summary of romeo and juliet in 200 words 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

By william shakespeare.

• Romeo and Juliet Summary

Romeo and Juliet is set in Verona, Italy, where there is an ongoing feud between the Montague and Capulet families. The play opens with servants from both houses engaged in a street brawl that eventually draws in the family patriarchs and the city officials, including Prince Escalus . The Prince ends the conflict by issuing a decree that prohibits any further fighting at the risk of great punishment.

Meanwhile, Romeo , a young man from the Montague house, laments his unrequited love for a woman named Rosaline, who has vowed to remain chaste for the rest of her life. Romeo and his friend Benvolio happen to stumble across a Capulet servant, Peter , who is trying to read a list of invitees to a masked party at the Capulet house that evening. Romeo helps Peter read the list and decides to attend the party because Rosaline will be there. He plans to wear a mask so that he will nobody will recognize him as a Montague.

Romeo arrives at the Capulets' party in costume. He falls in love with young Juliet Capulet from the moment he sees her. However, Juliet's cousin Tybalt recognizes Romeo and wants to kill him on the spot. Lord Capulet intervenes, insisting that Tybalt not disturb the party because it will anger the Prince. Undeterred, Romeo quietly approaches Juliet and confesses his love for her. After exchanging loving words, they kiss.

Afterwards, Juliet's Nurse tells Romeo that Juliet is a Capulet, which upsets the smitten youngster. Meanwhile, Juliet is similarly distraught when she finds out that Romeo is a Montague. Later that night, Romeo climbs the garden wall into Juliet's garden. Juliet emerges on her balcony and speaks her private thoughts out loud. She wishes Romeo could shed his name and marry her. Upon hearing her confession, Romeo appears and tells Juliet that he loves her. She warns him to be true in his love, and he swears by his own self that he will be. Before they part, they agree that Juliet will send her Nurse to meet Romeo at nine o'clock the next day, at which point he will set a place for them to be married.

The Nurse carries out her duty, and tells Juliet to meet Romeo at the chapel where Friar Laurence lives and works. Juliet meets Romeo there, and the Friar marries them in secret.

Benvolio and Mercutio (another one of Romeo's friends) are waiting on the street later that day when Tybalt arrives. Tybalt demands to know where Romeo is so that he can challenge him to a duel, in order to punish him for sneaking into the party. Mercutio is eloquently vague, but Romeo happens to arrive in the middle of the verbal sparring. Tybalt challenges him, but Romeo passively resists fighting, at which point Mercutio jumps in and draws his sword on Tybalt. Romeo tries to block the two men, but Tybalt cuts Mercutio and runs away, only to return after he hears that Mercutio has died. Angry over his friend's death, Romeo fights with Tybalt and kills him. Then, he decides to flee. When Prince Escalus arrives at the murder scene, he banishes Romeo from Verona forever.

The Nurse tells Juliet the sad news about what has happened to Tybalt and Romeo. Juliet is heart-broken, but she realizes that Romeo would have been killed if he had not fought Tybalt. She sends her Nurse to find Romeo and give him her ring.

That night, Romeo sneaks into Juliet's room, and they consummate their marriage. The next morning, he is forced to leave when Juliet's mother arrives. Romeo travels to Mantua, where he waits for someone to send news about Juliet or his banishment.

During Romeo and Juliet's only night together, however, Lord Capulet decides that Juliet should marry a young man named Paris , who has been asking for her hand. Lord and Lady Capulet tell Juliet of their plan, but she refuses, infuriating her father. When both Lady Capulet and the Nurse refuse to intercede for the girl, she insists that they leave her side.

Juliet then visits Friar Laurence, and together they concoct a plan to reunite her with Romeo. The Friar gives Juliet a potion that will make her seem dead for at least two days, during which time Romeo will come to meet her in the Capulet vault. The Friar promises to send word of the plan to Romeo.

Juliet drinks the Friar's potion that night. The next morning, the day of Juliet and Paris' wedding, her Nurse finds her "dead" in bed. The whole house decries her suicide, and Friar Laurence insists they quickly place her into the family vault.

Unfortunately, Friar John has been unable to deliver the letter to Romeo informing him of the plan, so when Romeo's servant brings him news in Mantua that Juliet has died, Romeo is heart-broken. He hurries back to Verona, but first, buys poison from an Apothecary and writes a suicide note detailing the tragic course of events. As soon as Friar Laurence realizes that his letter never made it to Romeo's hands, he rushes to the Capulet tomb, hoping to arrive before Romeo does.

Romeo arrives at the Capulet vault and finds it guarded by Paris, who is there to mourn the loss of his betrothed. Paris challenges Romeo to a duel, and Romeo kills him quickly. Romeo then carries Paris' body into the grave and sets it down. Upon seeing Juliet's "dead" body lying in the tomb, Romeo drinks the poison, gives her a last kiss - and dies.

Friar Laurence arrives to the vault just as Juliet wakes up. He tries to convince her to flee, but upon seeing Romeo's dead body, she takes her own life as well.

The rest of the town starts to arrive at the tomb, including Lord Capulet and Lord Montague . Friar Laurence explains the whole story, and Romeo's letter confirms it. The two families agree to settle their feud and form an alliance despite the tragic circumstances.

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 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

William shakespeare, ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet . Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.

Romeo and Juliet: Introduction

Romeo and juliet: plot summary, romeo and juliet: detailed summary & analysis, romeo and juliet: themes, romeo and juliet: quotes, romeo and juliet: characters, romeo and juliet: symbols, romeo and juliet: literary devices, romeo and juliet: quizzes, romeo and juliet: theme wheel, brief biography of william shakespeare.

Historical Context of Romeo and Juliet

Other books related to romeo and juliet.

• Full Title: Romeo and Juliet
• When Written: Likely 1591-1595
• Where Written: London, England
• When Published: “Bad quarto” (incomplete manuscript) printed in 1597; Second, more complete quarto printed in 1599; First folio, with clarifications and corrections, printed in 1623
• Literary Period: Renaissance
• Genre: Tragic play
• Setting: Verona, Italy
• Climax: Mistakenly believing that Juliet is dead, Romeo kills himself on her funeral bier by drinking poison. Juliet wakes up, finds Romeo dead, and fatally stabs herself with his dagger.
• Antagonist: Capulet, Lady Capulet, Montague, Lady Montague, Tybalt

Extra Credit for Romeo and Juliet

Tourist Trap. Casa di Giulietta, a 12-century villa in Verona, is located just off the Via Capello (the possible origin of the anglicized surname “Capulet”) and has become a major tourist attraction over the years because of its distinctive balcony. The house, purchased by the city of Verona in 1905 from private holdings, has been transformed into a kind of museum dedicated to the history of Romeo and Juliet , where tourists can view set pieces from some of the major film adaptations of the play and even leave letters to their loved ones. Never mind that “the balcony scene,” one of the most famous scenes in English literature, may never have existed—the word “balcony” never appears in the play, and balconies were not an architectural feature of Shakespeare’s England—tourists flock from all over to glimpse Juliet’s famous veranda.

Love Language. While much of Shakespeare’s later work is written in a combination of verse and prose (used mostly to offer distinction between social classes, with nobility speaking in verse and commoners speaking in prose), Romeo and Juliet is notable for its heady blend of poetic forms. The play’s prologue is written in the form of a sonnet, while most of the dialogue adheres strictly to the rhythm of iambic pentameter. Romeo and Juliet alter their cadences when speaking to each another, using more casual, naturalistic speech. When they talk about other potential lovers, such as Rosaline and Paris, their speech is much more formal (to reflect the emotional falsity of those dalliances.) Friar Laurence speaks largely in sermons and aphorisms, while the nurse speaks in blank verse.

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 by William Shakespeare

Romeo and Juliet  by William Shakespeare

Published:  1590s

Country:  United Kingdom

Publisher:  Thomas Creede

Romeo and Juliet is probably the most famous literary love story in the world. Even people who’ve never read or seen the play know the names of the two main characters. When Shakespeare wrote the play more than 400 years ago, arranged marriages were far more common than romantic love and would continue to be so for a long time. 

The play takes a radical, and modern, approach to male/female relationships, without being sentimental. It is after all a tragedy. What destroys the two lovers is not the hasty, impulsive nature of their love, but the fact that, because of the loathing their two families have for one another, they are never allowed to love freely or openly. 

The play continues to resonate in the 21st century, because human beings still create seemingly unbreakable barriers of class, creed, race, or sexuality between their children, and Juliet’s words still echo: “‘Tis but thy name that is my enemy.” 

More on Romeo and Juliet

• ACTS - Read our detailed act by act breakdown to get an understanding of the plot, and then look at some exemplar essays to help you generate your own ideas.
• CHARACTERS - Find out all about the characters that Shakespeare created by reading our character analysis and essays on each characters.
• THEMES - Fate, love and hate- get to know the key themes in Romeo and Juliet to give you ideas for your own essays.

Romeo and Juliet Essays

Have a read of these hand picked essays to give you some ideas and inspiration for your coursework.

How does Shakespeare use imagery in his play Romeo and Juliet to intensify the drama, create atmosphere and illuminate the central themes?

By using a variety of metaphors, dramatic irony, use of figurative language and his explanation of poetic forms he conveys meaning and character excellently.

Although centuries old Romeo and Juliet is still relevant today. Do you agree or disagree with this statement?

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Summary of Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet – Short Summary

This is a short summary of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare . The play which is set in Verona is a story about a long feud between the Montague and Capulet families. This feud causes tragic results for the main characters in the play, Romeo and Juliet. The events contrast hatred and revenge with love and a secret marriage, forcing the young star-crossed lovers to grow up quickly and die tragically in despair.

Here is a short summary of the main events of Romeo and Juliet:

A short summary of the story

Romeo and Juliet fall in love at a party. But they come from families which hate each other. They are sure they will not be allowed to marry. Nevertheless, helped by Friar Laurence, they marry in secret instead. Unfortunately, before their wedding night, Romeo kills Juliet’s cousin in a duel, and in the morning he is forced to leave her. If he ever returns to the city, he will be put to death.

Juliet’s parents told her she must marry Paris. Her parents do not know she is already married. She refuses in the beginning, but later agrees because she plans to fake her death and escape to be with Romeo forever; again with the help of Friar Laurence.

Frair Laurence designs the plan. He gives Juliet a sleeping potion. She appears to be dead and was put in a tomb. However, Romeo does not know about the plan, visits her grave, thinks she is dead and kills himself. When Juliet finally wakes up, she discovers that Romeo is dead and then kills herself.

More about Romeo and Juliet here .

Comprehension:

Say Whether these statements are true or False:

• Romeo and Juliet come from families that are allies. (False)
• Romeo and Juliet’s secret marriage is aided by Friar Laurence. (True)
• Juliet willingly agrees to marry Paris. (False)
• Friar Laurence’s plan involves Juliet faking her death. (True)
• Romeo is aware of Juliet’s plan to fake her death. (False)

Related Pages:

• William Shakespeare’s short biography
• Romeo and Juliet
• Watch Romeo and Juliet (Full Play)
• Themes of Romeo and Juliet
• Macbeth by Shakespeare
• Poems by Shakespeare

More to Explore

Romeo And Juliet Lesson Summary and Explanation in English Class 12th

Back to: Karnataka Board Class 12th English Guide and Notes

Table of Contents

Introduction

William Shakespeare was an English dramatist, poet, artist, and playwright, broadly viewed as the best writer in the English language. The story ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is a tragic love story of two lovers Romeo and Juliet who belong to respectable families of Verona that is the Montagues and the Capulets. Both the families had grudges against each other and have been fighting each other as sworn enemies for a long time.

• Romeo : A handsome, intelligent and sensitive young man of about sixteen years old.
• Juliet : Quiet and obedient girl however, she possesses an inner strength that enables her to have maturity beyond her years.
• Benvolio : Romeo’s cousin 
• Tybalt: Juliet’s cousin
• Mercutio : Romeo’s dearest friend

The background of the first speech by Romeo is that the servants of the two rival families had a fight which was later joined by the heads of the two families. Prince Escalus was fed up with their fights and threatened death to any member of either family found indulging in street fights, later on.

Meanwhile, Paris, a young relative of Prince Escalus falls in love with the fourteen-year-old Julies and wishes to marry her. Lord Capulet thinks she’s too young to marry but reveals that he won’t go against the marriage if Paris can win Juliet’s consent. Meanwhile, Romeo falls in love with Rosaline who doesn’t love him back. The Capulet family organizes a private party and makes a servant in charge of the guest list.

The servant unable to read the name asks two strangers who turn out to be Romeo and his cousin Benvolio, Romeo seeing Roseline’s name on the guest list and decides to go to the party. At the party, Romeo sees Juliet and gets mesmerized by her beauty and discovers from a servant who she really is and thus says the lines mentioned below. Romeo sees Juliet for the first time in the party hosted by the Capulets and both of them do not know each other.

Explanation

He compares Juliet’s beauty to nature. Romeo says that even the bright light of a torch would look dull before the brightness of Juliet. It looks like she hangs on the cheek of the night. Romeo says that the beauty of Juliet is like a jewel that is hung in the ear of an African woman.

Romeo says Juliet is too beautiful to belong to Earth. Juliet’s beauty is so vast that she cannot die and be buried in the Earth. The earth cannot contain her beauty. He further says Juliet is like white snow which is flying with other common people who belong to the species of crows.

Romeo just wishes to express that Juliet belongs to the divine world and living among ordinary and common people. Romeo proposes to find the place where Juliet stood and wants to touch her blessed hand and make his own rude hand blessed. Romeo further asks a question of whether he ever loved before. He feels this is true love. Romeo, think she has never seen a beautiful woman like Juliet before this night.

Background II

Romeo slips to the Capulet’s Garden under Juliet’s window and overhears her confession to the stars that she loves him. He reveals his presence and at that very moment they decide to get married secretly. The next day they get married secretly with the help of Juliet’s nurse and the ceremony was performed at the cell of Friar Laurence,

Romeo’s friend. Getting back from the wedding Juliet’s brother starts a fight with Romeo because of his interference at the ball. Mercutio, another friend of Romeo gets killed by Tybalt, and aroused by the death of his dearest friend Romeo kills Tybalt. Juliet unaware of the situation wait for Romeo’s arrival at her father’s orchard and becomes impatient as anytime Romeo could arrive but this will be the first time he’ll come as her husband. This monologue is popularly known as ‘Juliet’s invocation to the night’.

Juliet is inviting the night. The night she is inviting is none other than Romeo himself. Juliet compares Romeo tonight. Juliet calls Romeo a day in the night. Juliet sees the night as a bird with wings on which Romeo would ride and come as a ‘New Snow’. Juliet calls the night a gentle night and a ‘Black – Browed Night’. Juliet wants nothing from the night except her love Romeo.

Juliet has a realistic view of death and says; even if she dies, she wants to make their love immortal. Juliet says that Romeo should be from part of the stars in heaven. Juliet says the presence of Rome among the stars would enrich the beauty of stars. Romeo forms the important part of the night sky; the whole world would begin to fall in love with the night. Romeo would shine so brightly in the night sky that it would even outshine the sun.

The two Stanzas in the poem, one by Romeo and the other by Juliet, highlight the intensity of love of the young lovers. This intensity of love is brought out by using the contrasting imagery of night and day, black and white, bright jewel and dark surface, snowy dove, etc.