romeo and juliet summary essay

A Summary and Analysis of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

Although it was first performed in the 1590s, the first  documented  performance of Romeo and Juliet is from 1662. The diarist Samuel Pepys was in the audience, and recorded that he ‘saw “Romeo and Juliet,” the first time it was ever acted; but it is a play of itself the worst that ever I heard in my life, and the worst acted that ever I saw these people do.’

Despite Pepys’ dislike, the play is one of Shakespeare’s best-loved and most famous, and the story of Romeo and Juliet is well known. However, the play has become so embedded in the popular psyche that Shakespeare’s considerably more complex play has been reduced to a few key aspects: ‘star-cross’d lovers’, a teenage love story, and the suicide of the two protagonists.

In the summary and analysis that follow, we realise that Romeo and Juliet is much more than a tragic love story.

Romeo and Juliet : brief summary

After the Prologue has set the scene – we have two feuding households, Montagues and Capulets, in the city-state of Verona; and young Romeo is a Montague while Juliet, with whom Romeo is destined to fall in love, is from the Capulet family, sworn enemies of the Montagues – the play proper begins with servants of the two feuding households taunting each other in the street.

When Benvolio, a member of house Montague, arrives and clashes with Tybalt of house Capulet, a scuffle breaks out, and it is only when Capulet himself and his wife, Lady Capulet, appear that the fighting stops. Old Montague and his wife then show up, and the Prince of Verona, Escalus, arrives and chastises the people for fighting. Everyone leaves except Old Montague, his wife, and Benvolio, Montague’s nephew. Benvolio tells them that Romeo has locked himself away, but he doesn’t know why.

Romeo appears and Benvolio asks his cousin what is wrong, and Romeo starts speaking in paradoxes, a sure sign that he’s in love. He claims he loves Rosaline, but will not return any man’s love. A servant appears with a note, and Romeo and Benvolio learn that the Capulets are holding a masked ball.

Benvolio tells Romeo he should attend, even though he is a Montague, as he will find more beautiful women than Rosaline to fall in love with. Meanwhile, Lady Capulet asks her daughter Juliet whether she has given any thought to marriage, and tells Juliet that a man named Paris would make an excellent husband for her.

Romeo attends the Capulets’ masked ball, with his friend Mercutio. Mercutio tells Romeo about a fairy named Queen Mab who enters young men’s minds as they dream, and makes them dream of love and romance. At the masked ball, Romeo spies Juliet and instantly falls in love with her; she also falls for him.

They kiss, but then Tybalt, Juliet’s kinsman, spots Romeo and recognising him as a Montague, plans to confront him. Old Capulet tells him not to do so, and Tybalt reluctantly agrees. When Juliet enquires after who Romeo is, she is distraught to learn that he is a Montague and thus a member of the family that is her family’s sworn enemies.

Romeo breaks into the gardens of Juliet’s parents’ house and speaks to her at her bedroom window. The two of them pledge their love for each other, and arrange to be secretly married the following night. Romeo goes to see a churchman, Friar Laurence, who agrees to marry Romeo and Juliet.

After the wedding, the feud between the two families becomes violent again: Tybalt kills Mercutio in a fight, and Romeo kills Tybalt in retaliation. The Prince banishes Romeo from Verona for his crime.

Juliet is told by her father that she will marry Paris, so Juliet goes to seek Friar Laurence’s help in getting out of it. He tells her to take a sleeping potion which will make her appear to be dead for two nights; she will be laid to rest in the family vault, and Romeo (who will be informed of the plan) can secretly come to her there.

However, although that part of the plan goes fine, the message to Romeo doesn’t arrive; instead, he hears that Juliet has actually died. He secretly visits her at the family vault, but his grieving is interrupted by the arrival of Paris, who is there to lay flowers. The two of them fight, and Romeo kills him.

Convinced that Juliet is really dead, Romeo drinks poison in order to join Juliet in death. Juliet wakes from her slumber induced by the sleeping draught to find Romeo dead at her side. She stabs herself.

The play ends with Friar Laurence telling the story to the two feuding families. The Prince tells them to put their rivalry behind them and live in peace.

Romeo and Juliet : analysis

How should we analyse Romeo and Juliet , one of Shakespeare’s most famous and frequently studied, performed, and adapted plays? Is Romeo and Juliet the great love story that it’s often interpreted as, and what does it say about the play – if it is a celebration of young love – that it ends with the deaths of both romantic leads?

It’s worth bearing in mind that Romeo and Juliet do not kill themselves specifically because they are forbidden to be together, but rather because a chain of events (of which their families’ ongoing feud with each other is but one) and a message that never arrives lead to a misunderstanding which results in their suicides.

Romeo and Juliet is often read as both a tragedy and a great celebration of romantic love, but it clearly throws out some difficult questions about the nature of love, questions which are rendered even more pressing when we consider the headlong nature of the play’s action and the fact that Romeo and Juliet meet, marry, and die all within the space of a few days.

Below, we offer some notes towards an analysis of this classic Shakespeare play and explore some of the play’s most salient themes.

It’s worth starting with a consideration of just what Shakespeare did with his source material. Interestingly, two families known as the Montagues and Capulets appear to have actually existed in medieval Italy: the first reference to ‘Montagues and Capulets’ is, curiously, in the poetry of Dante (1265-1321), not Shakespeare.

In Dante’s early fourteenth-century epic poem, the  Divine Comedy , he makes reference to two warring Italian families: ‘Come and see, you who are negligent, / Montagues and Capulets, Monaldi and Filippeschi / One lot already grieving, the other in fear’ ( Purgatorio , canto VI). Precisely why the families are in a feud with one another is never revealed in Shakespeare’s play, so we are encouraged to take this at face value.

The play’s most famous line references the feud between the two families, which means Romeo and Juliet cannot be together. And the line, when we stop and consider it, is more than a little baffling. The line is spoken by Juliet: ‘Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?’ Of course, ‘wherefore’ doesn’t mean ‘where’ – it means ‘why’.

But that doesn’t exactly clear up the whys and the wherefores. The question still doesn’t appear to make any sense: Romeo’s problem isn’t his first name, but his family name, Montague. Surely, since she fancies him, Juliet is quite pleased with ‘Romeo’ as he is – it’s his family that are the problem. Solutions  have been proposed to this conundrum , but none is completely satisfying.

There are a number of notable things Shakespeare did with his source material. The Italian story ‘Mariotto and Gianozza’, printed in 1476, contained many of the plot elements of Shakespeare’s  Romeo and Juliet . Shakespeare’s source for the play’s story was Arthur Brooke’s  The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet  (1562), an English verse translation of this Italian tale.

The moral of Brooke’s tale is that young love ends in disaster for their elders, and is best reined in; Shakespeare changed that. In Romeo and Juliet , the headlong passion and excitement of young love is celebrated, even though confusion leads to the deaths of the young lovers. But through their deaths, and the example their love set for their parents, the two families vow to be reconciled to each other.

Shakespeare also makes Juliet a thirteen-year-old girl in his play, which is odd for a number of reasons. We know that  Romeo and Juliet  is about young love – the ‘pair of star-cross’d lovers’, who belong to rival families in Verona – but what is odd about Shakespeare’s play is how young he makes Juliet.

In Brooke’s verse rendition of the story, Juliet is sixteen. But when Shakespeare dramatised the story, he made Juliet several years younger, with Romeo’s age unspecified. As Lady Capulet reveals, Juliet is ‘not [yet] fourteen’, and this point is made to us several times, as if Shakespeare wishes to draw attention to it and make sure we don’t forget it.

This makes sense in so far as Juliet represents young love, but what makes it unsettling – particularly for modern audiences – is the fact that this makes Juliet a girl of thirteen when she enjoys her night of wedded bliss with Romeo. As John Sutherland puts it in his (and Cedric Watts’) engaging  Oxford World’s Classics: Henry V, War Criminal?: and Other Shakespeare Puzzles , ‘In a contemporary court of law [Romeo] would receive a longer sentence for what he does to Juliet than for what he does to Tybalt.’

There appears to be no satisfactory answer to this question, but one possible explanation lies in one of the play’s recurring themes: bawdiness and sexual familiarity. Perhaps surprisingly given the youthfulness of its tragic heroine, Romeo and Juliet is shot through with bawdy jokes, double entendres, and allusions to sex, made by a number of the characters.

These references to physical love serve to make Juliet’s innocence, and subsequent passionate romance with Romeo, even more noticeable: the journey both Romeo and Juliet undertake is one from innocence (Romeo pointlessly and naively pursuing Rosaline; Juliet unversed in the ways of love) to experience.

In the last analysis, Romeo and Juliet is a classic depiction of forbidden love, but it is also far more sexually aware, more ‘adult’, than many people realise.

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4 thoughts on “A Summary and Analysis of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet”

Modern reading of the play’s opening dialogue among the brawlers fails to parse the ribaldry. Sex scares the bejeepers out of us. Why? Confer “R&J.”

It’s all that damn padre’s fault!

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Romeo and Juliet

Synopsis and plot overview of shakespeare's romeo and juliet.

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TL;DR (may contain spoilers): The classic story of boy meets girl; girl's family hates boy's family; boy's family hates girl's family; boy kills girl's cousin; boy and girl kill themselves.

Romeo and Juliet Summary

An age-old vendetta between two powerful families erupts into bloodshed. A group of masked Montagues risk further conflict by gatecrashing a Capulet party. A young lovesick Romeo Montague falls instantly in love with Juliet Capulet, who is due to marry her father’s choice, the County Paris. With the help of Juliet’s nurse, the women arrange for the couple to marry the next day, but Romeo’s attempt to halt a street fight leads to the death of Juliet’s own cousin, Tybalt, for which Romeo is banished. In a desperate attempt to be reunited with Romeo, Juliet follows the Friar’s plot and fakes her own death. The message fails to reach Romeo, and believing Juliet dead, he takes his life in her tomb. Juliet wakes to find Romeo’s corpse beside her and kills herself. The grieving family agree to end their feud.

• Read our  Romeo and Juliet Character Summaries . 

More detail: 2 minute read

Romeo and Juliet begins as the Chorus introduces two feuding families of Verona: the Capulets and the Montagues. On a hot summer's day, the young men of each faction fight until the Prince of Verona intercedes and threatens to banish them. Soon after, the head of the Capulet family plans a feast. His goal is to introduce his daughter Juliet to a Count named Paris who seeks to marry Juliet. 

Montague's son Romeo and his friends (Benvolio and Mercutio) hear of the party and resolve to go in disguise. Romeo hopes to see his beloved Rosaline at the party. Instead, while there, he meets Juliet and falls instantly in love with her. Juliet's cousin Tybalt recognises the Montague boys and forces them to leave just as Romeo and Juliet discover one another. 

Romeo lingers near the Capulet house to talk with Juliet when she appears in her window. The pair declare their love for one another and intend to marry the next day. With the help of Juliet's Nurse, the lovers arrange to marry when Juliet goes for confession at the cell of Friar Laurence. There, they are secretly married (talk about a short engagement). 

Parting is such sweet sorrow that I shall say goodnight till it be morrow — Romeo and Juliet, Act 2 Scene 2

Following the secret marriage, Juliet's cousin Tybalt sends a challenge to Romeo. Romeo refuses to fight, which angers his friend Mercutio who then fights with Tybalt. Mercutio is accidentally killed as Romeo intervenes to stop the fight. In anger, Romeo pursues Tybalt, kills him, and is banished by the Prince. 

Juliet is anxious when Romeo is late to meet her and learns of the brawl, Tybalt's death, and Romeo's banishment. Friar Laurence arranges for Romeo to spend the night with Juliet before he leaves for Mantua. Meanwhile, the Capulet family grieves for Tybalt, so Lord Capulet moves Juliet's marriage to Paris to the next day. Juliet’s parents are angry when Juliet doesn't want to marry Paris, but they don't know about her secret marriage to Romeo.

A pair of star-crossed lovers — Romeo and Juliet, Prologue

Friar Laurence helps Juliet by providing a sleeping draught that will make her seem dead. When the wedding party arrives to greet Juliet the next day, they believe she is dead. The Friar sends a messenger to warn Romeo of Juliet's plan and bids him to come to the Capulet family monument to rescue his sleeping wife. 

Ready to test your knowledge? Have a go at our multiple choice Romeo and Juliet Quiz

The vital message to Romeo doesn't arrive in time because the plague is in town (so the messenger cannot leave Verona). Hearing from his servant that Juliet is dead, Romeo buys poison from an Apothecary in Mantua. He returns to Verona and goes to the tomb where he surprises and kills the mourning Paris. Romeo takes his poison and dies, while Juliet awakens from her drugged coma. She learns what has happened from Friar Laurence, but she refuses to leave the tomb and stabs herself. The Friar returns with the Prince, the Capulets, and Romeo's lately widowed father. The deaths of their children lead the families to make peace, and they promise to erect a monument in Romeo and Juliet's memory.

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Romeo and Juliet

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Summary and Study Guide

Romeo and Juliet is one of William Shakespeare’s best-known plays. First performed before 1597 (the date of its earliest known printing), it has been popular and influential ever since.

This summary refers to the 2011 Folger Shakespeare Library edition. Your edition’s line numbers may vary slightly.

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Plot Summary

A feud between two noble families, the Montagues and the Capulets, is tearing apart the city of Verona. Young men allied with these households fight each other in the streets. At last, the violence gets so bad that the city’s Prince declares that any member of these clans caught fighting will be exiled from the city.

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Meanwhile, Romeo , the romantic young son of the Montagues, is suffering: He’s lovelorn over a girl named Rosaline, who doesn’t return his affections. His friends Benvolio and Mercutio persuade him to crash a masked ball thrown by the Capulets, in the hopes that he’ll spot another girl to fall in love with there. This plan works all too well: The disguised Romeo falls instantly in love with Juliet , the Capulets’ daughter. This is inconvenient, to say the least. Not only are the lovers’ parents locked in a feud, Juliet is considering a marriage proposal from the eligible young Count Paris. However, Romeo and Juliet’s love overwhelms all such considerations, and when Romeo comes in secret to Juliet’s garden in the night, they vow to marry.

Romeo’s friends take a dim view of this plan. Benvolio points out that Romeo was desperately in love with another girl five minutes ago; Mercutio will only make sex jokes; and Friar Lawrence , Romeo’s priestly friend and mentor, warns him that “these violent delights have violent ends” (2.6.9). However, Friar Lawrence also sees the young lovers as an opportunity to heal the rift between Montagues and Capulets, and agrees to marry Romeo and Juliet in secret.

Before any good can come of this clandestine marriage, tragedy strikes when the rash and flamboyant Mercutio gets into a street fight with Juliet’s cousin, Tybalt . Mercutio is killed, and a grief-stricken Romeo murders Tybalt in revenge. Though it means leaving behind his new bride, Romeo must flee Verona to avoid punishment at the hands of the Prince.

Juliet is horrified when she learns that her new husband has killed her cousin, and even more horrified when she learns that the “choice” her parents offered her about whether to marry Count Paris was not so much a choice. She bravely decides to stand by Romeo and goes to Friar Lawrence for help. He concocts an elaborate plan to reunite the newlyweds: He’ll give Juliet a drug that makes her seem as if she’s dead, when in fact she’ll just be in a brief, deathlike coma. While her family entombs her, Friar Lawrence will send a message to Romeo to come and find her.

Juliet goes through with this plan, but Friar Lawrence’s part in the proceedings doesn’t go so well. News of Juliet’s “death” reaches Romeo in Mantua before Friar Lawrence’s explanatory message makes it there. Romeo rushes to Verona, where he finds and kills the mourning Paris outside the Capulet tomb. He descends into the dark and, finding what seems to be Juliet’s corpse, poisons himself.

Friar Lawrence arrives at the tomb to care for Juliet as she awakes, only to find her discovering Romeo’s still-warm body lying next to her. The priest tries to convince Juliet to come away, but she refuses, and he flees at the sound of approaching footsteps. Left alone, Juliet stabs herself with Romeo’s dagger. In the wake of these horrors, the Montagues and Capulets, having lost the hope of their future heirs, are forced to make a tragic peace.

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Romeo and Juliet

By william shakespeare, romeo and juliet summary and analysis of act 1.

The chorus introduces the play and establishes the plot that will unfold. They explain how two families in Verona – the Capulets and the Montagues - have reignited an ancient feud, and how two lovers, one from each family, will commit suicide after becoming entangled in this conflict. These lovers are Juliet Capulet and Romeo Montague. Only after the suicides will the families decide to end their feud.

Act One, Scene One

Two Capulet servants – Sampson and Gregory – loiter on the street, waiting for some Montague servants to pass. They banter, using sexual innuendo and raunchy puns to joke about women, and speak with animosity about the Montagues. They lament that the law prohibits fighting, and wonder how to start a battle legally.

When the Montague servants – Abram and Balthasar – arrive, Sampson bites his thumb at them (which is rude but not illegal). Insulted, Abram confronts Sampson and a fight begins.

Benvolio , Romeo's cousin, arrives to discover the fight in progress. Drawing his sword, he commands them to stop. Then, Tybalt , Juliet's cousin, walks onto the street. Upon seeing his rival, Benvolio, Tybalt also draws his sword, reigniting the altercation.

Lord Capulet – the patriarch of the family – arrives at the battle, and demands a sword so that he might join in. However, Lady Capulet restrains him, even after Lord Montague emerges ready to fight.

It turns out that the Citizens of the Watch have spread word of the street fight, and Prince Escalus arrives before anyone is killed. The Prince chides the Montagues and the Capulets for their mutual aggression, which he believes is making the streets of Verona unsafe. The Prince then orders everyone to return home and cease hostilities at the risk of great punishment. He personally accompanies the Capulets home.

The Montagues and Benvolio remain on stage. The family asks Benvolio where Romeo is, and he tells them that the boy has been in a strange mood lately. When a somber Romeo finally appears, the Montagues ask Benvolio to determine the cause of his melancholy, after which they depart.

When Benvolio asks Romeo about the source of his gloom, Romeo explains that he is pining for a woman named Rosaline, who plans to remain chaste for the rest of her life. This unrequited love is the cause of Romeo's depression.

Act One, Scene Two

Paris Lord Capulet for permission to marry Juliet, but Capulet insists that Paris should be patient, since Juliet is only thirteen. However, Capulet does grant Paris permission to woo Juliet and thereby win her approval. Capulet suggests to Paris that he should try to impress Juliet at a masked ball that the Capulets are hosting that evening. Capulet then hands his servant Peter a list of names and orders the man to invite everyone on the list to the party.

Out on the streets, Peter runs into Romeo and Benvolio, who are talking about Rosaline. Peter cannot read, so he asks them to help him interpret the list. Romeo and Benvolio comply, and upon reading the list, they discover that Rosaline will be at the Capulets' party. They decide to attend - even though it is a Capulet party, they will be able to disguise their identities by wearing masks.

Act One, Scene Three

At the Capulet home, Lady Capulet asks the Nurse to call for Juliet. While they await the girl’s arrival, the Nurse laments the fact that Juliet will be fourteen in under two weeks. When Juliet arrives, the Nurse tells a rambling, embarrassing story about how her late husband had once made an inappropriate sexual joke about Juliet when she was an infant. The Nurse keeps telling her endless tale until Juliet orders her to stop.

Lady Capulet tells Juliet about Paris’s intention to marry her. The mother describes Paris as beautiful, comparing him to a fine book that only lacks a cover. Juliet does not promise anything to her mother, but she does agree to study Paris that night.

Act One, Scene Four

Romeo, Benvolio, and their friend Mercutio walk through the streets to the Capulets' party. Romeo remains depressed over Rosaline, so Mercutio tries to cheer him up with a story about Queen Mab, a fictitious elf who infiltrates men's dreams. Romeo hushes his friend, admitting his concern about the attending a party at the home of his rivals.

Act One, Scene Five

At the party, Romeo mopes in the corner, away from the dancing. From this vantage point, he notices Juliet, and falls in love with her immediately.

Tybalt overhears Romeo asking a servingman about Juliet, and recognizes the masked man's voice. However, before Tybalt can create a scene, Lord Capulet reminds him of the prince’s prohibition of public fighting, and orders the boy to stand down.

Romeo approaches Juliet and touches her hand. They speak together in a sonnet, and Romeo eventually earns Juliet's permission for a kiss. However, before they can talk further, the Nurse calls Juliet to see her mother. After Juliet leaves, Romeo asks the Nurse her name, and is shocked to learn that his new object of desire is a Capulet.

As the party winds down, Juliet asks her Nurse about Romeo. When she learns about Romeo’s identity, she is heartbroken to find out that she has fallen in love with a "loathed enemy" (1.5.138).

Though Romeo and Juliet is ostensibly a tragedy, it has endured as one of Shakespeare’s most renowned masterpieces because of its magnificent blend of styles and remarkable, multi-faceted character development. The play often veers from meticulous plot into more free-form explorations, making it difficult to categorize. However, these are singularly Shakespearean qualities that are apparent from the play’s first Act. Romeo and Juliet begins with a Chorus, which establishes the plot and tone of the play. This device was hardly new to Shakespeare, and in fact mirrors the structure of Arthur Brooke's The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet , from which Shakespeare adapted Romeo and Juliet .

Additionally, the Chorus poses the question of whether or not Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy. During Shakespeare's time, it was typical for a tragedy to begin with a Chorus. In Romeo and Juliet , the opening sonnet presents dire enough circumstances to support that convention. However, tragedy in its strictest form presupposes certain formal conceits. Most important is the idea that an individual (or individuals) is (or are) defeated by forces beyond his or her control; tragedies most often celebrate human willpower in the face of bad luck or divine antagonism. And yet, the forces at play in Romeo and Juliet are hardly beyond human control. Instead, the Montagues and Capulets have allowed their feud to fester. This is evident from the first scene, when even the patriarchs of both families enter the public street fight, ready to kill. The Chorus introduces Shakespeare's unique approach to tragedy by introducing certain established tropes of that genre but by refusing to lay the blame at the universe’s feet.

In addition, the Chorus also introduces certain sources of dramatic tension that re-appear throughout the rest of the play. For example, the diametric opposition between order and disorder is central to to Romeo and Juliet . In the Prologue, the Chorus speaks in sonnet form, which was usually reserved for a lover addressing his beloved. The sonnet is a very structured form of poetry, which indicates a level of order. However, the content of this sonnet – two families who cannot control themselves, and hence bring down disaster on their heads – suggests incredible disorder. The conflict between order and disorder resonates through the rest of Act I. Immediately following the Sonnet is the introduction of Sampson and Gregory, two brutish men whose appearance lays the groundwork for a disordered street brawl. Furthermore, the disorder within the play is evidenced by inverted circumstances. Servants start the quarrel, but soon draw the noblemen into it. The young men enter the fight, but the older men soon try to defy their aged bodies by participating. Moreover, the fact that the near disaster takes place in broad daylight in a public place undermines any expectation of security in Verona.

This underlying theme of disorder is also manifest in the hybrid of styles that Shakespeare employs. The Chorus establishes the fact that the story is meant to be tragic, and yet, Abram and Gregory are typically comic characters, both because of their low status and the lighthearted nature of their speech. While they do discuss their aggression towards the Capulets, they also make numerous sexual puns, undoubtedly intended to amuse the audience. That these sexual innuendos often slide into violent talk of rape only underscores the difficulty of categorizing Shakespeare’s tonal intentions.

It is important to note that Shakespeare wanted Romeo and Juliet to be recognized as tragedy, even though he subverts the genre in many ways. There are a few motifs in Romeo and Juliet that reveal this intention. The first is the recurring motif of death. In Act I, there are several moments where the characters foreshadow the death to come. After she meets Romeo, Juliet states, "If he be married, / My grave is like to be my wedding bed" (1.5.132). When Benvolio tries to stop the street fight, he remarks, "Put up your swords. You know not what you do" (1.1.56). The phrasing of Benvolio's line is a Biblical allusion because it evokes Jesus’s insistence that his apostles cease fighting the Roman guards during his arrest. This symbolism foreshadows Juliet’s death, which occurs after her resurrection.

The Nurse also makes two references that foreshadow Juliet’s death. In the story she tells to Lady Capulet, the Nurse speaks of Juliet’s fall when she was a child. The story foreshadows the fact that Juilet will fall, evoking the medieval and Renaissance concept of the wheel of fortune. Over the course of the play, Juliet indeed rises (appearing at her balcony to speak to Romeo) and falls (her death in the vault). The Nurse also foreshadows the tragedy when she tells Juliet, "An I might live to see thee married once" (1.3.63). Alas, this is exactly what will occur, and Juliet dies barely one day after her marriage. So even as he veers between styles and forms, Shakespeare does ensure that Romeo and Juliet a tragic story.

Even more impressive than his stylistic virtuosity is Shakespeare’s carefully calibrated character development. Almost every character in Romeo and Juliet reveals his or her inner nature through action. For instance, we learn in Act 1 that Benvolio is a pacifist, while Tybalt is hot-headed. Other characters that Shakespeare introduces in Act 1 reveal a glimmer of their inner desires even if they do not yet have a chance to express them. For instance, in the scene between Lord Capulet and Paris, the patriarch introduces his desire to control his daughter. While theoretically defending Juliet's youthful freedom, he also reveals his tendency to think of her as an object by granting Paris the opportunity to woo her. Lord Capulet's attitude towards Juliet will later force the final, tragic turn of events.

Eminent literary critic Harold Bloom believes that, along with Juliet, Mercutio and the Nurse are Shakespeare’s most marvelous creations in the play. The Nurse is intriguing because of her self-deceit. While she claims to care deeply for young Juliet, it becomes evident that she selfishly wishes to control the girl. Her story about Juliet's fall and sharing her late husband's sexual joke are wildly inappropriate comments, and reveal the Nurse's self-obsession and her fascination with sex. For such a functional character, the Nurse is particularly memorable, and a shining example of Shakespeare's ability to create multi-faceted personalities, even for his supporting characters.

Similarly, Shakespeare reveals a lot about Mercutio's character in the young man's Queen Mab speech. At first glance, the speech (and the preceding scene) paint Mercutio as a colorful, sexually-minded fellow, who prefers transient lust over committed love. However, as his speech continues, Mercutio portrays a level of intensity that Romeo lacks. Queen Mab is a rather vicious figure who forces sexuality upon women in a largely unpleasant and violent way. While he shares this story, Mercutio's tone becomes so passionate that Romeo must forcefully quieten him. This speech serves as an indication that Mercutio is a far more mature and insightful figure than his behavior immediately suggests.

In contrast, Prince Escalus and the Citizens of the Watch are largely two-dimensional characters. They serve a merely functional purpose, representing law and order in Verona. While the Prince frequently exhibits strong authority - declaring street fighting illegal and later, banishing Romeo - his decrees only produce minimal results, and the law is never as powerful as the forces of love in the play. Meanwhile, the Citizens of the Watch, though silent, are a nod to the society's attempts to protect itself. Shakespeare regularly indicates that the Citizens are always nearby, which emphasizes the ongoing conflict between the feuding families and society's attempts to restore order.

Though Romeo and Juliet has become an archetypal love story, it is in fact a reflection of only one very specific type of love – a young, irrational love that falls somewhere between pure affection and unbridled lust. Sexuality is rampant throughout the play, starting with the servants' bawdy jokes in the first scene. Also, the lovers do not think of their passion in religious terms (a religious union would have signified a pure love to a Renaissance audience)

Meanwhile, Romeo is a far less complex character than Juliet – indeed, in Shakespeare’s work, the heroines are often more multi-dimensional than their male counterparts. In Act 1, Romeo's most pronounced qualities are his petulance and capriciousness. His friends (and potentially, the audience) find Romeo's melancholy mood to be grating, and are confused when he quickly forgets Rosaline to fall madly in love with Juliet. However, Romeo stands apart from the other men in Act 1. Even Benvolio, the eternal pacifist, has recognized the violent nature of the world, and most of the other men quickly turn to anger and aggression as solutions to their problems. Romeo, on the other hand, exhibits qualities that could be considered feminine by Shakespearean standards – he is melancholy and introverted, choosing to remain distant from both the feud and the violence in Verona.

Juliet, on the other hand, is pensive and practical. When her mother insists she consider Paris as a potential mate, Juliet is clearly uninterested, but understands that a vocal refusal will gain her nothing. Her act of innocent submission will allow her to be devious later on, to her advantage. In Act 1, Juliet is already showing her powers of deception by asking her Nurse about two other men before asking after Romeo because she does not want to arouse her chaperone’s suspicions.

Romeo and Juliet's quick attraction to one other must be viewed through the lens of their youth. Even when Romeo is lusting after Rosaline, he is more interested in her sexuality than her personality, and he is upset to learn that she has chosen a life of chastity. Romeo feels sparks of desire for Juliet before they even speak, reinforcing the young man's quick passions. Shakespeare further underscores Romeo's sexual motivation by associating his and Juliet's love with darkness. For example, Romeo compares Juliet to "a rich jewel in an Ethiope's ear" when he first sees her (1.5.43). The darkness is central to their love, as they can only be together when the day is over. Throughout the play, Shakespeare associates daytime with disorder – not only does the Act I street fight occur in the daytime, but Romeo also kills Tybalt during the day – while order appears within the secrecy afforded by nighttime.

However, the love between Romeo and Juliet is not frivolous. In the fifth scene, the lovers speak in a sonnet that invokes sacrilegious imagery of saints and pilgrims. This indicates the way in which these lovers can only be together when they are completely separated from the flawed morality and complications of the world around them. This disorder is ultimately the obstacle that keeps the apart - and they will eventually decide to withdraw from the world in order to be together. Both Romeo and Juliet believe in the purity of their love - their future may be uncertain, but in the moment, their passion is all-consuming.

Romeo and Juliet Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Romeo and Juliet is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Can you find verbal irony in the play? Where?

One example of verbal irony would be Romeo's reference to the poison he has purchased as a "sweet medicine". A cordial is a sweet liquor or medicine.

Come, cordial and not poison, go with me To Juliet's grave; for there must I use thee.

What do we learn about Mercutio in queen man speech?

The whole speech is based on pagan Celtic mythology. Mercutio’s speech is laced with sexual innuendo. The words “queen” and “mab” refer to whores in Elizabethan England. As his speech goes on we notice the subtext get increasingly sexual...

What does Romeo fear as he approaches Capulet house? What literary device would this be an example of?

Romeo feels something bad is going to happen.

I fear too early, for my mind misgives Some consequence yet hanging in the stars

Looks like foreshadowing to me!

Study Guide for Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet study guide contains a biography of William Shakespeare, literature essays, a complete e-text, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About Romeo and Juliet
• Romeo and Juliet Summary
• Romeo and Juliet Video
• Character List

Essays for Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare.

• Unity in Shakespeare's Tragedies
• Fate in Romeo and Juliet
• Romeo and Juliet: Under the Guise of Love
• The Apothecary's Greater Significance in Romeo and Juliet
• Romeo and Juliet: Two Worlds

Lesson Plan for Romeo and Juliet

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to Romeo and Juliet
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• Related Links
• Romeo and Juliet Bibliography

E-Text of Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet e-text contains the full text of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare.

• List of Characters

Wikipedia Entries for Romeo and Juliet

• Introduction
• Date and text

Romeo And Juliet Essay for Students and Children

500+ words essay on romeo and juliet.

Romeo and Juliet is the most famous love tragedy written by William Shakespeare. This is a story of love and fate. Furthermore, the basis of this tragic love story is the Old Italian tale translated into English in the sixteenth century. The story is about two young star-crossed lovers whose death results in reconcile between their feuding families. Moreover, Romeo and Juliet is among the most frequently performed plays by Shakespeare .

Lessons of Love from Romeo and Juliet

First of all, Romeo and Juliet teach us that love is blind. Romeo and Juliet belonged to two influential families. Furthermore, these two families were engaged in a big feud among themselves. However, against all odds, Romeo and Juliet find each other and fall in love. Most noteworthy, they are blind to the fact that they are from rival families. They strive to be together in spite of the threat of hate between their families.

Another important lesson is that love brings out the best in us. Most noteworthy, Romeo and Juliet were very different characters by the end of the story than in the beginning. Romeo was suffering from depression before he met Juliet. Furthermore, Juliet was an innocent timid girl. Juliet was forced into marriage against her will by her parents. After falling in love, the personalities of these characters changed in positive ways. Romeo becomes a deeply passionate lover and Juliet becomes a confident woman.

Life without love is certainly not worth living. Later in the story, Romeo learns that his beloved Juliet is dead. At this moment Romeo felt a heart-shattering moment. Romeo then gets extremely sad and drinks poison. However, Juliet was alive and wakes up to see Romeo dead. Juliet then immediately decides to kill herself due to this massive heartbreak. Hence, both lovers believed that life without love is not worth living.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Legacy of Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet is one of Shakespeare’s most popular plays. Furthermore, the play was very popular even in Shakespeare’s lifetime. Scholar Gary Taylor believes it as the sixth most popular of Shakespeare’s plays. Moreover, Sir William Davenant of the Duke’s Company staged Romeo and Juliet in 1662. The earliest production of Romeo and Juliet was in North America on 23 March 1730.

There were professional performances of Romeo and Juliet in the mid-19th century. In 19th century America, probably the most elaborate productions of Romeo and Juliet took place. The first professional performance of the play in Japan seems to be George Crichton Miln’s company’s production in 1890. In the 20th century, Romeo and Juliet became the second most popular play behind Hamlet.

There have been at least 24 operas based on Romeo and Juliet. The best-known ballet version of this play is Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet. Most noteworthy, Romeo and Juliet have a huge impact on literature. Romeo and Juliet made romance as a worthy topic for tragedy. Before Romeo and Juliet, romantic tragedy was certainly unthinkable.

Romeo and Juliet are probably the most popular romantic fictional characters. They have been an inspiration for lovers around the world for centuries. Most noteworthy, the story depicts the struggle of the couple against a patriarchal society. People will always consider Romeo and Juliet as archetypal young lovers.

Q1 State any one lesson of love from Romeo and Juliet?

A1 One lesson of love from Romeo and Juliet is that love brings out the best in us.

Q2 What makes Romeo and Juliet unique in literature?

A2 Romeo and Juliet made romance as a worthy topic for tragedy. This is what makes it unique.

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Romeo and Juliet - Entire Play

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The prologue of Romeo and Juliet calls the title characters “star-crossed lovers”—and the stars do seem to conspire against these young lovers.

Romeo is a Montague, and Juliet a Capulet. Their families are enmeshed in a feud, but the moment they meet—when Romeo and his friends attend a party at Juliet’s house in disguise—the two fall in love and quickly decide that they want to be married.

A friar secretly marries them, hoping to end the feud. Romeo and his companions almost immediately encounter Juliet’s cousin Tybalt, who challenges Romeo. When Romeo refuses to fight, Romeo’s friend Mercutio accepts the challenge and is killed. Romeo then kills Tybalt and is banished. He spends that night with Juliet and then leaves for Mantua.

Juliet’s father forces her into a marriage with Count Paris. To avoid this marriage, Juliet takes a potion, given her by the friar, that makes her appear dead. The friar will send Romeo word to be at her family tomb when she awakes. The plan goes awry, and Romeo learns instead that she is dead. In the tomb, Romeo kills himself. Juliet wakes, sees his body, and commits suicide. Their deaths appear finally to end the feud.

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Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet Shakescleare Translation

• Downloadable translations of all 37 Shakespeare plays (plus his sonnets).
• Downloads of 1,932 LitCharts Lit Guides.
• Teacher Editions for every Lit Guide.
• Explanations and citation info for 42,746 quotes across 1932 books.
• PDFs explaining 136 Literary Terms.

Romeo and Juliet Translation Table of Contents

The Shakescleare version of Romeo and Juliet contains the complete original play alongisde a line-by-line modern English translation. Now you can easily understand even the most complex and archaic words and phrases word spoken by Romeo, Juliet, Mercutio, Friar Laurence, the Nurse, Tybalt, and all the Capulets and Montagues, throughout the entire play, including famous quotes like "Wherefore art thou Romeo?" and "Parting is such sweet sorrow / That I shall say good night till it be morrow."

Act 1, Scene 1

Act 1, scene 2, act 1, scene 3, act 1, scene 4, act 1, scene 5, act 2, prologue, act 2, scene 1, act 2, scene 2, act 2, scene 3, act 2, scene 4, act 2, scene 5, act 2, scene 6, act 3, scene 1, act 3, scene 2, act 3, scene 3, act 3, scene 4, act 3, scene 5, act 4, scene 1, act 4, scene 2, act 4, scene 3, act 4, scene 4, act 4, scene 5, act 5, scene 1, act 5, scene 2, act 5, scene 3.

Amor: the Roman God of Love and Desire

This essay about Amor in Roman mythology explores his role as the embodiment of love and desire. It highlights his paradoxical nature as both cherubic and fierce, and his influence on human emotions and ambitions. Through his mythological adventures and romantic entanglements, particularly with Psyche, Amor’s transformative power is illustrated. The essay emphasizes Amor’s enduring legacy in art and literature, portraying him as a timeless symbol of love’s ability to inspire, uplift, and unify humanity amidst a world of division and strife.

How it works

In the intricate fabric of Roman mythology, Amor emerges as a beacon, embodying the delicate embrace of love and the intoxicating allure of desire. Each stroke of his golden bow and each whisper of his ethereal presence creates a narrative that transcends time, drawing mortals and immortals alike into the enigmatic dance of passion and longing.

Born from the celestial union of Venus, the goddess of love, and Mars, the god of war, Amor is a paradox—cherubic yet fierce, gentle yet unyielding.

His depiction in art and literature captures the purity of youth alongside the wisdom of ages, his expression bearing the weight of millennia of human emotion.

Central to Amor’s being is his arsenal—a bow forged by Vulcan’s skilled hands and arrows imbued with enchantments beyond mortal comprehension. With a single shot, Amor can ignite a spark that transcends time and space, binding souls in a symphony of affection that resonates across the cosmos.

Amor’s influence, however, extends far beyond the realm of romantic entanglements. As the patron deity of desire, he fuels the flames of ambition, curiosity, and creativity within human hearts, urging mortals toward their deepest passions and aspirations. In every pursuit that enlivens the human spirit, Amor’s presence is felt, guiding mortals on journeys of self-discovery and enlightenment.

Throughout Roman mythology, Amor’s adventures are interwoven into countless tales, each a testament to the multifaceted nature of love’s enigmatic embrace. In one myth, he orchestrates the union of Pyramus and Thisbe, lovers whose tragic fate mirrors that of Romeo and Juliet, their love transcending the boundaries of life and death.

In another tale, Amor himself becomes ensnared by passion, falling victim to his own arrows and becoming enamored with the mortal Psyche. Their tumultuous love affair, fraught with trials and tribulations, serves as a poignant reminder of love’s transformative power and its ability to defy even the gods.

Yet, Amor’s greatest legacy may not lie in his romantic escapades, but in his capacity to unite humanity in empathy and understanding. In a world plagued by division and discord, love acts as a beacon of hope, bridging the gaps that separate us and fostering connections that transcend race, religion, and ideology.

In art, literature, and music, Amor’s image is immortalized in countless forms, from classical sculptures to timeless works of poetry and song. From Shakespeare’s sonnets to Beethoven’s symphonies, his presence is a constant refrain, reminding us of love’s enduring power to inspire, uplift, and transform.

Ultimately, Amor stands as a timeless symbol of love’s enduring power, a reminder that in a world rife with uncertainty and strife, love remains the one constant that sustains us, uplifts us, and gives our lives meaning. In his golden bow and arrows, we find not only the instruments of desire but the catalysts of transformation, guiding us on journeys of self-discovery and enlightenment. In his eternal presence, we find solace, knowing that no matter where life may lead, love will always be our guiding light.

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Amor: The Roman God of Love and Desire. (2024, May 28). Retrieved from https://papersowl.com/examples/amor-the-roman-god-of-love-and-desire/

"Amor: The Roman God of Love and Desire." PapersOwl.com , 28 May 2024, https://papersowl.com/examples/amor-the-roman-god-of-love-and-desire/

PapersOwl.com. (2024). Amor: The Roman God of Love and Desire . [Online]. Available at: https://papersowl.com/examples/amor-the-roman-god-of-love-and-desire/ [Accessed: 31 May. 2024]

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PapersOwl.com. (2024). Amor: The Roman God of Love and Desire . [Online]. Available at: https://papersowl.com/examples/amor-the-roman-god-of-love-and-desire/ [Accessed: 31-May-2024]

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‘Romeo and Juliet’ Review: Plenty of Style, but Little Love

The London production, starring Tom Holland, sold out in hours. But its understated rendering of the central romance may leave some theatergoers wanting more.

By Houman Barekat

The critic Houman Barekat saw the show in London

As the male lead entered the stage in a new production of “Romeo and Juliet” in London, a single, very loud whoop erupted from the orchestra level. Nobody else joined in — this is Britain, after all — but the breach of decorum was telling. This particular Romeo is the big-screen superstar Tom Holland, of “Spider-Man” fame, and his pulling power helped tickets for this show’s run sell out within hours — even though the actor playing Juliet wasn’t cast until many weeks later.

Yet this “Romeo and Juliet,” directed by Jamie Lloyd (“ Sunset Boulevard ,” “ The Effect ”) and running at the Duke of York’s Theater through Aug. 3, is no straightforward crowd-pleaser. The visuals are stripped-down and the staging unconventional; instead of indulging the giddy melodrama of young love, the emphasis is on brooding atmospherics. The show is slickly executed by a talented cast and production crew, but its understated rendering of the lovers’ romantic infatuation may leave some theatergoers wanting more.

The stage is dark, and entirely bare except for a sign that announces the setting in chunky capitals: VERONA. The performers, in monochrome streetwear, are illuminated by hazy spotlights. (Set design and costumes are by Soutra Gilmour.) In several scenes, they speak from fixed positions, stationed behind microphone stands, sometimes facing the audience rather than each other. The gloomy visuals are complemented by snatches of ambient techno and a dull humming sound that conjures a sense of anticipatory dread. To keep the audience on its toes, some scene changes are punctuated by blinding lights and obnoxiously loud flashbulb clacks. (The sound is by Ben and Max Ringham, the lighting by Jon Clark.)

The minimalist staging puts an extra onus on the actors to make the script shine, and they don’t disappoint. Holland gives a controlled performance as Romeo, evoking the halting, hopeful awkwardness of a love-struck teenager with understatement. As Juliet, Francesca Amewudah-Rivers is similarly restrained: Tentative and inscrutable during the early phase of the courtship, she is at her best in the scenes in which she stands up to her father, Lord Capulet (Tomiwa Edun) as he pressures her to break it off with Romeo. In these moments, Amewudah-Rivers — who is making her West End debut — displays an impregnable abstractedness that rings true to the stubborn determination of adolescence.

The supporting cast is also less experienced than the illustrious leading man, but for the most part, you wouldn’t know it. Edun convinces as the hectoring, overbearing patriarch. Freema Agyeman plays the Nurse, the affable go-between who enables the lovers’ forbidden affair, with a fine blend of sassy assertiveness and quasi-maternal tenderness. Ray Sesay’s Tybalt is impressively menacing and Nima Taleghani, with his wide-eyed and gentle bearing, is tenderly protective as Romeo’s trusty friend, Benvolio.

At times the spectacle feels more like a reading than a play, but some nifty camerawork injects dynamism. A camera operator intermittently appears onstage and films close-up footage of an actor’s face, which is relayed in real time onto a screen above the stage. This technique — familiar from the work of directors such as Ivo van Hove and Christine Jatahy — can sometimes feel frustratingly gratuitous, leading to a sense of visual clutter, but it feels smooth here. During some scenes, actors are filmed elsewhere in the theater — in its foyer bar, corridors and balcony — while others occupy the stage. This gives a fitting sense of simultaneity in a narrative replete with back-channel dialogues and conspiratorial maneuverings.

Lloyd has tried to condense the story to its essence, just as he did in his Olivier-winning take on “Sunset Boulevard.” To this end, one or two scenes — such as the finale in which the Montagues and Capulets agree to set aside their differences after Romeo and Juliet’s deaths — have been abridged. The production’s artful subtlety is encapsulated in the tragic denouement, when the lovers’ deaths are conveyed simply by Holland and Amewudah-Rivers removing their mics.

The restrained portrayal of the lovers’ passion is aesthetically brave, but there’s a downside: In his determination to eschew the easy charms of melodrama, Lloyd slightly undercooks the romance, which in turn diminishes our investment in its terrible ramifications. There are other Shakespeare plays that lend themselves better to this kind of high-concept treatment, because they are more psychologically complex. ( A similarly stylized “Macbeth,” staring David Tennant, which ran at the Donmar Warehouse last year and will transfer to the West End in the fall, comes to mind.)

Leaving the theater, I encountered an excitable throng of mostly young fans hoping to catch a glimpse of Holland. His superstar status will attract a mainstream audience to this show. But what will they make of it? “Spider-Man” it most certainly ain’t.

Romeo and Juliet Through Aug. 3 at the Duke of York’s Theater in London; thedukeofyorks.com .

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