The Shakespeare Plays / Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
Why would Shakespeare select an obscure, prudish adolescent poem to transfer into an immortal love story for the theater?
How do we explain the key names: Romeo (vs. Romeus), Benvolio, Mercutio?
Why did Shakespeare make Juliet so young?!
Why do we get an extraneous apothecary scene (usually omitted in performances) set in Mantua?
Professor Michael Delahoyde walks us through Romeo and Juliet, act by act!
Replay video coming soon.
![Romeo and Juliet](https://shakespeareoxfordfellowship.org/wp-content/uploads/Romeo-Juliet-sq.png)
Themes
The main themes of Romeo and Juliet include
- Love
- Passion
- Family Conflict
- Fate vs. Free Will
- Time
Plot Summary
William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet stands as one of the most enduring and iconic love stories in literary history. The tragic plot revolves around two young people from feuding families, the Montagues and the Capulets, whose forbidden love leads to their untimely demise.
The story begins with a street brawl between the servants of the Montague and Capulet households, which reflects the long-standing animosity between the two families. Romeo, a Montague, is infatuated with Rosaline, but his feelings quickly shift when he meets Juliet, the daughter of Lord Capulet, while in disguise at a masquerade ball. Despite their families’ enmity, Romeo and Juliet immediately fall in love and decide to marry in secret with the help of Friar Laurence.
Their happiness is short-lived as their clandestine romance leads to a series of tragic events. Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin, challenges Romeo to a duel, resulting in Tybalt’s death at Romeo’s hands. In retaliation, Romeo is banished from Verona by Prince Escalus, leaving Juliet devastated.
To avoid an arranged marriage to Count Paris, Juliet seeks Friar Laurence’s help, who devises a plan for her to fake her death using a sleeping potion. However, Romeo, unaware of the plan, believes Juliet to be truly dead when he finds her seemingly lifeless body. Consumed by grief, Romeo takes his own life beside her. Upon waking to find Romeo dead, Juliet also kills herself. The tragic deaths of the young lovers finally prompt their families to reconcile, but it is too late to undo the devastation wrought by their ancient feud.
Sources
Romeo and Juliet can be dated between 1562, when the source poem was published, and 1597, when the play was first printed.
What works inspired the author?
- 1562 Poem The Tragicall Historye of Romeus and Juliet (published with only the initials “Ar. Br,” imagined by some to mean “Arthur Brooke”)
This poem was a loose translation of Boaistuau’s French version of the story (published in Belleforest’s 1559 Histoires Tragiques).
Act by Act Analysis and more evidence for Oxford's authorship
Michael Delahoyde, Romeo and Juliet, Overview and Act by Act.
Visit the website of Professor Michael Delahoyde, host of our series, for an act by act analysis and full treatment of Oxfordian themes in the play.
Learn more!
Paul H. Altrocchi, “Shakespeare, Not Arthur Brooke, Wrote Tragicall Historye of Romeus & Juliet.” Shakespeare Oxford Society Newsletter, 2007: 22.
Kevin Gilvary, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Juliet.” From Dating Shakespeare’s Plays (2010).
Nina Green, “Who was Arthur Brooke: Author of The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliett?” The Oxfordian 3 (2000): 59-70.
BOOKS
Richard Paul Roe, The Shakespeare Guide to Italy. NY: Harper, 2011. Chapter 1: 6-33.
William Farina, De Vere as Shakespeare: An Oxfordian Reading of the Canon. Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Co., 2006. 44-48.
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