Romeo and Juliet
It's probably not only Shakespeare's greatest tragedy, but his greatest play period, rivaling only Hamlet in popularity. But what makes it so amazing? Probably its themes of segregation, love at first sight, and forbidden affection. The Montagues and the Capulets are two rival families in Verona, both of which hate each other. But as for Romeo and Juliet, even the strong, deep-running feelings of their families cannot stop their love.
Above: Ewww! Gross! Just kidding. The balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet remains one of the most famous scenes in English literature, and for good reason.
A Summary of the Plot
Shakespeare's legendary play begins in Verona, where there is currently a fight taking place between the boys of the Capulet family (Juliet) and the Montague family (Romeo). The Prince of Verona breaks off the fight, stating that anyone who starts a fight again will be punished.
Meanwhile, a thick-headed, annoying young man (at least I think so) named Paris wants to ask Juliet's father for her hand in marraige. Capulet is hesitant, stating that Juliet should wait until she's older. Juliet's nurse and mother are also trying to convince Juliet that marrying Paris will make her so much happier.
Romeo, son of Montague, is in the meantime mourning the fact that his love, Rosaline, does not return his affection. She ignores him, and leaves him in an unbreakable state of woe. HIs two good friends, Benvolio and Mercutio, tell him that they're sneaking into the Capulet party.
When they do, Romeo and Juliet fall in love at first sight, and Romeo forgoets all about Rosaline (Fun fact: Rosaline is actually never seen on stage!). However, their love meets some boundaries when they find out that they belong to the opposite family, and are enemies. Regardless, Romeo meets Juliet on the balcony in a very famous love scene and vows that they will be married.
The next day, they are wed. Unfortunately, their is another spar between the Capulets and the Montagues. Mercutio is killed by a not-so-nice Capulet named Tybalt, and in a fit of rage, Romeo kills Tyblat. When the Capulets hear about their horrifying loss, Romeo is exiled from Verona, never to set foot in it again.
Secretly, though, Romeo stays the night in Juliet's room. Lady Capulet thinks that her daughter's grief is for Paris, and promises Juliet that she'll be married soon. Juliet says no, and Lady Capulet promptly rejects her.
Later, Juliet goes to the friar, who had wed them. She asks for help, and the friar gives her a secret potion that will make her go into a coma-like states for an amount of time. She takes it out of sadness for not having Romeo, and everyone thinks she's dead and puts her in the crypt.
Romeo, however, thinks she's dead for real. He goes to the crypt and is confronted by Paris, who thinks that it's Romeo's fault. In the fight, Paris dies. Romeo then poisons himself next to Juleit out of grief. Juliet then wakes up from her coma, sees Romeo lying dead besides her, and decides that without him, life is nothing. She kills herself with his dagger.
The play ends with the Montagues, Capulets, and the friar arriving at the crypt. Wracked with sadness, the two families agree to end their feud, and the play ends.
Themes of the Play
Romeo and Juliet is all about love, especially love that is strictly forbidden. But Romeo and Juliet don't care if their parents dissaprove. The only thing that matters is their love, and they go through thick and thin just to make sure they see each other again. Their dedication for one another moves their parents to stop the family feud, and end all the death once and for all. It also relates to doomed, such as that even in the prologue, it is stated that the lovers would die; they were doomed from the start.
Another very important theme is the case of light/dark imagery. The two lovers seem to see each other as lights in the darkness; a spark of love in the midst of so much hate and fighting. As Romeo says, "She doth teach the torches to glow bright!" As Juliet says, "He is whiter than snow on a raven's back." They are both lights of hope and love to each other, drawing the other in like moths to a lamp and ignoring everything else that goes on. Although usually the light is used positively, many times it is darkness that is more welcomed. For example, all of the fights between the family occur in broad daylight, while all of the love scenes between the two lovers happen at night, in secret.
Super Popular
Romeo and Juliet, at least on the big screen, is the most reproduced story of all time. Perhaps this is because film-makers just love to make movies about obsessive love.
In total, all the Romeo and Juliet movies made anywhere in the world for either straight-to-TV or to the Movie Theaters equal a ridiculous 54 movies! The most recent is the animated comedy "Gnomeo and Juliet." The oldest one is from 1900!
Others include the MTV-based Romeo+Juliet starring Leonardo DiCaprio, which is more modernized, and the 1968 version, which has been hailed as the greatest of all of the Romeo and Juliets.
