Romeo and Juliet
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Wikipedia-Article "Romeo"
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For other meanings see Romeo (disambiguation) and Juliet (disambiguation)
Romeo and Juliet is a famous play by William Shakespeare concerning the fate of two young lovers. It is, perhaps, the most famous of his plays today.
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History of the story
The story originates from a 1476 story of Mariotto and Gianozza by Masuccio Salernitano, in Il Novelino. Luigi da Porto's Istoria novellamente ritrovata di due Nobili Amanti gave the story much of its modern form, renaming the lovers to Romeus and Giulietta and shifting the action from Siena to Verona. Da Porto's story was taken up and included by Matteo Bandello in his Novelle of 1554, and translated to English by Arthur Brooke, whose narrative poem "Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet", written in 1562, was the source for Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare enriched its texture through his vivid characterizations of both major and minor characters, in particular the Nurse and Mercutio.
Plot
The play begins with a 14-line prologue in the form of a sonnet. The chorus explains to the audience that the story concerns two noble families of Verona, the Montagues and the Capulets, that have feuded for generations. The chorus also tells how the tragic suicide of the lovers "[buries] their parents' strife," ending the conflict.
Act I
The action starts with a typical street-brawl between the two families, started by their servants and put down by the Prince of Verona. The Prince declares that the heads of the two families (known simply as "Montague" and "Capulet") will be held personally accountable (with their lives) for any further breach of the peace, and disperses the crowd.
Paris, a young nobleman, talks to Capulet about marrying his thirteen-year-old daughter Juliet. Capulet demurs, citing the girl's tender years, and invites him to attract the attention of Juliet during a ball that the family is to hold a day later. Meanwhile Juliet's mother tries to persuade her young daughter to accept Paris's wooing during their coming ball. Juliet does not want Paris, but, being a dutiful daughter, accedes to her mother's wishes. This scene also introduces Juliet's nurse, the comic relief of the play, who recounts a bawdy anecdote about Juliet at great length and with much repetition.
In the meantime, Montague and his wife fret to their nephew Benvolio about their son Romeo, who has long been moping for reasons unknown to them. Benvolio promises Montague that he will try to determine the cause. Benvolio queries Romeo and finds that his melancholy has its roots in his unrequited love for Capulet's niece, a girl named Rosaline (an unseen character). Romeo is infatuated but laments that she will not "ope her lap to saint-seducing gold." Benvolio tries to snap Romeo out of his dark mood, to no avail: despite the good-natured taunts of his fellows, including the witty nobleman Mercutio (who gives his well known Queen Mab speech), Romeo resolves to attend the masque at the Capulet house, relying on not being spotted in his costume, in the hopes of meeting up with Rosaline.
Romeo attends the ball as planned, but he does not see Rosaline and falls instead for Juliet. They proclaim their love for one another with their "love sonnet".
Tybalt, Juliet's hot-blooded cousin, recognizes Romeo under his disguise and calls for his sword. Capulet, however, speaks kindly of Romeo and, having resolved that his family will not be first to violate the Prince's decree, sternly forbids Tybalt from confronting Romeo. Tybalt stalks off in a huff. Before the ball ends, the Nurse identifies Juliet for Romeo, and (separately) identifies Romeo for Juliet.
Act II
Emboldened, Romeo risks his life by remaining on the Capulet estate after the party breaks up, to catch another glimpse of Juliet at her room, and in the famous balcony scene, the two eloquently declare their love for each other. The young lovers decide to marry without informing their parents, because they would undoubtedly disallow it due to the hate between the clans and the planned union between Paris and Juliet.
Juliet sends the nurse to find Romeo. Accompanied by one Peter, who carries her fan, the nurse exchanges some spicy raillery with the bawdy Mercutio.
With the help of Juliet's Nurse and the Franciscan priest Friar Lawrence, the two are wedded the next day. Friar Lawrence performs the ceremony, hoping to bring the two families to peace with each other through their mutual union.
Act III
Events take a darker turn. Tybalt, still smarting from the incident at the Capulets' ball, meets up with Romeo and attempts to provoke a sword fight. Romeo refuses to fight Tybalt because they are now kinsmen - although Tybalt doesn't know it, as he doesn't yet know that Romeo has married Juliet. Mercutio, who is also unaware of the marriage, is incensed by Tybalt's insolence - and Romeo's seeming indifference - and takes up the challenge himself. In the ensuing swordplay, Romeo attempts to allay Mercutio's anger, momentarily placing his arm around him. By doing so, however, Romeo inadvertently allows Mercutio to be fatally wounded by Tybalt. Mercutio dies, wishing "a plague on both your houses." Romeo, in his anger, slays Tybalt. Although under the Prince of Verona's proclamation Romeo (and Montague and Capulet, as well) would be subject to the death penalty, the Prince instead fines the head of each house, and reduces Romeo's punishment to exile in recognition that Tybalt had killed Mercutio, who had not only been Romeo's friend but a relative of the Prince. Romeo flees to Mantua after making love to Juliet.
Just after Romeo leaves Juliet's bedroom unseen, Capulet breaks the news to his daughter Juliet that he has agreed to fix the date of Paris and Juliet's wedding as three days hence, to console her perceived mourning for Tybalt, although it's Romeo's exile she is upset about. Unwilling to enter this arranged marriage, telling her parents that she will not marry, and when she does, "it shall be Romeo, whom you know I hate." Capulet flies into a rage.
Act IV
Friar Lawrence, a dabbler in herbal medicines and potions, gives Juliet a potion and a plan: the potion will put her in a death-like coma for two and forty hours; she is to take it before her marriage day, and when discovered dead, she will be laid in the family crypt. Meanwhile, the Friar will send a messenger to inform Romeo, so that he can rejoin her when she awakes. The two can then leave for Mantua and live happily ever after. Juliet takes the potion, and things proceed as planned.
Act V
The Friar's messenger is unable to reach Romeo due to Mantua being under quarantine, and Romeo learns only of Juliet's supposed "death" through a family servant. Grief-stricken, he buys some strong poison, returns to Verona in secret, and proceeds to the Capulets' crypt, determined to join Juliet in death. Upon arrival he encounters Paris, who has also come to mourn privately for his lost love. After killing Paris in a duel, Romeo drinks the poison after seeing Juliet one last time, exclaiming: "O true apothecary! Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die.." (Act 5. Scene III)
Friar Lawrence then arrives and, entering upon the room, finds the dead bodies of Romeo and Paris. It is at this point that Juliet awakes and, seeing the surrounding death, seeks answers. Friar Lawrence, afraid of being apprehended by the city guards, urges Juliet to flee with him. Knowing all is lost, she replies to the Friar's offer with "Go, get thee hence, for I will not away." (Act 5. Scene III) Juliet cannot imagine a rewarding life without Romeo and so she stabs herself fatally with his dagger. The two lovers lie dead side by side, devoted until the last breath of life.
Romeo, Juliet, and Paris are found dead shortly thereafter by a squire, who runs off to alert others. As word spreads throughout Verona about the deaths, the two feuding families and the Prince converge upon the tomb. They are horrified to find Romeo, Juliet, and Paris all lying dead, and Friar Lawrence (who has hurried to the crypt but is too late to prevent the tragedy) reveals to them the love and secret marriage of Romeo and Juliet. The feuding families are reconciled by their children's deaths and agree to end their violent feud, as explained by the prologue. The play ends with the Prince saying, "A glooming peace this morning with it brings; The sun for sorrow will not show his head. Go hence, to have more talk of these sad things; Some shall be pardon'd, and some punished; For never was a story of more woe Than this of Juliet and her Romeo."
Commentary
Like most of Shakespeare's plays, the greater part of Romeo and Juliet is written in iambic pentameter. However, the play is also notable for its copious use of rhymed verse, notably in the sonnet contained in Romeo and Juliet's dialogue in the scene where they first meet. This sonnet figures Romeo as a blushing pilgrim (palmer) praying before an image of the Virgin Mary, as many persons in early-sixteenth-century England did at shrines such as the shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham.[1] Because of its use of rhyme, its extravagant expressions of love, its Italian theme, and its implausible plot, Romeo and Juliet is considered to belong to Shakespeare's "lyrical period", along with the similarly poetic plays A Midsummer Night's Dream and Richard II.
Romeo and Juliet is one of the earlier works in the Shakespearean canon, and while it is often classified as a tragedy, it does not bear the hallmarks of the 'great tragedies' like Hamlet and Macbeth. Some argue that Romeo and Juliet's demise does not stem from their own individual flaws, but from the actions of others or from accidents. Unlike the great tragedies, Romeo and Juliet is more a tragedy of mistiming and ill fate. However, others consider rashness and youth to be the tragic flaws of Romeo and Juliet.
The play's most famous line is widely misunderstood. The word "wherefore" means "why", not "where", so when Juliet calls from the balcony, "O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?" she is asking why his name (by implication, his family's name) makes him an enemy of her family, as the next lines make clear: "Deny thy father, and refuse thy name ... that which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet." (This instance has led to a more widespread misuse of "wherefore".)
Farce
It has been noted that the plot of Romeo and Juliet is more that of a farce or comedy of errors than a tragedy, except that it lacks the vital last-minute save and everyone dies at the end instead of living happily ever after. It can also be argued that not all is woe at the end. A long-running feud is ended, although at the price of the two lovers' lives, thus, no doubt, future deaths have been prevented.
Italy
In this pre-modern time Italy did not yet exist and its warring Communes stood divided, many of them against the interests of the Catholic Church - particularly in the Verona and Venice areas, (Venice would become known as a thorn in the side of the Church in the 1500s). The play attacks the Catholic Church (largely to please Queen Elizabeth).
Adaptations
There have been quite a few adaptations of Romeo and Juliet, created for many media.
Plays
Other versions of the Romeo and Juliet play had been made, which had the "culture" of where the play was made as the "setting". For instance, a version of the play which had Romeo as a Palestinian and Juliet as a Jew in Israel and the Palestinian territories was made, which criticizes the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
An updated version of Romeo and Juliet called Romeo/Juliet Remixed (or R0M30/JUL137 R3M1X3D) is set to a rave dance floor background with a kick-boxing Juliet and an Ecstasy taking Romeo. Before the play begins, this interactive show features your choice of glowsticks (pink if you choose to be a Montague, yellow if you choose to be a Capulet,) an escort to a mock dance club called "Club Verona" where you dance and mingle with the cast and other audience members as well as cheer on your crew of breakdancing Montagues or Capulets, and a chance to be on the venue's big screen. Romeo and Juliet communicate via cell phone and text messaging.
Opera
The story was converted into the opera Roméo et Juliette by Charles François Gounod in 1867 with a libretto written by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré.
The Romeo and Juliet story was also the subject of Vincenzo Bellini's opera I Capuleti e i Montecchi, although Bellini and his librettist, Felice Romani, worked from Italian sources, and these were only distantly related to Shakespeare's work.
Ballet
Several ballet adaptations of the story have been made, the first written in the 18th century. The best known feature music by Sergei Prokofiev, and a variety of choreographers have used this music. The first version featuring Prokofiev's music was performed in 1938. See: Romeo and Juliet (Prokofiev)
Musical
The musical West Side Story, also made into a film, is based on Romeo and Juliet but updates the story to mid-20th century New York City and the warring families to ethnic gangs.
Roméo et Juliette, de la Haine à l'Amour, a musical by Gérard Presgurvic, premiered on January 19, 2001 in the Palais de Congrès in Paris, France. It attracted already (2005) six million people.
The song "Exit Music (For a Film)" by Radiohead was made for the 1996 movie version (see below) of Romeo and Juliet and is sung from the point of view of someone waking up his lover and inviting them to join them in escaping from the oppression of their respective families through suicide.
Instrumental Music
Among the instrumental pieces inspired by the play are Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet, Fantasty Overture after Shakespeare and Hector Berlioz's Roméo et Juliette "Symphonie dramatique", although the latter does have substantial vocal parts. Prokofiev also created three orchestra suites and a piano suite, Romeo and Juliet: Ten Pieces for Piano, based on the music from his ballet.
Movie versions
There have been over forty movie versions of the tale, with the first in 1900. Some of the more notable adaptations include:
- 1936 - Romeo and Juliet, produced by Irving Thalberg and directed by George Cukor
- The 1936 screen version was one of the more notable of Classical Hollywood. Thalberg spared no expense, and showcased his wife, Norma Shearer, in the lead role. Romeo was played by Leslie Howard, John Barrymore was Mercutio, and Andy Devine was Peter, the servant to Juliet's nurse. However, the film was criticized because Howard and Shearer were both far too old for the roles.
- Academy Awards nominations:
- Best Picture - Irving Thalberg, producer
- Best Actor in a Supporting Role - Basil Rathbone - as Tybalt
- Best Actress - Norma Shearer
- Best Art Direction - Cedric Gibbons, Fredric Hope and Edwin B. Willis
- 1954 - Romeo and Juliet directed by Renato Castellani.
- A notable Italian production with a strong cast and a colourful setting. The cast includes Galina Ulanova, Laurence Harvey, Bolshoi Ballet, Mervyn Johns, Flora Robson, Yuri Zhdanov and Susan Shentall.
- 1968 - Romeo and Juliet, directed by Franco Zeffirelli
- Filmed in Italy, the performance of the young Olivia Hussey as Juliet has been considered truly inspired by some, as weak by others. It won Oscars for best cinematography and best costume design, and was nominated for Best Director. It also starred Leonard Whiting as Romeo - he was seen as 'the next big thing' in film at the time, but his career did not match up to expectations. This version is often considered the definitive one, if measured only by viewing in American high schools.
- 1978 - Romeo and Juliet, directed by Alvin Rakoff
- for the BBC Television Shakespeare series. This production is generally unregarded due to its inexperienced stars and low production values, although Alan Rickman's Tybalt is watchable.
- 1983 - Romeo and Juliet, directed by William Woodman
- This film features an excellent set of costumes. The cast includes Alex Hyde-White, Blanche Baker, Esther Rolle, Dan Hamilton, and Frederic Hehne.
- 1996 - Romeo + Juliet, directed by Baz Luhrmann
- Starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes in the title roles, Luhrmann gave the famous tale a modern setting. This radical interpretation of the play is either loved or loathed by filmgoers, but its art direction and cinematography are undeniably impressive.
- At the Berlin International Film Festival 1997, it won:
- Best Actor (Leonardo DiCaprio)
- Alfred Bauer Prize
- Academy Awards 1996 nominations:
- Best Art Direction (Catherine Martin)
- Set Decoration (Brigitte Broch)
- 1996 - Tromeo and Juliet, directed by Lloyd Kaufman
- The Troma team put their own inimitable spin on the story, setting it in Manhattan in a punk milieu. Lemmy from Motörhead narrates.
- 2005 - Romeo & Juliet directed by Dave LaChapelle
- Featuring Tamyra Gray as Juliet, Gus Carr as Romeo, and Mary J. Blige, this is a 10 minute promotional advertisement for the H&M clothing company. Released in September 2005, this commercial was shown online (H&M website) and during the trailers of certain theatrical films, and featured the new & denim selection. In this musical remake which features background music provided by Mary J. Blige, Romeo is gunned down in a drive-by shooting and Juliet sings over his body while he bleeds to death on the street. Due to many complaints that the commercial glamorized gang violence and was H&M's attempt to use gun culture to sell their jeans to teenagers, H&M subsequently withdrew the ad from Canadian & U.S. markets and issued an apology.
The film West Side Story set in 1960's New York City was based on the story of Romeo and Juliet, with Capulet and Montague exchanged for the Jets and Sharks.
Shakespeare in Love is a fictional account of how Shakespeare writes the play against the clock inspired by his love of an upper-class woman.
Allusions
- Dire Straits' 1980 album Making Movies had a hit song "Romeo and Juliet", in which the lovestruck singer imagines himself in Romeo's image, as his girlfriend's parents disapprove of him. The Indigo Girls covered this song on their album Rites of Passage.
- The 2003 musical remake of Reefer Madness featured a song "Romeo and Juliet" in which a pair of young lovers compare themselves to Romeo and Juliet, having only read the first half of the play, and mistakenly assuming the ending to be happy.
- The Arctic Monkeys song I Bet You Look Good On the Dance Floor mentions the Montagues and Capulets.
- The Blue Öyster Cult song "Don't Fear the Reaper" mentions Romeo and Juliet.
External links
- Romeo and Juliet - The electronic text in Italian of the original story
- Search and analyze Romeo and Juliet on-line or in a downloadable eBook.
- Romeo and Juliet - plain vanilla text from Project Gutenberg
- Romeo and Juliet - searchable, indexed version from shakespeare-literature.com
- Romeo and Juliet - HTML version of this title.
- Romeo and Juliet - HTML version at MIT
- Study guide of the play
- The history of the story at OperaWorld.com
- Mondophoto.net - 212 photos of Verona
Wikipedia-Article "Juliet"
- For other uses, see Juliet (disambiguation).
Juliet is one of the title characters in William Shakespeare's tragedy Romeo and Juliet. The story has a long history that precedes Shakespeare himself. The heroine's name was Giulietta in some earlier versions. It had become Juliet by the time Arthur Brooke wrote his narrative poem.
Juliet is the young daughter of a respected family in Verona, headed by Lord and Lady Capulet. She was their first child. She apparently had younger siblings at some point, but by the time of the play, she was their only surviving child. Capulet mentions "Earth has swallowed all my hopes but she; | She's the hopeful lady of my earth" (1.2.14-15). Juliet is the sole heir to the Capulets. As the story occurs, Juliet is just shy of her fourteenth birthday. She was born on "Lammas Eve at night," so Juliet's birthday is probably July 31 or August 1 (1.3.19). Her birthday is "a fortnight and odd days" hence, putting the action of the play in mid-July (1.3.17).
Shakespeare's Juliet was very young; in earlier versions of the story she was at least sixteen. In many cultures and time periods women did and do marry and bear children at such a young age, but in Shakespeare's England, most women were at least 21 before they did so. It may be that Shakespeare wanted his Juliet surprisingly young to send the message that young love and hurried marriage can lead to trouble. He may have been highlighting the innocence and purity of Juliet. He may also have been playing to his audience. Romeo and Juliet is a play about Italian families. The average English playgoer in Shakespeare's audience had never met an Italian person, and it was commonly thought that they were quite exotic, the Italian male passionate and emotional, and the Italian female precocious and quite ready to become a mother by thirteen. Lady Capulet had given birth to Juliet by the time she had reached Juliet's age: "I was your mother much upon these years that you are now a maid" (1.3.74-75). The play celebrates youth while pointing out its impulsiveness, passion, and idealism, qualities which contribute to the tragedy. The adolescent infatuation of the lovers become elevated to the status of sacred love.
The play takes place over a time span of less than one week. Within these few days, young Juliet is thrust into adulthood with little warning. During the play she is courted by a potential husband, falls in love, marries illicitly, loses her virginity, experiences the death of a cousin she is close to, is threatened and nearly disowned by both of her parents, is betrayed by the nurse who raised her from infancy, becomes suicidal, spends nearly two days drugged to unconsciousness, is widowed, and commits suicide next to the body of her husband. She is often considered the true hero of the play, acting as a sounding board and balance against impulsive Romeo, and taking control of situations with a maturity beyond her age. She sets the boundaries of behavior in her relationship with Romeo. She allows him to kiss her, she pledges her commitment before he, she suggests their marriage, she accepts Romeo even after he kills her cousin, she provides the rope ladder he uses to visit her on their wedding night, she bravely takes a drug that simulates her death, and she does all this while fending off her parents' plans for her wedding, lying when necessary. Juliet believes she is doing the right thing all along. Finally, when she is left with no one and Romeo is dead before her, she ends her life, and in a somewhat violent manner at that.
In Juliet's first scene, she demonstrates her obedience and lack of experience in the world. She has not given marriage a second thought but she does want to do what her mother asks. It is high time that Juliet go the route Lady Capulet went in her youth, and be married to a rich and powerful gentleman. The County Paris is a bit of a bystander in the play, unwittingly mixed up in the drama between the families. He and Juliet have probably never even met as the play unfolds. His interest in her is based on her social standing and her family's wealth. He politely and nobly asks Capulet for her hand, and apparently would like for her to begin bearing his children as soon as physically possible: "Younger than she are happy mothers made" (1.2.12). Juliet, on the other hand, has no interest in becoming a wife: "(Marriage) is an honour that I dream not of" (1.3.68). Even her father considers her too young to settle down. This may be a reflection on his feelings about his own wife, who might have been happier waiting a few years before marrying him. He tells Paris to let Juliet grow up for a few more years before planning marriage (1.2.10-11). Of course, Juliet's mind on the matter changes within a few minutes of meeting Romeo. His very presence seems to propel her toward maturity, and her decisions are made quickly but thoughtfully from that point forward.
Romeo too seems to achieve depth through his intense love with Juliet. When compared to the pining and frustration he exhibited during his crush on Rosaline, his behavior toward Juliet and her family and his attitude in general both show a level of great maturity. The feud that one day had seemed all-encompassing now makes no sense. Much of Romeo's dialog with Juliet is an intricate pattern of words. Sometimes their rhyming couplets come together to create a poem. This symbolizes their union, and shows that Juliet can easily match Romeo in wordplay.
Juliet is intelligent and can be very calculating. At several points, she misleads others without actually lying. When she meets Paris at the Friar's chamber, and he offers her a kiss to tide her over until their upcoming wedding, she tells him she will certainly not be marrying him in a way that is clear to the audience, which knows all, but sounds merely shy and modest to her suitor. Similarly, as she and her mother grieve over Tybalt, Juliet shapes her words carefully so that her mother concludes that Juliet would like to see Romeo dead but that the audience can see how faithful to her husband she is. "Indeed, I never shall be satisfied | With Romeo until I behold him -dead- | Is my poor heart so for a kinsman vexed" (3.5.93-95).
When Juliet is compared to Romeo, she seems more grounded but also more imaginative. When Romeo gets lost in poetry, she brings him back down to reality. "O swear not by the moon, th' inconstant moon, | That monthly changes in her circled orb, | Lest that thy love prove likewise variable" (2.1.151-152). The balance and reversal of gender roles between the characters becomes clear when Romeo exhibits traditionally "feminine" traits such as bursting into tears, while Juliet shows "masculine" resolve and logically assesses the situation at hand without letting emotion sway her. When Romeo kills Tybalt, she is momentarily furious, but then calms down when she realizes that Romeo would have been killed if he had not taken such an action. She fantasizes without being swept away. She happily dreams about her sexual union with Romeo, and talks herself out of intense fear when anticipating awakening in her family's tomb.
It is not clear exactly why Romeo and Juliet love each other, beyond immediate physical attraction. They were married not 24 hours after their first meeting. Fate plays a constant role in the story. Their love is "death-marked" (1.1.9), the lovers are "star-crossed" (1.1.6), and Romeo feels he is being led by the stars like a ship is steered by its pilot. The idea may be that the heirs to these two families were fated to end up together to end the feud, and their deaths may or may not have been part of that fate. The play may be interpreted differently according to the whim of the reader or viewer. The series of disastrous events that leads to their deaths may have been just a part of the destiny, or it may have been what shattered the fate and made the story a true tragedy. Either way, peace comes to the families.
Casa di Giulietta
In Verona, Italy, there is a house which has been turned into a tourist attraction claiming to be the "Capulets'" house, even though, if they existed, they were probably Italian. Features include a statue of Juliet, the balcony, and lovely architecture.
References
- Bevington, David, Ed. Romeo and Juliet, The Bantam Shakespeare (New York, 1988)
- Levenson, Jill L., Ed. Romeo and Juliet, The Oxford Shakespeare (Oxford, 2000)