Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career. It was among his most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with Hamlet, is one of his most frequently performed plays. The plot is based on an Italian tale translated into verse as The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet by Arthur Brooke in 1562 and retold in prose in Palace of Pleasure by William Painter in 1567.
About Romeo and Juliet in brief
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career. It was among Shakespeare’s most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with Hamlet, is one of his most frequently performed plays. The plot is based on an Italian tale translated into verse as The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet by Arthur Brooke in 1562 and retold in prose in Palace of Pleasure by William Painter in 1567. Shakespeare borrowed heavily from both but expanded the plot by developing a number of supporting characters, particularly Mercutio and Paris. The play, set in Verona, Italy, begins with a street brawl between Montague and Capulet servants who, like their masters, are sworn enemies. 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. 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. Romeo secretly spends the night in Juliet’s chamber, where they consummate their marriage. The next day, Capulet’s grief, now having lost a kinsman in the warring families’ feud, Juliet agrees to marry Paris.
Tybalt, meanwhile, is enraged at Romeo for sneaking into the ball but is only 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 called the ‘balcony scene’, Romeo and Juliet’s love is consummated in the orchard. The couple then go on to marry in front of a crowd of onlookers at a ball in the Montague orchard the following night. The following day, Romeo secretly returns to Verona to marry Juliet, under penalty of death if he ever returns to the Capulets. The pair then meet again at the ball and are married in the garden of Capulet’ s home. The lovers then go to the ball in Veronas, where Romeo secretly meets and falls in love with Juliet. The final scene sees Romeo secretly spend the night with Juliet in her chamber, and the couple consummating their marriage the next night in the Orchard. They then go back to the party, where Juliet tells him she loves him and he tells her that he loves her back. The scene ends with Romeo secretly returning to the Montagu orchard to tell her he is the son of Montague’s son, Montague, and that he will marry her the following day. The story ends with the couple secretly married in a secret ceremony in the Capuellas’ orchard, and Romeo secretly spending the night at Juliet’s house.
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This page is based on the article Romeo and Juliet published in Wikipedia (as of Nov. 16, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
