell_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Much has been written concerning this classic. The story is famous and of merit. The problem with Shakespeare's works is that much is lost due to the change in language and in culture over time. One could research the changes to repair the loss but the time spent to do so is not well spent for me.

[jonfaith · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

O teach me how I should forget to think

I was prepared to be underwhelmed by a jaded near fifty return to this plethora of love-anchored verse. It was quite the opposite, as I found myself steeled with philosophy "adversity's sweet milk" and my appreciation proved ever enhanced by the Bard's appraisal of the human condition. How adroit to have situated such between two warring tribes, under a merciful deity, an all-too-human church and the wayward agency of hormonal teens. Many complain of this being a classic Greek drama adapted to a contemporary milieu. There is also a disproportionate focus on the frantic pacing in the five acts. I can appreciate both concerns but I think such is beyond the point. The chorus frames matters in terms of destiny, a rumination on Aristotelian tragedy yet the drama unfolds with caprice being the coin of the realm. Well, as much agency as smitten couples can manage. Pacing is a recent phenomenon, 50 episodes for McNulty to walk away from the force, a few less for Little Nell to die.

Shakespeare offers insights on loyalty and human frailty as well as the Edenic cursing of naming in some relative ontology. Would Heidegger smell as sweet? My mind's eye blurs the poise of Juliet with that of Ophelia; though no misdeeds await the Capulet, unless being disinherited by Plath's Daddy is the road's toll to a watery sleep. The black shoe and the attendant violent delights.

[unkletom_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This review is for the 2012 edition of The Tragedie of Romeo and Juliet as annotated by Demitra Padadinas, founder and producing art director of the New England Shakespeare Festival.I’ve been a big fan of Shakespeare ever since high school when a clever English teacher pointed out that, in his day, Shakespeare was looked on as anything but high-brow. His audiences were more likely to consist of pickpockets, tavern-goers and whores than fine lords and ladies. Consequently, his scripts had to be snappy and laced with bawdy humor and innuendo to keep the audience coming back. While some of Shakespeare’s double entendres have survived the editors’ quills over the centuries, most of what we see in the editions taught in schools is muted and laced with safe footnotes that do more to conceal Shakespeare’s intent than to illuminate it. As an example, in Act 1 scene 3, the nurse, a comic character known for her bawdy humor, swears by “by my holidam” which Folger describes as referring to a holy relic while Papidinis explains that what she was swearing on was her “holy place”, an oath that, if accompanied by appropriate body language from the performer, could have an entirely different meaning.This version of Romeo and Juliet is as it appeared when the First Folio was first published in 1623 so its spelling and punctuation is a little more challenging to read than the modernized versions. It doesn’t take long, though, for the reader to catch on that, if read phonetically, such lines as “sailes upon the bosome of the ayre” are easily understood.I also like that Papadinis carries on the format seen in Folger editions of putting the text of the play on the left page and the annotations on the right. This makes it a lot easier to read the annotations and still keep you place.*Quotations are cited from an advanced reading copy and may not be the same as appears in the final published edition. The review copy of this book was obtained from the publisher via the LibraryThing Early Reader Program.

[hvymetalmg · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Thanks to TV and movies, I knew the basic premise of this book before even reading it. Thus, when I read it I was not really impressed. To be fair, I skimmed through it, but nothing stood out that made me want to read it. Damn Hollywood.

[summer_missfictional · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I'm giving Romeo and Juliet 3 stars because the writing was brilliant. I must admit, Shakespeare was a master in this aspect; in others, not so much. Oh how much I loathe the characters of Romeo and Juliet. But Mercutio was pretty awesome.

[06nwingert · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Underage, star-crossed lovers, gangs and drugs. What more can you ask for? I read Romeo and Juliet as an 11-year-old and fell in love with the aforementioned themes.

[engpunk77 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I don't get the hype. I find Romeo to be completely annoying and the story is just frustrating. Worse is trying to see modern film adaptations of the same story, where life-or-death lost messages is impossible. I don't see the point in reading this story except to promote cultural literacy (in which case, a plot summary would suffice).

[keksfan · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Bekannte Geschichte.Junge trifft Mädchen und sie verlieben sich. Eltern sind dagegen. Tragisches Ende. Der Stoff aus dem heute noch jeder dritte Liebesfilm besteht.

[ctpress_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

For never was a story of more woe
Than this of Juliet and her Romeo.Reading a Shakespeare-play and seeing one is two entirely different things. Having been to the Globe in London and experienced the magic of an evening with Shakespeare it seems a dry thing to "just" read the play. Still, reading it offers time to stop and contemplate and enjoy and savour all the famous quotes and lines of poetry.In this romantic tragedy there's plenty of over-the-top emotions, frantic pace, overwhelming love-songs and declarations of eternal bliss or eternal sorrow - it's just a thing you accept coming to Shakespeare. This is his world and it's just for us to drink it in.And although it's exaggerated the theme is eternal and universal - love - mixed with infatuation and madness - it's a force too powerful to be kept down - and it's explosive in the midst of a feud between two families. This emotional tour de force between Romeo and Juliet is something to be appraised and lamented at the same time. I'm not sure what Shakespeare does most. But both things are there. The admiration of such head-over-the-heels love and the warning against it's power to overwhelm and blinding the persons involved. Good Night, Good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow

[lhlogan1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It's a classic, but not really a favorite of mine.

[emilyrb · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

William Shakespeare's epic tale of comedy, tragedy, and love is a staple for romantic literature. When two adolescents from feuding families fall in love, their destinys' suddenly become intertwined, with neither able to live without the other.

[oscarwilde87_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

"Go hence, to have more talk of these sad things.Some shall be pardoned, and some punishèd.For never was a story of more woeThan this of Juliet and her Romeo."So ends the play Romeo and Juliet which is probably the most popular play by William Shakespeare. You will have a hard time finding someone who has never heard of its plot. It is a timeless tragedy of two star-crossed lovers finding eternal love in death. While it is one thing to read the script on paper, it is a truly amazing experience to see it performed on stage. The play explores themes that will never be out of date: friendship, love, family rivalry, desperation, and mourning, to name but a few. It is well worth having a closer look at Romeo's relation to love and whether he is really in love with Rosaline or Juliet or just in love with the feeling of being in love. Then there is Romeo's unlikely friendship to Mercutio, two very different characters. Generally, there are many aspects to explore and with every new reading I discover yet another one. You might want to watch the 2014 Broadway performance with Orlando Bloom as Romeo. At least I enjoyed it very much. 5 stars. A true masterpiece.

[rose5716 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Romeo and Juliet has to be the greatest love story of all time. The comic and dramatic words of Shakespeare are simply breath taking. I loved the irony and always knowing what was going to happen at the end, but hoping, somehow some way their fate would not be true. This book gave me chills on almost every page. I think that the characters are very interesting and you can picture each one as you read. Reading the book as a script was also enjoyable because I was able to hear each character's voice in my head. This was a phenomenal book, and I would recommend it to anyone up for the challenging word plays, because it is well worth it.

[wendywen_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

this is a love story, and it is a tragedy.Remeo and Juliet's families are enemy. but in this story is told us if you are falling in love, everything will be possible, and you will be brave.

[aebert_8 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Romeo and Juliet is a romantic play written by the famous playwright William Shakespeare. This play shows an in-depth story about two lovers who suffer a tragic end. Their love is denied through the play because the two Montague and Capulet families are sworn enemies. This book is written from many different perspectives and characters. This book focuses on the two main characters, Romeo and Juliet, but it also focuses on many other characters; such as Friar Lawrence, Tybalt and Benvolio.Romeo and Juliet tells the tragic tale of two star crossed lovers who met by fate. Their fateful meeting was followed by a series of unfortunate events after they found out they were sworn enemies by name. The Montague and Capulet families had been fighting each other for centuries but Romeo and Juliet found each other and were united by love. Romeo hastily proposed to Juliet and they were married by Friar Lawrence. Their marriage had to be kept secret and they were in constant danger of being caught together.Romeo and Juliet is a very sad story that ends in tragedy and death. Both the main characters die at the end play after they making many bad choices and by keeping their marriage secret. This book was originated from the famous play ‘Romeo and Juliet’ which was written and directed by William Shakespeare. Shakespeare used smart writing techniques to engage the audience and readers. Romeo and Juliet’s unfortunate deaths are caused by bad choices made by close friends and enemies. Throughout the play, both Romeo and Juliet constantly tempt their fate by making bad choices, which finally ends in their unfortunate, early demise. In the end, Romeo and Juliet both suffer a painful and emotional death which was caused by bad choices and unlucky timing; this is the classic ending of William Shakespeare’s famous play ‘Romeo and Juliet’.In my opinion, I think that Romeo and Juliet is a very confusing book but it is also very exciting and enjoyable. Shakespeare indelicately uses insults and cussing in arguments instead of harsh swearing or foul language. By doing this, he makes the reader think about what the characters are saying and it makes the book much more interesting. This book has unfortunate and avoidable deaths which intensify situations and make the book more emotional. I rate this book 9 out of 10 because it was a perfectly written book over 500 years ago, and even till this day, it is still considered one of the best plays/books ever written.

[fufuakaspeechless_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Shakespeare has a nice writing style, but Romeo and Juliet were really stupid, so I'm feeling this was just okay. It wasn't true love as much as it was infatuation.

[elizabeth1929-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Ah. The tragic story of Romeo and Juliet. After years and years of hearing what its about, I finally got to read the story for myself. And what a wonderfully tragic story is was. First thing that surprized me was the sexual stuff. Well, I didn't know it was referring to sexual stuff until the teacher pointed it out, but still. I also realised how unrealistic this play is. I mean, two people falling in love at first sight, getting married before the week is over, and dying because of each other is something that I don't see happening in real life. And I'm so glad it doesn't.

[agdbk · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I love Shakespeare. I simply detest this play.

[brettjames · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

You know, it's a play written in the sixteen hundreds. Not a bad read as far as these things go, but only the sort of thing you read in school or when you're going to put on the play

[tiffanyak_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a great romantic tragedy, which I had to read for my Intro. to Drama class. This is one of those works of Shakespeare that has been done in a multitude of forms and variations, so it is quite likely that everyone has a rough idea of the story. Still, you really cannot replace the original. There is a lot of unbelievable story to it, which can overdo it to the point of being distracting, but overall the language and story are so supremely memorable that it automatically qualifies as a must-read. As to the edition itself, I found it to be greatly helpful in understanding the action in the play. It has a layout which places each page of the play opposite a page of notes, definitions, explanations, and other things needed to understand that page more thoroughly. While I didn't always need it, I was certainly glad to have it whenever I ran into a turn of language that was unfamiliar, and I definitely appreciated the scene-by-scene summaries. Really, if you want to or need to read Shakespeare, an edition such as this is really the way to go, especially until you get more accustomed to it.

[eddy_liu2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

11/04/11Romeo & Juliet is a dramatic play and a beautiful story written by William Shakespeare. It is a tragic love story between two households that held a grudge against each other and is set in Verona, Italy, Elizabethan times. When Romeo saw Juliet, he fell in love with her instantly. Even though Juliet was a Capulet, Romeo took his chances and confessed his love for her. Like all love stories, she felt the same way about him, but this love was forbidden by both households. Juliet's cousin Tybalt, finds out the forbidden love between Romeo and Juliet. He kills Romeo's best friend Mercutio, and Romeo kills Tybalt out of rage. Because of such violence, Romeo is forced out of Verona's boundaries. Juliet is forced into a marriage with Paris, the Prince's friend. Knowing that, Juliet takes a sleeping potion that lasts for a few hours. Everyone grieved, thinking she was dead. Sadly, the message did not get to Romeo. Having Romeo thinking Juliet's dead, he takes a trip to the Apothecary, purchasing a tube of poison. He enters Juliet's room, and just as she wakes up, he drinks the poison and dies. Seeing Romeo dead, Juliet takes Romeo's dagger and stabs herself and dies. The death of the son and daughter of two families ended their grudge and from then on, the Montagues and Capulets were friends, not enemies.The Character that interested me the most was Romeo, as his personality and features changed throughout the story, and that is what makes me like him the most. At first, when he is introduced into the story, he is gloomy and lovesick about a girl named Rosalyn, but as time flashes, he sees Juliet and falls for her. This is when he changed and made a big effect on me as he suddenly forgot about Rosalyn and cared about nothing but Juliet. He started becoming more hasty in his actions as he slays Tybalt, and gets forced out of Verona. Another incident that made a big impression on me was when he found out that Juliet was dead, he did not check for himself, and instead he hastily purchased a vile of poison and drank it seeing Juliet lying unconscious. Although he was hasty and impatient, he was truly brave and his courage made him my favourite character throughout the story.The main theme of this story taught us about love and how it can affect a person's life, how it can change a person's characteristics. It also gives us a message not to be too hasty in our actions as we may regret it later on in life. It tells us not to give in on life because of one thing, as more good things will come. Letting one bad thing past is always better than stopping all the good things that are to come, this is the most important theme. It is conveyed through the language throughout the whole story. It is easily understandable if the reader is paying attention to every scene. Shakespeare's purpose of this text was to share some experiences he had in life, so that everyone that read his stories could understand him more and live life to the fullest.

[borg6mx5 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The classic play. Some of the finest dialogue in the English language. This is a student edition with additional materials and illustrations.

[katieloucks · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

great classic

[newskepticx · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

This is a tragedy in the sense that Shakespeare did so much better with his other plays. This one is weak. The amount of coincidence is down right ridiculous, Shakespeare plays way too much into the "love" for a tale that is supposed to be cautionary(or so I think it might've been senseless fighting between two families led to tragic deaths, never really capitalizes on it til the end). It's also the standard for classic love story although it is nothing of the sort. I despised it.

[meditationesmartini · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

As long as you remind yourself that this is teen melodrama and not tragedy the essential vapidity of the central relationship and the frustratingly buried deeper and more complex relationships--actually all Romeo's, with Mercutio but also Benvolio, Tybalt, the priest--don't get in the way of good tawdry enjoyment. Now I think about it, Romeo's like a cryptohomoerotic sixteenth-century Archie.

[ablueidol · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Yes studied at school but I have seen it at Stratford with my wife on a wedding anniversary. I had the pleasure of criticising the production and performance and then seeing this confirmed by the theatre critics in the serious papers-evidence that some of the reading and study has sank in!

[missboyer3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

When two star-crossed lovers meet, it's love at first sight. Despite being from rival families, Romeo and Juliet forsake their own families and risk everything to be together, which ends in tragedy.

[dukefan86 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Beautiful language, classic Shakespeare.