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Recommended Reading: 600 Classics Reviewed

Romeo and Juliet

by William Shakespeare

c. 1595-1596

Drama

Tragedy, Romance

This late-16th century play about young people struggling for love in a world filled with hate will always be cherished as one of the greatest romances of all times.

This love story, though familiar even to those who have never read or seen a Shakespearean play, reveals fresh depths and nuances when experienced directly because of the beauty and precision of Shakespeare's language and his brilliant perception of character.

The brawl that opens the play reveals at once the violence that racks Verona. The enmity between the city's two leading families, the Capulets and the Montagues, is laid to rest only in the final scene, when Capulet and Montague reach reconciliation through the tragic death of their children.

Romeo, a Montague, moping for the love of Rosaline at the beginning of the play, falls in love with Juliet at a ball give by Capulet, her father. That Juliet feels the same about him he discovers by eavesdropping as she talks to herself on the balcony overlooking the Capulets' garden. This balcony scene offers some of the most memorable love poetry ever written, with an abundance of phrases and images that have become a permanent part of our cultural heritage.

The chain of unhappy events that follow constitutes a tragedy of errors, as the antagonism between the two families leads to the death of Romeo's friend Mercutio and Juliet's cousin Tybalt, slain by Romeo himself.

Yet the mood of the play is not heavy. Shakespeare includes much comic byplay between Romeo and his friends and between Juliet and her Nurse, thus enriching the texture of the play as its characters appear in diverse lights.

It is incredible that Romeo and Juliet are actually on stage together for only about twelve minutes, for these two adolescents have become the Western world's most memorable lovers.

Citation Types

Type
Format
MLA 9th
Shakespeare, William. "Romeo And Juliet." Recommended Reading: 600 Classics Reviewed, edited by Editors of Salem Press, Salem Press, 2015. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=6CR_0472.
APA 7th
Shakespeare, W. (2015). Romeo and Juliet. In E. Salem Press (Ed.), Recommended Reading: 600 Classics Reviewed. Salem Press. online.salempress.com.
CMOS 17th
Shakespeare, William. "Romeo And Juliet." Edited by Editors of Salem Press. Recommended Reading: 600 Classics Reviewed. Hackensack: Salem Press, 2015. Accessed September 15, 2025. online.salempress.com.