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BOOK REVIEW: Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

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This is one of Shakespeare’s most famous works, if not the most famous love story in the history of love stories. The central challenge of this couple’s love affair isn’t the usual fare of Shakespeare’s works – e.g. unrequited love, love triangles, or class differences. [There is an issue of unrequited love early in the play between Romeo and Rosaline, but Romeo gets over that girl in a hot minute once he meets Juliet.] The problem is that he meets Juliet by crashing her father’s party while wearing a disguise (a disguise that ultimately doesn’t fool the right people,) and the reason Romeo needs a disguise is because Romeo’s father and Juliet’s father are archenemies. Otherwise, the couple meets all requirements for wooing to commence: they each have feelings for the other, and they are of similar class status. In short, they would be a marriageable couple if their families didn’t hate each other.

[Warning: My Shakespeare reviews are far more spoiler-laden than usual because the stories are well-known to most readers and some find a detailed synopsis useful to make sense of the archaic language.] After an opening that establishes the enmity between the Montagues and Capulets, Romeo and Juliet fall for each other fast and hard, and with lightening speed have wed and consummated the marriage. However, no one other than the priest who married them, Friar Laurence, knows of the wedding. They have to keep the marriage secret because it would get back to the heads of the feuding households immediately.

Soon after the wedding, Tybalt (Juliet’s hot-headed kinsman) goes out looking for Romeo. Tybalt had recognized Romeo at the party, and wanted to fight him then, but Mr. Capulet (Juliet’s father) made him chill out because he didn’t want blood spilled during his party. But the next day Tybalt goes out intent on fighting. Tybalt finds Romeo’s friend (Mercutio) and his kinsman (Benvolio,) and Mercutio ends up crossing blades Tybalt. When Romeo comes on the scene, he steps into the middle of the fray to separate the men, and Tybalt finds an opening to thrust into Mercutio. As Mercutio dies, he famously wishes a “plague on both houses” (meaning Tybalt’s Capulets and Romeo’s Montagues.) Mercutio is but one of many who are completely fed up with the feud between these two families. The Prince of Verona has had it up to his neck with the bickering.

While Romeo is generally more a lover than a fighter, he duels and kills Tybalt immediately after Mercutio’s death. After killing Tybalt, Romeo flees the scene, later to find out he’s been banished from Verona upon threat of death. (Lady Capulet petitions the Prince for Romeo to be executed but the Prince won’t go for it, figuring Tybalt got what was coming to him for picking a fight and stabbing Mercutio. Then Lady Capulet plots to have a hit put out on Romeo, but events outpace her plot.) After meeting with Friar Laurence, Romeo flees to Mantua.

When her family informs Juliet that Tybalt has been slain by Romeo, they think she is broken up about her kinsman’s death. However, she’s really worried about her husband Romeo (who, of course, none of the family knows she’s married to.) When it seems like Juliet’s sadness for Tybalt has gone on long enough, her father sets a post-haste wedding date between Juliet and County Paris (the young man that Capulet favors for his daughter.) This is a problem for Juliet because: a.) she’s already married; and, b.) she deeply loves Romeo and finds Paris sort of Meh! She gets into a tiff with her father who thinks she’s an ungrateful whelp. [In Shakespeare’s day, the debate was whether a girl’s feelings about to whom she should be wed should be empathized with or ignored altogether. The idea that her feelings should be a major consideration was deemed laughable. Her mother comes down on the former side, but Lady Capulet accepts her husband’s conclusion of the alternative.]

Juliet goes to see Friar Laurence, who is a botanical mad scientist on the side. The Friar develops an elaborate scheme. Juliet is to go home, apologize to her father for not jumping on board the marriage train with the boy that her father so dearly loves (but to do so without sarcasm,) and then before going to sleep she will take a potion. This potion, not uncommon in Shakespearean works, will make her appear dead for a time, and then she’ll wake up perfectly fine. The family will take her to their crypt, pending the funeral. Friar Laurence sends a note to Romeo explaining the plan. Romeo is to meet Juliet when she wakes up, and they can then flee to Mantua — their families none the wiser.

Up to this point, this play could be a comedy just as easily as it is a tragedy. Sure, there have been a couple stabbing fatalities, but that’s actually pretty calm stuff compared to some of the comedies. (The dead are secondary characters.) What makes it a tragedy, is that Friar Laurence’s messenger can’t get through to deliver the memo in time because of some Black Death scare. Instead, Romeo’s (the Montague family’s) servant gets there first, and, because he’s not in on the Friar’s plot, tells Romeo the truth as he understands it – i.e. that Juliet is dead. Romeo sneaks back to the Verona cemetery with some poison he got at a shady apothecary on the way. Friar Laurence doesn’t know Romeo didn’t get the priest’s message until Romeo is already rolling up on the crypt, intent on dying with is beloved and so Laurence is late arriving to the scene.

To add to the tragedy, Paris is visiting Juliet’s grave and thinks Romeo is a villain. Romeo and Paris battle it out, and Romeo kills Paris. Romeo – knowing that Paris was betrothed to Juliet but without knowledge of Romeo and Juliet’s marriage – places Paris in the crypt near Juliet. But then he takes up position immediately beside her, and drinks the poison. As soon as Romeo dies, Juliet regains consciousness. She finds Romeo dead, and discovers that there’s not enough of the poison left for her. She tries kissing some poison off him, but when that doesn’t work, she plunges a dagger into her own chest.

After Juliet dies, authorities arrive on the scene having been summoned by a person who heard the duel between Romeo and Paris. The Prince arrives and calls for the heads of the Montague and Capulet households so that they can see what tragedy their feud has caused. The sight of the two dead star-crossed lovers (plus Paris, whom Capulet seemed to love) moves Montague and Capulet to end hostilities.

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I’ve been a Shakespeare fan since high school and have played a witch in Macbeth. It helps to learn the old English language and the history to really understand him and his humor. If more folks would do so they would love his work so much more than they do.

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Romeo and juliet.

• Common Sense Says
• Parents Say 1 Review
• Kids Say 32 Reviews

Common Sense Media Review

Tragic teen love story stands the test of time.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Romeo and Juliet is often the first Shakespeare play that middle- or high-school students read. It's a tragic, romantic story about two young lovers who get caught in the crossfire of their parents' conflict. Shakespearean language can be challenging to read, especially at first, and…

Why Age 13+?

In the first scene in the play, Capulets and Montagues goad each other into a fi

Shakespeare's clever wordplay often includes references to body parts and sex ac

There are a couple of references to drinking wine.

Any Positive Content?

Romeo and Juliet is often the first Shakespeare play that young people read, and

Many lives are lost because the Montagues and Capulets can't settle their differ

Friar Lawrence is a kind friend who wants to help Romeo unite with his beloved J

Violence & Scariness

In the first scene in the play, Capulets and Montagues goad each other into a fierce sword battle. Later, after Capulet's cousin Tybalt argues with and stabs Mercutio, Romeo is baited into an argument with Tybalt and kills him with his sword. At the end of the play, there are two more sword deaths and a suicide by poison.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Shakespeare's clever wordplay often includes references to body parts and sex acts -- the words "maidenhead" and "whore" are used creatively, for example. This bawdy language is often highlighted with physical gesturing when the play is staged, but the book is more clever than suggestive. Actual sex, other than kissing, takes place "off-screen," in that we only know Romeo and Juliet spend one night together as husband and wife because we see them part early the next morning.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Educational Value

Romeo and Juliet is often the first Shakespeare play that young people read, and it's an excellent introduction to the language and rhythm of his works. Also, Shakespeare's plots, and many of his lines, reappear across many generations of literature; reading Shakespeare is part of a great foundation for further study.

Positive Messages

Many lives are lost because the Montagues and Capulets can't settle their differences in a civilized manner. The tragedy of Romeo and Juliet shows how innocence and love can become casualties of hatred.

Positive Role Models

Friar Lawrence is a kind friend who wants to help Romeo unite with his beloved Juliet, and Juliet's nurse is likewise devoted to her young mistress, but both provide more help than guidance. Capulet and Montague are loving parents, but set a very poor example with their incivility. Romeo and Juliet risk their lives and familial relationships for love, which is admirable in a way, but it can't be ignored that they have only just met.

Parents need to know that Romeo and Juliet is often the first Shakespeare play that middle- or high-school students read. It's a tragic, romantic story about two young lovers who get caught in the crossfire of their parents' conflict. Shakespearean language can be challenging to read, especially at first, and newcomers would do best with a well-annotated edition that explains difficult words and constructions. Romeo and Juliet includes little inappropriate sexual content or profanity, but there are a few very violent scenes in which major characters are run through with swords. Director Franco Zeffirelli's beautiful 1968 film version is very true to the play, and well worth seeing. A much more modern and artful, but brutal, film starring Claire Danes and Leonardo DiCaprio was well received when it came out in 1996. It's also worth checking out the 1961 musical film West Side Story , which was based on this timeless play.

Where to Read

Parent and kid reviews.

• Parents say (1)
• Kids say (32)

Based on 1 parent review

What's the Story?

Shakespeare's tragedy Romeo and Juliet takes place in Verona, Italy, where the houses of Capulet and Montague are in conflict. Each of these older men commands the loyalty of numerous friends and family members, and the factions battle in the city streets. The town is ruled by Prince Escalus, who warns the citizens that he will not tolerate any further bloodshed and mayhem from the opposing factions. Capulet's daughter, Juliet, and Montague's son, Romeo, meet at a feast held by Capulet and fall in love. The two are sweethearts are determined to be together despite the division between their families, and they secretly marry. Romeo is later goaded into fighting with Capulet's cousin Tybalt, who is stabbed and killed. Romeo is then banished from Verona. Meanwhile, Capulet wants Juliet to marry another man, and Juliet knows she can't tell her parents whom she has already married. She conspires with the friar who married them to deceive her family so that she can steal away and be with Romeo. It's not until that plan ends tragically that the two families realize how foolish they have been.

Is It Any Good?

Not surprisingly, Romeo and Juliet has it all: clever dialogue, passionate romance, violent conflict, and plenty of poetry. Modern readers might have to suspend their disbelief to accept Romeo and Juliet's grand passion, but with a little patience, readers will be transported by the epic beauty of one of the world's best-loved plays.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the love between Romeo and Juliet -- two tenagers who have known each other for only about one day. Is this love at first sight? Is their love heightened by the obstacles they face?

The Capulets and Montagues hate each other, but we don't know why. Does it matter?

Do you think Shakespeare's play glamorizes suicide?

Why do you think this play is considered a classic and is often required reading in school?

Book Details

• Author : William Shakespeare
• Genre : Literary Fiction
• Topics : History
• Book type : Fiction
• Publisher : Simon & Schuster
• Publication date : January 1, 2004
• Number of pages : 336
• Last updated : June 9, 2015

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What to read next.

Romeo + Juliet

Hamlet (1991)

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BOOK REVIEW : Romeo and Juliet By William Shakespeare

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Book Reviews on...

Romeo and juliet, by william shakespeare.

Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet  is one of his most popular plays, a tragic love story set in the Italian city of Verona. “ Romeo and Juliet gives a wonderful exploration of young love, of first love, of romantic attitudes to love.” Stanley Wells , Shakespearean scholar

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“Shakespeare’s most popular play, it’s more popular than Hamlet, more popular than any of the other tragedies or plays.” Read more...

René Weis on The Best Plays of Shakespeare

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Other books by William Shakespeare

Titus andronicus (arden shakespeare) by jonathan bate & william shakespeare, all the sonnets of shakespeare by paul edmonson, stanley wells & william shakespeare, the art of shakespeare's sonnets by helen vendler & william shakespeare, shakespeare's sonnets by katherine duncan-jones & william shakespeare, illustrated stories from shakespeare by anna claybourne, rosie dickins & william shakespeare, hamlet by william shakespeare, our most recommended books, on liberty by john stuart mill, middlemarch by george eliot, war and peace by leo tolstoy, nineteen eighty-four by george orwell, the confessions by augustine (translated by maria boulding), republic by plato.

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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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Book Review

Romeo and juliet.

• William Shakespeare
• Drama , Play , Romance

Readability Age Range

• The first performance was in 1594, but a quarto of it was unofficially published in 1597. The version reviewed was from Signet Classic, Penguin Group.

Year Published

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare has been reviewed by Focus on the Family’s marriage and parenting magazine .

Plot Summary

An early fight scene introduces readers to the Capulet and Montague families and their long-standing feud. Romeo, son of Lord Montague, believes he’s in love with a girl named Rosaline until he and Juliet (a Capulet) lock eyes at a party and determine they must be together. The lovers marry in secret, with the help of Juliet’s nurse and Friar Lawrence — but all hope for their happiness seems lost when Romeo is banished for killing Juliet’s cousin, Tybalt. Juliet, who is being forced by her father to marry Paris, drinks a concoction that will put her in a coma so she appears dead. She’s entombed and Friar Lawrence promises to let Romeo know of the plot so he can come wake her. The plan goes awry and Romeo, thinking Juliet is really dead, kills himself in her presence. She wakes to find him lifeless and stabs herself with his dagger.

Christian Beliefs

Friar Lawrence marries Romeo and Juliet and plots to help them stay together. While his actions may seem well-intentioned, his scheming, deception and knowledge of mystical elements (such as the sleeping potion Juliet drinks) render him a holy man of questionable character.

Other Belief Systems

Even the earliest lines of the play, which state that Romeo and Juliet are “star-crossed lovers,” indicate that cosmic destiny, not God, will guide the actions in this story. The tragic events that follow, culminating in the death of the young lovers, are attributed to fate. “Love” itself becomes a religion for Romeo and Juliet: Their passion causes them to reject nearly all of the people, values and laws they once held dear. After they first meet, Juliet even refers to Romeo as “the god of my idolatry.”

Authority Roles

Lord and Lady Capulet push for Juliet’s marriage to Paris, believing it is in her best interest. Lord Capulet’s temper flares when Juliet protests. Juliet’s nurse essentially raises her, even breastfeeding her as an infant. She serves as Juliet’s confidante and messenger, helping the lovers execute their secret romantic schemes and putting Juliet’s happiness above her loyalty to her employers. Romeo’s parents demonstrate concern about his depression, and his mother dies of grief when he’s banished from Verona. Prince Escalus demands peace in Verona at all costs.

Profanity & Violence

God’s name is used in vain several times. The bulk of the profanity in this play appears in the off-color innuendos and double-entendres for which Shakespeare is famous. Mercutio and other minor characters often jest about sex and the intimate parts of male and female anatomy. As far as violence, there is swordplay, and the main characters’ suicides are emphasized.

Sexual Content

Romeo and Juliet kiss. The first time is on the night they meet. A few days later (though no explicit detail appears in the script) they consummate their marriage. Veiled sexual humor appears throughout.

Discussion Topics

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Book Review: Romeo and Juliet

As is likely the case with many readers, I was assigned to study the play "Romeo and Juliet" in a high school English class. While it's true that I was led on to read the book out of obligation, I ended up forming some pretty spirited opinions on the novel. I definitely was not engaged in this read, but even still, am able to respect its excellence in the context of Shakespeare's time.

As a reader, you can tell that the language used is vastly different from that of the common, English vernacular. For this reason, it can sometimes be a challenge to understand what is going on in the plot, especially since the story is told through the lens of a play. Before attempting this read, I would certainly brush up on some basic play terms, to grasp a better understanding of the composition of such a work.

Another factor contributing to the difficulty of this read is Shakespeare’s use of Iambic Pentameter, a rhyming scheme ideal for sonnets where three sets of rhyming quatrains and two lines of rhyming couplets are alternated. I found it truly impressive that Shakespeare manages to devise these rhymes with so much detail and insight. To go through with reading this novel, I would have to suggest to understand the rhyming scene of Iambic Pentameter, as doing so allows you to come to terms with a greater appreciation for Shakespeare’s work.

I found the plot itself to be a bit too inconstant. While at first the novel seems somewhat believable, the ending turns totally wild and unpredictable. I don’t mean to critique Shakespeare’s work, as his play was truly revolutionary for its time, but to a 21st century teen, this novel may not be the most enjoyable.

In terms of the themes, the novel excels with powerful and proactive lessons. Reflecting on the plot, and Shakespeare’s use of literary devices such as foreshadowing, can lead to meaningful conversations and analyses about life, love, and happiness. Overall, I would pin my recommendation on this book, but only if you take the time to understand the niche delicacies of Shakespeare’s writing. At face value, the novel may not seem the most exciting or engaging to the reader, but by appreciating the literary masterpiece found in Shakespeare’s work, you’ll definitely enjoy the read!

Reviewer’s Grade Level: 10

Themes and Analysis

Romeo and juliet, by william shakespeare.

Despite being hundreds of years old, Romeo and Juliet still packs a punch and is able to include several key themes throughout the play...

Main Themes

• Love vs. Hate: Explores the tension between love and hatred.
• Fate: The idea that destiny controls their lives and deaths.
• Youth: Presented as a period of impulsive action, lacking in caution.
• Dramatic Irony: The audience is privy to more information than the characters.
• Verse in dialogue: Iambic pentameter is used for poetic effect in the dialogue.
• Foreshadowing: Hints at the tragic end throughout the play.
• Light and Darkness: Symbolizes dualities like love and hate or joy and sorrow.
• Poison: Represents both the destructive power of hate and long-running feuds
• The Rose: A symbol of beauty and purity

The feud between the Montagues and Capulets is introduced, setting the stage for the tragic love story.

Romeo and Juliet secretly marry, but their happiness is short-lived as Tybalt's death leads to Romeo’s banishment.

The tragic end unfolds with both Romeo and Juliet dying, leading to the reconciliation of their feuding families.

Continue down for complete analysis to Romeo and Juliet

Article written by Lee-James Bovey

P.G.C.E degree.

Despite being hundreds of years old, “ Romeo and Juliet ” still packs a punch and is able to include several key themes throughout the play.

“ Romeo and Juliet ” is a timeless tragedy that explores the themes of love, hate, and fate. The play delves into the destructive power of family feuds and the consequences of impulsive decisions. It also examines the tension between personal choice and the seemingly inescapable forces of destiny.

The Nature of Fate

Right from the beginning of the play, we are introduced to the idea of fate as Romeo and Juliet are described as star-crossed lovers . Throughout they are somehow able to divine their futures but neither of them seems to have the power to avoid them. Shakespeare introduces the idea of fate from the very beginning, with the Prologue stating, “A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life.” This theme is reinforced throughout the play, as the characters frequently refer to omens and predestined outcomes. Romeo, for instance, laments, “I am fortune’s fool,” acknowledging the powerful force of fate that dictates the tragic events of the story.

The Effects of Love

The central theme of “ Romeo and Juliet ” is the intense and all-consuming love between the two protagonists. Their love defies their families’ longstanding feud, representing the power of love to transcend societal boundaries. However, Shakespeare also presents love as a force that can lead to irrational decisions and tragic outcomes. The duality of love—both beautiful and destructive—is at the base of the play’s tragedy. Also, in Elizabethan England love was associated with feminity . We see this reoccurring throughout the play as Romeo is unable to fight Tybalt because he believes his love for Juliet has made him effeminate.

The Individual vs. Society

“ Romeo and Juliet ” explores the tension between individual desires and societal expectations. The lovers’ secret marriage defies their families’ wishes, representing a struggle for personal autonomy in the face of rigid social structures. Juliet’s refusal to marry Paris and Romeo’s rejection of his banishment reflect their desire to control their own destinies.

Furthermore, the laws of the state suggest that fighting between the two houses are prohibited and yet we see those laws flouted by Mercutio and Tybalt in the name of their own honor and then Romeo in the name of revenge. All of these decisions seem to have dire consequences. The failure of these characters to escape societal constraints shows the overpowering influence of the society on the individual.

Youth and Impulsiveness

Shakespeare presents the impulsiveness and intensity of youth as a double-edged sword in “ Romeo and Juliet “. The young lovers’ actions are driven by passion rather than reason, leading to hasty decisions with fatal consequences. Romeo’s swift shift from infatuation with Rosaline to his passionate love for Juliet exemplifies youthful impulsiveness. Juliet’s decision to marry Romeo in secret and the couple’s eventual suicides further highlight how their lack of experience and foresight contributes to the tragedy.

Conflict and Vendetta

The long-running enmity between the Montagues and Capulets is the backdrop of the play and drives much of the action. This theme explores how inherited hatred and divisions generated by conflict can lead to violence and tragedy. The conflict is portrayed as senseless and destructive, affecting not just the feuding families but also the broader community of Verona. Tybalt’s aggression and Mercutio’s death are direct consequences of this feud, ultimately leading to the play’s tragic conclusion. Shakespeare uses this theme to comment on the futility of such enmity.

Key Moments

• The Feud and the Opening Brawl : The play opens with a violent clash between the servants of the Montagues and Capulets, illustrating the deep-seated hatred between the two families. This moment sets the tone for the entire play, emphasizing the destructive nature of the feud and its impact on the broader community.
• Romeo and Juliet Meet : At the Capulet’s party, Romeo and Juliet meet for the first time, instantly falling in love. This is a key moment as it marks the beginning of their tragic love story. Their meeting is laced with dramatic irony, as the audience knows that their love is doomed from the start.
• The Balcony Scene : In this iconic scene, Romeo and Juliet profess their love for each other and plan to marry in secret. The balcony scene is crucial as it solidifies their commitment and propels the narrative forward. It also highlights their defiance of societal expectations and the depth of their passion.
• The Secret Marriage : Romeo and Juliet are secretly married by Friar Laurence. This moment is key as it binds them together, setting the stage for the ensuing tragedy. The marriage, conducted in secrecy, symbolizes their rebellion against their families’ feud and societal norms.
• Mercutio’s Death and Romeo’s Revenge : The death of Mercutio at the hands of Tybalt, and Romeo’s subsequent killing of Tybalt, are pivotal moments. Mercutio’s death marks a turning point in the play, transitioning from romance to tragedy. Romeo’s revenge leads to his banishment, which further complicates his and Juliet’s situation.
• Romeo’s Banishment : After killing Tybalt, Romeo is banished from Verona. This is a critical moment as it separates the lovers and intensifies the sense of impending doom. Romeo’s banishment leads to a series of misunderstandings and rash decisions that ultimately contribute to the tragedy.
• Juliet’s Faked Death : In an attempt to avoid marrying Paris and be reunited with Romeo, Juliet takes a potion that makes her appear dead. This moment is key because it sets the stage for the tragic conclusion, as the plan goes awry when Romeo is not informed in time.
• Romeo’s Return and the Final Tragedy : Believing Juliet to be truly dead, Romeo returns to Verona and takes his own life beside her. Juliet awakens, finds Romeo dead, and kills herself. This final sequence is the climax of the tragedy, bringing the theme of fate full circle. The deaths of the two lovers are a direct result of the feud and the series of tragic misunderstandings.
• The Reconciliation of the Families : The play concludes with the Montagues and Capulets reconciling over their children’s bodies. This moment is significant because it highlights the senselessness of their feud and the devastating consequences of their enmity. The bittersweet reconciliation suggests a glimmer of hope and the possibility of healing.

Style, Tone, and Figurative Language

Shakespeare’s “ Romeo and Juliet ” is renowned for its poetic style, employing a mixture of prose and verse, with a particular emphasis on iambic pentameter. The use of sonnets, especially in the dialogues between Romeo and Juliet, adds a lyrical quality to their expressions of love. The play is rich in dramatic irony, such as when Romeo is convinced that Juliet is dead when she is only faking death. Foreshadowing is used to hint at the lovers’end in several places in the play. Shakespeare’s stylistic choice to intertwine the lovers’ dialogue with poetic forms enhances the romantic and tragic elements of the play, emphasizing the beauty and intensity of their love.

The tone of the play shifts from light-hearted and romantic to dark and tragic as the play progresses. Initially, the tone is playful, especially in the early scenes where Romeo and his friends jest and banter. However, as the story unfolds, the tone becomes increasingly somber, reflecting the growing tension and the inevitability of the tragic outcome. Also, this mixture of light and dark tones mirrors the duality of the themes explored in the play, such as love and hate, joy and sorrow, and life and death. Shakespeare masterfully uses tone to guide the audience’s emotional journey through the play.

Figurative language in the play is abundant, with Shakespeare employing metaphors, similes, personification, and imagery to convey the emotions and themes of the play. For example, Romeo’s comparison of Juliet to the sun is a powerful metaphor that elevates her to a celestial being, illuminating the darkness of his life. The use of oxymorons, such as “loving hate” and “feather of lead,” reflects the conflicting emotions experienced by the characters, particularly the paradoxical nature of love and the turmoil it causes.

“ Romeo and Juliet ” is a trove of symbolism, each element carefully crafted to enhance the play’s themes and deepen our understanding of the characters. The play is filled with symbolic imagery that reflects the complexities of love, fate, and the corrosive effects of vendettas.

Light and Darkness

Light and darkness are prominent symbols in Romeo and Juliet , representing the dualities of love and hate, joy and sorrow, and life and death. Juliet is often associated with light, as seen in Romeo’s declaration, “It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.” However, their love exists in a world overshadowed by darkness—the feud between their families and the inevitable tragedy. The play’s use of light and dark imagery underscores the fleeting nature of their love and the constant threat of death that looms over them.

Poison in the play symbolizes both the destructive nature of the feud and the tragic consequences of misguided actions. The potion that Juliet takes to feign death and the poison that Romeo consumes to end his life are both instruments of their tragic fate. Poison represents the corrupting force of the family feud, which ultimately leads to the lovers’ demise. It also serves as a metaphor for the destructive power of love when it becomes intertwined with hatred and violence.

Juliet’s dagger, which she uses to take her own life after discovering Romeo’s death, symbolizes the tragic culmination of their love and the finality of death. The dagger represents Juliet’s agency in her own fate, as she chooses to end her life rather than live without Romeo. It also serves as a symbol of the violent consequences of the feud between the Montagues and Capulets. The dagger, like the poison, is a tool that brings the tragic story to its inevitable conclusion.

The rose is a symbol of beauty and love, but also of the tension between appearance and reality. Juliet famously declares, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” suggesting that names and societal labels are meaningless in the face of true love. The rose symbolizes the purity and beauty of Romeo and Juliet’s love, which is not defined by their family names. However, the rose’s thorns also hint at the pain and suffering that accompany their love, foreshadowing the tragic events to come.

The Lark and the Nightingale

The lark and the nightingale are symbols of time and the conflict between love and reality. The lark, which sings at dawn, represents the morning and the harsh reality that Romeo and Juliet must part. The nightingale, associated with the night, symbolizes the time when the lovers can be together in secret. Their debate over whether they hear the lark or the nightingale reflects their desire to extend their time together and escape the inevitable separation. These birds symbolize the tension between the lovers’ desire for eternal night and the inevitability of daybreak, which brings with it the harsh realities of their situation.

Personal Perspective

Romeo and Juliet, that classic love story everyone has heard of. But it’s not just about two star-crossed lovers. It’s about this whole feud between their families that’s almost ridiculous, you would think they should know better. However, these two fall head over heels, and their families are allvehemently opposed. The brilliance of the play is the way Shakespeare minutely captures the passion and the heartbreak, like he is reading reading the reader’s mind.

And the reader is led to wonder: are they really just victims of fate? Or do their own dumb choices lead them to their downfall? We might say, “Oh, it’s destiny!” But they are also making some major decisions. It’s like they are playing Russian roulette with their lives. And the language is pure poetry. The way he describes everything, from the moonlight to the pain of love, is really intimate and enchanting. Romeo and Juliet is a classic for a reason. It has everything: love, hate, drama, and a whole lot of tragedy. It’s like a trainwreck you can’t look away from.

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About Lee-James Bovey

Lee-James, a.k.a. LJ, has been a Book Analysis team member since it was first created. During the day, he's an English Teacher. During the night, he provides in-depth analysis and summary of books.

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Romeo and Juliet

William shakespeare.

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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.

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The latest book reviews and book news, romeo and juliet: book review.

Romeo and Juliet book review

Today we will be reviewing the class book/play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. It is a comedy/ tragedy that is taught in classes all over the world. Keep reading for a short summary of the book and how the play came to be!

Romeo and Juliet Summary

Set in Verona Italy, the play starts off with a brawl in the streets between the Montague and the Capulet servants. The two families hate each other and that hate also has passed down to the servants. Prince Escalus of Verona breaks up the brawl and declares that the next one to start the fight will be punishable by death.

Count Paris discusses marrying Juliet with her father but he pushes the date back. Instead, he asks him to attend a ball that the Capulet’s are planning to hold. Benvolio, who is the cousin of Romeo, a Montague, tries to get Romeo out of his depression. He convinces Romeo with the help of Mercutio to attend the Capulet ball to meet Rosaline.

During the ball, Romeo ends up falling in love with Juliet. Juliet’s cousin Tybalt is angry when he discovers that Romeo has snuck into the ball. He wants to kill Romeo but is stopped by Juliet’s father who doesn’t want to ruin the ball.

After the ball, Romeo sneaks to meet Juliet and they admit their love for each other. Tybalt is still furious at Romeo and challenges him to a duel. The death of a close friend of Romeo ignites the flames to an all-out war between the two families.

Will Romeo and Juliet be able to be together? Will their families stop the feud or will it destroy both of the families?

The History of Romeo and Juliet

The story of Romeo and Juliet is very old but there are many that haven’t read the book or didn’t pay attention in class. It is one of Shakespeare most popular plays and is performed the most alongside Hamlet. While Shakespeare expanded on the Romeo and Juliet story, he was not the one who created the original story.

The plot of Romeo and Juliet is based on an Italian tale that was translated into verse as The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet  by Arthur Brooke in 1562. It was later retold in prose by William Painter in 1567. Shakespeare borrowed heavily from both sources and expanded on the plot as well as adding role characters and made it into the story we know today.

This story was written early in Shakespeare’s career between the years 1591-1596 and made its debut in 1596. It perfectly alternated between comedy and tragedy which is a style Shakespeare is known for. The play is over 400 years old and it is still one of the most popular plays in the world.

When we take about a love story or a tragic love story , the first story that is mentioned is Romeo and Juliet. When a story is as good as this, it transcends time. Not everyone is a fan of Shakespeare but even they have to admit his plays are incredible. Happy reading untik next time!

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Are you much into the “Who was Shakespeare” debate? I’m tangentially aware of it and tend to come down on the “Shakespeare was Shakespeare” side of things myself.

I’ve come across it and it is an interesting debate. I think it may have been a collective effort from various people.

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Romeo and Juliet is a timeless masterpiece written by the renowned playwright, William Shakespeare. The play tells the tragic love story of two young lovers from rival families in Verona, Italy. The themes of love, hatred, fate, and the consequences of impulsive decisions are woven into the fabric of the play, making it one of the most significant works of literature ever written.

As a language model, I have analyzed and studied the text of Romeo and Juliet to provide a comprehensive book review. Through this review, we hope to highlight the key elements of the play, including its plot, characters, themes, and language, and demonstrate why it has endured for centuries.

Table of contents

Significance, bibliography.

Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy that follows the love story of two young teenagers, Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet. The two fall in love at first sight during a party at the Capulet household, despite their families’ long-standing feud. Romeo, infatuated with Juliet, sneaks into her garden and professes his love for her. The two plan to marry in secret with the help of Friar Lawrence. However, their plans are thwarted by a series of unfortunate events, including the death of Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin, at the hands of Romeo’s friend Mercutio, and Romeo’s subsequent banishment from Verona.

Juliet, desperate to avoid marrying Paris, a suitor chosen by her father, turns to Friar Lawrence for help. The Friar devises a plan to reunite the lovers, which involves Juliet faking her own death with a sleeping potion. Unfortunately, Romeo hears only that Juliet has died and, heartbroken, purchases poison and kills himself at Juliet’s tomb. Juliet wakes up to find Romeo dead and, unable to live without him, takes her own life with Romeo’s dagger. The play ends with the families reconciling, too late to save their children.

The play’s protagonists are Romeo and Juliet, two young lovers who are deeply in love but ultimately doomed by the feud between their families. Romeo is a Montague and is known for his impulsiveness and passion. Juliet, on the other hand, is a Capulet and is more practical and level-headed than Romeo. Both characters are flawed, but their flaws are what make them human and relatable.

The play’s supporting characters are equally compelling. Friar Lawrence is a wise and compassionate priest who plays a critical role in the lovers’ tragic fate. He agrees to marry Romeo and Juliet in secret, hoping that their union will bring peace to their families. However, his plan to reunite the lovers ultimately leads to their deaths. Mercutio is Romeo’s best friend, known for his wit and humor. He is killed in a duel with Tybalt, which sets off a chain of events that lead to the play’s tragic conclusion.

Here’s a table of the main characters in Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare:

Character	Description
Romeo	The son of Montague and the play’s male protagonist. He is initially infatuated with Rosaline but falls in love with Juliet at first sight. Romeo is impulsive and passionate, which leads to his tragic fate.
Juliet	The daughter of Capulet and the play’s female protagonist. She is initially obedient to her family’s wishes but defies them when she falls in love with Romeo. Juliet is intelligent and strong-willed, but ultimately becomes a victim of the feud between the two families.
Mercutio	Romeo’s friend and kinsman to the Prince of Verona. Mercutio is quick-witted and has a sharp tongue. He is killed by Tybalt, which sets off a chain of events that leads to the play’s tragic ending.
Tybalt	Juliet’s cousin and a skilled swordsman. Tybalt is hot-headed and eager to fight the Montagues. He is responsible for killing Mercutio and is later killed by Romeo in revenge.
Friar Laurence	A Franciscan friar who agrees to marry Romeo and Juliet in secret. Friar Laurence is well-meaning but his plans to reunite the lovers ultimately lead to their deaths.
Nurse	Juliet’s nurse and confidante. The Nurse is a comic character who provides a contrast to the tragic events of the play. She is loyal to Juliet but ultimately fails to protect her from her family’s wrath.
Capulet	Juliet’s father and the head of the Capulet family. Capulet is initially hesitant to marry Juliet off to Paris, but becomes enraged when she refuses. He is responsible for driving Juliet to seek Friar Laurence’s help.
Montague	Romeo’s father and the head of the Montague family. Montague is initially concerned about Romeo’s melancholy, but becomes embroiled in the feud with the Capulets.
Prince Escalus	The Prince of Verona who serves as the play’s voice of authority. He is frustrated by the feud between the Montagues and Capulets and threatens to punish anyone who disturbs the peace.

Note: This table only includes the main characters in the play. There are many other minor characters who play important roles in the story, such as Paris (Juliet’s suitor), Benvolio (Romeo’s cousin), and the Apothecary (who sells Romeo the poison).

The themes of love, hate, fate, and the consequences of impulsive decisions are central to Romeo and Juliet. Love is portrayed as a force that can transcend social barriers and family feuds, but it is also shown to be fleeting and fragile. Hate, on the other hand, is depicted as a destructive force that can lead to tragedy and death.

Fate is also an essential theme in the play. The idea that the lovers were fated to die is suggested from the beginning, as the Prologue describes Romeo and Juliet as “star-crossed lovers.” The idea of fate is reinforced throughout the play through references to astrology and dreams. The idea that the lovers’ fate was predetermined is reinforced by the play’s tragic ending, which suggests that the lovers were doomed from the start.

Another theme of Romeo and Juliet is the consequences of impulsive decisions. Romeo and Juliet’s love is impulsive, and their rash decisions to marry and fake Juliet’s death ultimately lead to their tragic fate. The play suggests that impulsive decisions, particularly those made in the heat of passion, can have severe and irreversible consequences.

Shakespeare’s language in Romeo and Juliet is renowned for its poetic beauty and rich imagery. The play is written in iambic pentameter, a form of poetry that consists of ten syllables per line, with every second syllable stressed. The use of iambic pentameter gives the play a musical quality and helps to create a sense of rhythm and flow.

Shakespeare also uses a variety of literary devices, including metaphor, simile, and personification, to bring his characters and their emotions to life. The play’s most famous lines, including “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet” and “O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?” have become iconic examples of Shakespeare’s mastery of language.

Romeo and Juliet is one of Shakespeare’s most popular plays, and its enduring popularity can be attributed to its timeless themes and the universal appeal of its characters. The play has been adapted into countless films, stage productions, and other works of literature, and its influence can be seen in everything from popular music to modern romantic comedies.

The play’s significance also lies in its portrayal of the human condition. Romeo and Juliet’s story is one of love and loss, and their tragic fate has resonated with audiences for centuries. The play speaks to the power of love, the destructive nature of hate, and the consequences of impulsive decisions, all themes that are as relevant today as they were in Shakespeare’s time.

While Romeo and Juliet is widely regarded as a masterpiece, it has not been without its criticisms. Some have argued that the play’s portrayal of love is unrealistic and that Romeo and Juliet’s relationship is too idealized. Others have criticized the play’s depiction of women, arguing that Juliet is little more than a passive object of desire.

Despite these criticisms, Romeo and Juliet ‘s enduring popularity suggests that it continues to resonate with audiences today.

• Shakespeare, William. Romeo and Juliet. London: Arden Shakespeare, 1980.
• Garber, Marjorie. Shakespeare’s Ghost Writers: Literature as Uncanny Causality. New York: Routledge, 2010.
• Holland, Peter. Shakespeare Survey: Volume 65, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012.
• Kastan, David Scott. Shakespeare and the Book. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001.
• Wells, Stanley. Shakespeare: A Life in Drama. New York: W.W. Norton, 1995.
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ROMEO AND JULIET

From the campfire classics series.

by William Shakespeare & illustrated by Sachin Nagar & adapted by John F. McDonald ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 10, 2011

Using modern language, McDonald spins the well-known tale of the two young, unrequited lovers. Set against Nagar’s at-times...

A bland, uninspired graphic adaptation of the Bard’s renowned love story.

Pub Date: May 10, 2011

ISBN: 978-93-80028-58-3

Page Count: 80

Publisher: Campfire

Review Posted Online: April 5, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2011

GENERAL GRAPHIC NOVELS & COMICS

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THE CANTERBURY TALES

A retelling.

by Geoffrey Chaucer and Peter Ackroyd and illustrated by Nick Bantock ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 16, 2009

A not-very-illuminating updating of Chaucer’s Tales.

Continuing his apparent mission to refract the whole of English culture and history through his personal lens, Ackroyd ( Thames: The Biography , 2008, etc.) offers an all-prose rendering of Chaucer’s mixed-media masterpiece.

While Burton Raffel’s modern English version of The Canterbury Tales (2008) was unabridged, Ackroyd omits both “The Tale of Melibee” and “The Parson’s Tale” on the undoubtedly correct assumption that these “standard narratives of pious exposition” hold little interest for contemporary readers. Dialing down the piety, the author dials up the raunch, freely tossing about the F-bomb and Anglo-Saxon words for various body parts that Chaucer prudently described in Latin. Since “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” and “The Miller’s Tale,” for example, are both decidedly earthy in Middle English, the interpolated obscenities seem unnecessary as well as jarringly anachronistic. And it’s anyone’s guess why Ackroyd feels obliged redundantly to include the original titles (“Here bigynneth the Squieres Tales,” etc.) directly underneath the new ones (“The Squires Tale,” etc.); these one-line blasts of antique spelling and diction remind us what we’re missing without adding anything in the way of comprehension. The author’s other peculiar choice is to occasionally interject first-person comments by the narrator where none exist in the original, such as, “He asked me about myself then—where I had come from, where I had been—but I quickly turned the conversation to another course.” There seems to be no reason for these arbitrary elaborations, which muffle the impact of those rare times in the original when Chaucer directly addresses the reader. Such quibbles would perhaps be unfair if Ackroyd were retelling some obscure gem of Old English, but they loom larger with Chaucer because there are many modern versions of The Canterbury Tales. Raffel’s rendering captured a lot more of the poetry, while doing as good a job as Ackroyd with the vigorous prose.

Pub Date: Nov. 16, 2009

ISBN: 978-0-670-02122-2

Page Count: 436

Publisher: Viking

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2009

RELIGIOUS FICTION | GENERAL GRAPHIC NOVELS & COMICS

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PERSPECTIVES

HEART OF DARKNESS

by Peter Kuper ; illustrated by Peter Kuper ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 5, 2019

Gorgeous and troubling.

Cartoonist Kuper ( Kafkaesque , 2018, etc.) delivers a graphic-novel adaptation of Joseph Conrad’s literary classic exploring the horror at the center of colonial exploitation.

As a group of sailors floats on the River Thames in 1899, a particularly adventurous member notes that England was once “one of the dark places of the earth,” referring to the land before the arrival of the Romans. This well-connected vagabond then regales his friends with his boyhood obsession with the blank places on maps, which eventually led him to captain a steamboat up a great African river under the employ of a corporate empire dedicated to ripping the riches from foreign land. Marlow’s trip to what was known as the Dark Continent exposes him to the frustrations of bureaucracy, the inhumanity employed by Europeans on the local population, and the insanity plaguing those committed to turning a profit. In his introduction, Kuper outlines his approach to the original book, which featured extensive use of the n-word and worked from a general worldview that European males are the forgers of civilization (even if they suffered a “soul [that] had gone mad” for their efforts), explaining that “by choosing a different point of view to illustrate, otherwise faceless and undefined characters were brought to the fore without altering Conrad’s text.” There is a moment when a scene of indiscriminate shelling reveals the Africans fleeing, and there are some places where the positioning of the Africans within the panel gives them more prominence, but without new text added to fully frame the local people, it’s hard to feel that they have reached equal footing. Still, Kuper’s work admirably deletes the most offensive of Conrad’s language while presenting graphically the struggle of the native population in the face of foreign exploitation. Kuper is a master cartoonist, and his pages and panels are a feast for the eyes.

Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2019

ISBN: 978-0-393-63564-5

Page Count: 160

Publisher: Norton

Review Posted Online: Aug. 18, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2019

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by Peter Kuper ; illustrated by Peter Kuper

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Swearing, rants, reviews, on every level, book review – romeo and juliet by william shakespeare.

I’m a fan of Shakespeare. I think he’s way more accessible than people give him credit for. I can also understand why so many people don’t get along with him. For me, it all comes down to how you first experience him. For most of us, we’ll come across our first Shakespeare play at school. If you go through this with the right teacher then he you’ll be able to embrace the Bard fully. If you don’t have the right teacher then you’ll just think he’s old and boring. Thankfully, the first play that I studied was Macbeth and it ended up being a lot of fun. Then I got stuck into Othello , Hamlet and King Lear . By the time I was 16, I was already pretty hooked on old Willy. Although, I’ve never been a big fan of a couple of his most popular plays. Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Nights Dream tend to be ones that most people are willing to watch. I guess they’re more like traditional romantic comedies, so they might be easier for modern audiences to get behind. Really, I don’t know why people love these plays so much. For me, they’re two of his most tedious plays. And, yes, I have studied the histories. Certainly in the case of Romeo and Juliet . I just think it’s stupid.

But, last month, I decided to read the story of the star-crossed lovers in fair Verona. I guess I wanted to see if my opinion had changed over the years. Spoiler alert: it hadn’t. I still think this play is terrible. It’s based on a very childish and unrealistic version of love. I’d also argue that it doesn’t actually offer any real insight into human existence. I don’t understand why there is still such a fascination with this play. I don’t see what appeal there is in deciding to put on this play. It’s just not interesting. This is one of the main reasons that modern productions take so many liberties with the setting. Would Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation have been quite so successful had it not been set in contemporary America? Was it not the fact that Romeo and his chums brandished guns instead of actual swords? I doubt it.

That’s the main problem with this play. On its own, it really isn’t that exciting. That’s why you need to rejig is to include gangsters or rival football teams or whatever. You need an added context to really make it work. As it stands, the play does little to establish itself or its context. It doesn’t really care. We just know that these families are at war. Do we need to know why? Not according to Shakespeare. It’s just way to increase the melodrama and give these teens something to really get upset about. There’s such a lack of depth within this play. It focuses on the scenes between the two lovers and throws in a few fight scenes for good measure. What else is there? Not much, It’s just an overly simple narrative and very little character development.

Speaking of which, I read an article that suggested we hate this play because society hates young women. But how can we hate Juliet when we know nothing about her? All we really know is that she’s 13 because Shakespeare is super keen that we never forget that fact. I’m not suggesting that Romeo is a very developed character, but we do get to know more about him. He’s a feminine youth who is mocked for believing in love so much. That’s not so much of a problem but it could have been taken further. It’s difficult to believe in this love when we, the audience, don’t know anything about these two kids. Is it any wonder that so many people think their love is superficial?

And their love really is superficial. I’m not saying that all teenage love affairs are superficial but this one is. I’ve read an argument that suggests the play isn’t a warning about teenage love but is a warning not to underestimate teenagers. That the play is showing us that teenagers are mature adults capable of making their own decisions. It also had the gall to suggest that Juliet’s death is empowering. That her only alternative is being married off to someone she doesn’t love. That death is her only way to find freedom. Now, I’m sorry but if you think that is a positive message then I’m worried about you. Taken in this light, the play is just another teen drama that is advocating death as the ultimate resolution. Not only does Juliet not have to marry Paris but their families magically stop fighting. Forgive me if I don’t praise a play for encouraging young girls in arranged marriages to just end their lives. That’s not feminism.

This is a play that is so popular because people obsess about their teenage years. That’s why shows like The OC, Dawson’s Creek and Riverdale keep getting made. They’re written by people in the 30s and 40s who think that these were the best years of their lives. That the love between two teenagers is passionate and magical. Teenagers tend to be avid believers in love at first sight but, for the most part, this is an idea that we grow out of. Cause let’s be honest, teenagers are idiots. Romeo and Juliet are definitely idiots. The fact that they don’t take a second to think before acting is proof that they’re idiots. Whether you believe that their love is real or not, you have to admit that they’re both drama queens. They’ve known each other for a matter of days, secretly got married and then killed themselves. A 13-year-old and a 17 (ish) year old boy end up dead and, because we idolise teenagers, it has become one of the most celebrated love stories of all time. How is it possible?

To really believe that this is a love story, you have to believe that the pair would have stayed together forever. I mean, had they not got caught up in the drama and killed themselves. There is absolutely no evidence that the pair would have had a long and happy marriage. Their relationship is based on looks and a desire to escape their fates. There is no deep, emotional connection. Juliet is young and Romeo is a hopeless romantic. Given a few years and a couple of babies, I reckon the star-crossed lovers would be in terrible shape. Juliet looking after two young Montague’s while her husband is off writing poetry to whichever young thing he’s obsessed with at that time. Maybe there is something weirdly romantic about young love dying together. It’s like the thing with Disney movies. We’re told they lived happily ever after but we never see it. In Romeo and Juliet , we never see the reality of their decision. But, put them in the real world and I doubt these two would have lasted long.

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