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The history of romeo and juliet essay
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One of Shakespeare’s most well-known plays, Romeo and Juliet, written in 1594 and first performed in 1595 tells the story of two “star-crossed” lovers from feuding families that are victims to unfortunate circumstances that force them to eventually take their own lives.
However, it would surprise many to know, that the plot idea is not originally his but goes back a long way through many generations of many different people.
At a time when theatre was flourishing, Elizabethans would have flocked in their thousands to see Romeo and Juliet performed before them, enjoying the excitement and tragedy of it. For an audience who wouldn’t have travelled, a play about Italians would have been enough to have set the scene for them. Regarded as hot-headed, violent and passionate, the stereotype of Italians would have appealed to the audiences.
The play was most probably taken from a poem by Arthur Brooks called “The Tragicall Historye of Romeus and Juliet” in 1567. However, Brookes based his poem on a French version of an Italian story by Matteo Bandello. There are also many other stories, poems, myths and folk takes that have a strong resemblance to the Romeo and Juliet we all know today.
Shakespeare did however make several small yet significant changes to the play including changing Juliet’s age from 16 to 13. By dramatically reducing her age, Juliet seems more of a victim and this intensifies the tragedy. You feel more emotionally protective over her as she is at such a young and naive age. Shakespeare also shortened the overall time of events in the play from the original nine months to the shortened time of three days. This creates a real sense of drama as it is fast paced and it also adds to the tragedy as Romeo and Juliet only...
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...would not be what it is. Romeo is angered by his friend’s death, possibly blaming himself and goes after Tybalt seeking revenge. Tybalt and Romeo fight to the death, Tybalt losing.
The rest of the play is a downhill spiral of misfortunes, leading to the death of both Romeo and Juliet who take their own lives.
Mercutio’s role in the play, as the joker, the catalyst, the best friend, is an essential part to what is such a famous and respected play. Without him, Romeo and Juliet wouldn’t be the play it is today. He is, though, a very subtle character in the way that he isn’t seen as a main character but probably has the most important role. He introduces the idea of fate, adds to the effect of tension, and causes the reason for Romeo to murder Tybalt. He also shows another side to Romeo emphasising the effect that Juliet has on Romeo and how he changes around her.
Thought the play, these lovers go through many obstacles that range from arranging a wedding and finding a time to meet to Juliet trying to get out of marrying Paris. The entire time fate is tossing them around. Romeo realizes this after he kills Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin, in a brawl. At first, Romeo does not want to fight because Romeo and Juliet are already married at this time and he knows that they are cousins. Tybalt asks for a brawl from Romeo but Mercutio fights instead. Mercutio gets killed by Tybalt and that is what makes Romeo mad and fight Tybalt.
Tybalt says that Romeo is a villain, a trouble maker. He states that he will not stand for
In a story of unorthodox love, family feuding, and violence, many are at blame for the deaths. One of the people I think is responsible for Romeo and Juliet’s death is Mercutio. Mercutio had evoked a fight with his enemy Tybalt. In Act 1 Scene 1 lines 228-229 Benvolio tells Romeo “By giving liberty unto thine eyes.
William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is a love story based in Verona in the 1500s. Romeo and Juliet’s families have been in a feud for years, despite that they still fall in love. Romeo and Juliet hide their love from their families and this destroys them in the end. Romeo is protagonist and tragic hero in this play. He is an passionate and impulsive character that makes him perfect for his part.
Mercutio is one of the most unique characters in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. His language is always powerful and imaginative. The Nurse is a very important character in the play because as her title suggests, she is. a Nurse for the Capulet family. She is also a surrogate mother to Juliet.
Romeo, Benvolio, Tybalt, and Mercutio often times have their moments, whether they be comedic relief, tense segments, plot fillers, or simple information givers. It is overt Mercutio, Tybalt, and Benvolio is Romeo's best buds and foil. A foil is an opposing character who reveals information or traits about another character, mainly a protagonist. Mercutio is Romeo’s close friend and a blood relative of the Prince and Count Paris, Tybalt is Romeo’s enemy and a Capulet, and Benvolio is a Montague and a sweet one at that. Mercutio’s character arch is often times a jest one. Cracking jokes and teasing Romeo in the opening of the play. He is the one who gives us most of the information about Romeo’s wanted lover Rosalind, and foreshadowing towards
It is difficult for the audience to ignore this attractive role. His functions are entertaining the audience and being a turning-point figure. To begin with, he always says jests and puns to make the whole play livelier and the audience will burst out laughing at his words and funny actions. Next, his appearance is crucial to link the plots. He convinces Romeo to attend the Capulets’ ball and that is the place where he first meets Juliet. In addition, Mercutio’s death turns the atmosphere of the play. From now on, Romeo and Juliet becomes a tragedy. It is a success that Shakespeare adds this fantastic role to Romeo and
Mercutio, the joker and comic relief of the play, dies first and foremost. Tybalt spies Romeo at Lord Capulet’s extravaganza and vows to continue his fighting match by saying:
The result is Romeo and Juliet murdering themselves and the play has a tragic ending. Overall, young, innocent lovers die, through no fault of their own but a simple mistake.
In 1596, William Shakespeare published the tragic tale of two star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet. The origins of this story are uncertain but Shakespeare’s chief source for his adoption of the story was from “…The Tragicall Historye of Romeus and Juliet, a poem by Arthur Brooke (1562). He also knew the story from Palace of Pleasure, by William Painter, which appeared in several editions prior to 1580.”(Boyce 563) Shakespeare’s classic tale is about “two young lovers caught in the crossfire of a senseless family feud.”(Shakespeare 3) This feud between the two families ultimately is the cause of the two lovers untimely demise. In 1996, Baz Luhrmann produced a modern film of the classic tragedy entitled William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet. Adding familiar images and common ideas, Luhrmann brought the classic story to modern times. Though Romeo + Juliet has many differences from the original version from Shakespeare, it supports the original characters, themes, dialogue, and key issues of the classic tale of the star-crossed lovers.
The tragedy of Romeo and Juliet published in 1597 by William Shakespeare is a suspenseful and romantic story about two lovers whose love cannot part them from their feuding families. Although they were responsible for killing themselves, there are certain individuals who influenced them to commit suicide. Those who are most responsible for the unfortunate deaths of Romeo and Juliet include Friar Lawrence, for his selfish desire to be a hero, Capulet, for imposing an ultimatum and his disconnection from his daughter, and the Nurse, for her irresponsibility and betrayal to Juliet.
a very important scene in the play because Romeo loses his best friend, Mercutio, and also kills Tybalt, his wife's cousin. This scene is entertaining to the audience due to the large amount of action, and the fact that it draws upon the audience's empathy towards the characters, particularly Romeo.
Romeo and Juliet is a play written by William Shakespeare, where a boy and a girl fall in love with each other during a party hosted by Juliet’s father, Lord Capulet. The two teenager decide to get marry, despite their family's hate for each other and only meeting each other a few hours ago. However, the Montagues (Romeo’s Parents) and the Capulets end their feud after they discover that their children killed themselves. Romeo and Juliet’s death was caused by Juliet’s parents, Juliet, and Friar Lawrence.
3 Dec. 2013. Kerschen, Lios. A. A “Critical Essay on ‘Romeo and Juliet’. ” Drama for Students. Ed.
William Shakespeare has provided some of the most brilliant plays to ever be performed on the stage. He is also the author of numerous sonnets and poems, but he is best known for his plays such as Hamlet, Macbeth, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Romeo and Juliet. In this essay I would like to discuss the play and movie, "Romeo and Juliet", and also the movie, Shakespeare in Love. The play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare is set in the fictional city of Verona. Within the city lives two families, the Capulets and the Montegues, who have been feuding for generations.