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Romeo and Juliet is a classic tragedy by William Shakespeare about two teenage "star-cross'd lovers" from feuding households in Verona. Along with Hamlet, the play is Shakespeare's most widely-performed and adapted. The plot is based on an Italian story, translated into verse in 1562 by Arthur Brooke as Romeus and Juliet. It was retold in prose form by William Painter in 1582 as Palace of Pleasure. Painter and Brooke's work served as Shakespeare's primary inspiration for the play.
The play has been adapted for film, ballet, opera and television. Most notably, Franco Zeffirelli directed a 1968 version starring Olivia Hussey as Juliet and Leonard Whiting as Romeo. The film was given a thoroughly postmodern retelling by Australian director Baz Luhrmann who released an amped-up, Academy Award-nominated version, [[William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet]], in 1996.
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Fast Facts
- Arguably most well-known of Shakespeare's plays
- Ranks with Hamlet as one of Shakespeare's most-performed plays
- Written between 1591 and 1596
- Exact date of the first performance unknown but was performed prior to 1597
- Is a dramatisation of Arthur Brooke's narrative poem The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet
- Produced at least 51 times on TV and film alone
- Romeo
- Juliet
- Mercutio
- Friar Lawrence
- "Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?"
- "What light through yonder window breaks?"
- "Good night, good night! parting is such sweet sorrow,That I shall say good night till it be morrow."
- "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet."
- "A Plague on both your houses!"
- "For Never was there a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo"
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Balcony Scene Speech
- But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks?
- It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.
- Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon,
- Who is already sick and pale with grief,
- That thou her maid art far more fair than she:
- Be not her maid, since she is envious;
- Her vestal livery is but sick and green
- And none but fools do wear it; cast it off.
- It is my lady, O, it is my love!
- O, that she knew she were!
- She speaks yet she says nothing: what of that?
- Her eye discourses; I will answer it.
- I am too bold, 'tis not to me she speaks:
- Two of the fairest stars in all the heaven,
- Having some business, do entreat her eyes
- To twinkle in their spheres till they return.
- What if her eyes were there, they in her head?
- The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars,
- As daylight doth a lamp; her eyes in heaven
- Would through the airy region stream so bright
- That birds would sing and think it were not night.
- See, how she leans her cheek upon her hand!
- O, that I were a glove upon that hand,
- That I might touch that cheek!
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Related Mahalo Pages
William Shakespeare | Othello, The Moor of Venice | Macbeth | Titus Andronicus | Julius Caesar | King Lear | Antony and Cleopatra | Timon of Athens | Coriolanus | Hamlet | Troilus and Cressida | Leonardo DiCaprio | Claire Danes | Olivia Hussy | Franco Zeffirelli | Leonard Whiting | Shakespeare in Love | Joseph Fiennes | Judi Dench | Gwyneth Paltrow | Ben Affleck
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Theatre History Romeo and Juliet Analysis
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Wikipedia: Romeo and Juliet
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Theatre History Romeo and Juliet Analysis
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Romeo and Juliet on Twitter Powered by Twitter
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Y u look like u in a highschool musical or smethin lol. U look like u tried out 2 b juliette in "romeo and juliet" http://short.to/ioq7
@kemcgee | July 06, 2009 11:14 PM -
soundtracks - 'romeo and juliet' - love theme - 01 (nino rot - http://fizy.com/s/16ox00
@orkun_tekin | July 06, 2009 11:09 PM -
"O Romeo,Romeo,wherefore art thou Romeo?"-Romeo and Juliet . William Shakespeare
@miss_rocker | July 06, 2009 11:03 PM -
Day one of rehearsals for post modernist Romeo and Juliet! I will post dates/times of performances on my blog soon!
@lauraelizabethm | July 06, 2009 10:41 PM
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Romeo and Juliet on Amazon | View All
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SHAKESPEARE: The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet (New Kittredge Shakespeare) - $8.95
Part of "The New Penguin Shakespeare" series, this text looks at "Romeo and Juliet" with an introduction, a list of further reading, commentary and a short account of the textual problems of the play. The series is used and recommended by t...
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Romeo x Juliet: Romeo Collection, Part 1 - $59.98
Love is something you never regret....For most of her young life, Juliet was forced to live a tortuous lie. Disguised as a boy, she lurked in the shadows of Neo Verona. Escaping from the monotony of a life in hiding only as the Crimson W...
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Romeo and Juliet (Folger Shakespeare Library) - $5.99
Each edition includes: <P> Freshly edited text based on the best early printed version of the play Full explanatory notes conveniently placed on pages facing the text of the play Scene-by-scene plot summaries A ke...
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Romeo & Juliet - $9.98
Shakespeare's classic play of tragic love between members of opposing families.Genre: Feature Film-DramaRating: PGRelease Date: 12-DEC-2003Media Type: DVD
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Questions and Answers About Romeo and Juliet | View All | Ask a Question
View All Romeo and Juliet Questions (8) | Ask a QuestionWhat is William Shakespeares best play? (7 Answers)Not to wax philosophical but I think Shakespeare's best play is the one when read that speaks to you personally. I guess it's possible that one may be better written ... read more
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Romeo and Juliet Synopsis | Add a Link
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Romeo and Juliet Analysis and Study Guides | Add a Link
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Romeo and Juliet in TV and Films
- Note: The majority of the links in this timeline are to IMDb, which has pop-ups.
- 1933: Romeo and Juliet First Sound Recording
- 1936: Romeo and Juliet (Norma Shearer) (Leslie Howard) (John Barrymore) (Basil Rathbone)]
- 1947: Romeo and Juliet (TV) First TV Production
- 1965: Romeo and Juliet (TV-Filmed Stage Performance)
- 1968: Romeo and Juliet (Franco Zeffirelli) (Olivia Hussey) (Leonard Whiting)
- 1978: Romeo and Juliet (TV) (John Gielgud) (Alan Rickman-TV Debut)
- 1996: William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet (Leonardo Dicaprio) (Claire Danes)
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Romeo and Juliet Influences and Culture | Add a Link
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GradeSaver: Essays on ''Romeo and Juliet''
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Internet Shakespeare Editions: ''Romeo and Juliet'' Life and Times
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eNotes: Introduction to ''Romeo and Juliet''
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YouTube: ''Romeo and Juliet'' Music Video
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YouTube: ''Romeo and Juliet'' Anime Trailer
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IFilm: ''Shakespeare In Love'' - Trailer
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Cartoon Stock: Humorous ''Romeo and Juliet'' Cartoon Merchandise
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GradeSaver: Essays on ''Romeo and Juliet''
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Romeo and Juliet inspired Film and Television
- Note: These links in this timeline are to IMDb, which has pop-ups.
- 1900: Romeo and Juliet (Silent)
- 1924: Romeo and Juliet (Comedy Short) (Silent)
- 1942: Shuhaddaa el gharam (Arabic)
- 1943: Romeo y Julieta (Spanish)
- 1947: Romeo and Juliet (Indian-Urdu)
- 1951: Romeo e Giulietta
- 1955: Romeo i Dzhulyetta (Russian)
- 1964: Giulietta e Romeo (Italian)
- 1982: Romeo e Giulietta (Ballet)
- 1983: Romeo and Juliet on Ice (TV)
- 1998: Shakespeare in Love
- 2000: Romeo e Giulietta (TV) (Ballet) (Italian)
- 2002: Roméo et Juliette (TV) (Opera) (French)
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Romeo and Juliet Merchandise
- Amazon.com: Romeo and Juliet Related Merchandise
- eBay.com: Romeo and Juliet Related Merchandise
- CafePress: Romeo and Juliet Printed Merchandise
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