Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy Shakespeare wrote tragedies from the beginning of his career. One of his earliest plays was the Roman tragedy Titus Andronicus, which he followed a few years later with Romeo and Juliet. However, his most admired tragedies were written in a seven-year period between 1601 and 1608. These include his four major tragedies Hamlet, Othello, King Lear written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare William Shakespeare [a] was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's preeminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon".[b] His surviving works, including some collaborations, consist of 38 plays,[c] 154 sonnets, two long narrative about two young "star-cross'd lovers "Star-crossed" or "star-crossed lovers" is a phrase describing a pair of lovers whose relationship is said to be doomed from the start. The phrase is astrological in origin, stemming from the belief that the positions of the stars ruled over people's fates. To describe a relationship as "star-crossed" is to say that"[1] whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with Hamlet The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601. The play, set in Denmark, recounts how Prince Hamlet exacts revenge on his uncle Claudius, who has murdered Hamlet's father, the King, and then taken the throne and married Gertrude, Hamlet's and Macbeth The Tragedy of Macbeth, commonly just Macbeth, is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607. The earliest account of a performance of what was likely Shakespeare's play is April 1611, when Simon Forman recorded seeing, is one of his most frequently performed plays. Today, the title characters are regarded as archetypal An archetype is an original model of a person, ideal example, or a prototype upon which others are copied, patterned, or emulated; a symbol universally recognized by all. In psychology, an archetype is a model of a person, personality, or behavior young lovers.
Romeo and Juliet belongs to a tradition of tragic romances Romance is a general term that refers to the attempt to express love with words or deeds. It also refers to feelings of excitement associated with love stretching back to antiquity. Its plot is based on an Italian tale, translated into verse as The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet is a narrative poem, first published in 1562 by Arthur Brooke, who is reported to have translated it from an Italian novella by Matteo Bandello. Romeus and Juliet was the key source for William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Little is known about Arthur Brooke, except that he drowned in 1563 by by Arthur Brooke Arthur Brooke (d. circa 1563) was an English poet whose only known work was The Tragicall History of Romeus and Juliet (1562), considered to be William Shakespeare's chief source for his famous play Romeo and Juliet. Though ostensibly a translation from the Italian of Bandello, Brooke's poem is a free paraphrase in 1562, and retold in prose in Palace of Pleasure William Painter , English author, was a native of Kent. He matriculated at St John's College, Cambridge, in 1554. In 1561 he became clerk of the ordnance in the Tower of London, a position in which he appears to have amassed a fortune out of the public funds. In 1586 he confessed that he owed the government a thousand pounds, and in the next year by William Painter William Painter , English author, was a native of Kent. He matriculated at St John's College, Cambridge, in 1554. In 1561 he became clerk of the ordnance in the Tower of London, a position in which he appears to have amassed a fortune out of the public funds. In 1586 he confessed that he owed the government a thousand pounds, and in the next year in 1582. Shakespeare borrowed heavily from both, but developed supporting characters, particularly Mercutio Mercutio is a character in William Shakespeare's famous tragedy, Romeo and Juliet. He is a relative of the Prince and Paris, and is a close friend of Romeo, and Romeo's cousin Benvolio. The invitation to the Capulet's party states that he has a brother named Valentine. Mercutio is apt to make long, drawn out speeches , and is generally thought to and Paris, in order to expand the plot. Believed to be written between 1591 and 1595, the play was first published in a quarto The earliest texts of William Shakespeare's works were published during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in quarto or folio format. Folios are large, tall volumes; quartos are smaller, roughly half the size version in 1597. This text was of poor quality, and later editions corrected it, bringing it more in line with Shakespeare's original text.
Shakespeare's use of dramatic structure Dramatic structure is the structure of a dramatic work such as a play or film. Many scholars have analyzed dramatic structure, beginning with Aristotle in his Poetics . This article focuses primarily on Gustav Freytag's analysis of ancient Greek and Shakespearean drama, especially effects such as switching between comedy and tragedy to heighten tension, his expansion of minor characters, and his use of sub-plots to embellish the story, has been praised as an early sign of his dramatic skill. The play ascribes different poetic forms to different characters, sometimes changing the form as the character develops. Romeo, for example, grows more adept at the sonnet The sonnet is one of the poetic forms that can be found in lyric poetry from Europe. The term "sonnet" derives from the Occitan word sonet and the Italian word sonetto, both meaning "little song". By the thirteenth century, it had come to signify a poem of fourteen lines that follow a strict rhyme scheme and specific structure over the course of the play.
Romeo and Juliet has been adapted numerous times for stage, film, musical and opera. During the Restoration The English Restoration, often shortened to the Restoration, began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Commonwealth of England that followed the English Civil War. The term Restoration may apply both to the actual event by which the monarchy was restored, and to the period, it was revived and heavily revised by William Davenant Sir William Davenant , also spelled D'Avenant, was an English poet and playwright. Along with Thomas Killigrew, Davenant was one of the rare figures in English Renaissance theatre whose career spanned both the Caroline and Restoration eras, and who was active both before and after the English Civil War and the Interregnum. David Garrick's David Garrick was an English actor, playwright, theatre manager and producer who influenced nearly all aspects of theatrical practice throughout the 18th century and was a pupil and friend of Dr Samuel Johnson. He appeared in a number of amateur theatricals, and with his appearance in the title role of Shakespeare's Richard III audiences and 18th-century version also modified several scenes, removing material then considered indecent, and Georg Benda's operatic adaptation omitted much of the action and added a happy ending. Performances in the 19th century, including Charlotte Cushman's, restored the original text, and focused on greater realism Realism was a general movement in 19th-century theatre that steered theatrical texts and performances toward greater fidelity to real life, including Naturalism in France, Verismo in Italy, and similar movements. John Gielgud's Sir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH was an English actor, director, and producer. A descendant of the renowned Terry acting family, he achieved early international acclaim for his youthful, emotionally expressive Hamlet which broke box office records on Broadway in 1937. He was known for his beautiful speaking of verse and particularly for his warm 1935 version kept very close to Shakespeare's text, and used Elizabethan costumes and staging to enhance the drama. In the 20th century the play has been adapted in versions as diverse as MGM's comparatively faithful 1936 film Romeo and Juliet is a 1936 film adaptation of the play by Shakespeare, directed by George Cukor from a screenplay by Talbot Jennings. The film stars Leslie Howard as Romeo and Norma Shearer as Juliet. Other cast members included John Barrymore as Mercutio, Edna May Oliver as the Nurse, and Basil Rathbone as Tybalt. The New York Times selected the, the 1950s stage musical West Side Story West Side Story is an American musical with a book by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein, and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. The musical's plot is based on William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, and 1996's MTV MTV is an American cable television network based in New York City and launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs. Today, MTV still plays a limited selection of music videos, but the channel primarily broadcasts a variety of popular culture and reality television-inspired Romeo + Juliet.
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