william shakespeare and romeo and juliet

Their aim is to convince Romeo that his unrequited love for Rosaline, Capulet’s niece, can be bettered.

That night the Capulets hold a feast and masked ball, which is gatecrashed by Romeo, his cousin and best friend Benvolio, and Mercutio, a relative of the Prince. John William Waterhouse’s portrait of Juliet or The Blue Necklace from 1898 tells no story, but resembles a Renaissance painting of a young daughter of the nobility who is ready for marriage. John William Waterhouse (1849–1917), Juliet (The Blue Necklace) (1898), oil on canvas, 72 x 48 cm, Private collection. Juliet, Capulet’s thirteen year-old daughter, is promised to Count Paris, a relative of the Prince, provided that Paris can gain her agreement.

Romeo, son of Montague, reveals that he has fallen in love. Following a brawl, Prince Escalus, who rules the city, warns the families that any further fighting will result in the execution of their patriarchs. Set in the Italian Renaissance city of Verona, its characters are drawn from two warring families, the Montagues and Capulets. If there’s one Shakespeare play you remember fairly well, it’s Romeo and Juliet. Its story isn’t original, but Shakespeare’s treatment of its ill-fated lovers is unrivalled. Since then it has been widely performed, reworked, adapted, and otherwise reused for countless other plays, operas, musicals, ballets, novels and movies. One of the best-known tragic romances in any language, Shakespeare probably completed Romeo and Juliet in 1595, and it was first published two years later.

William shakespeare and romeo and juliet