2008 February 11 » International Youth Theater Network

Romeo and Juliet

Monday, February 11th, 2008

“Romeo and Juliet” is undeniably one of the most popular plays of William Shakespeare. Through this play, literary critics praised his potential as a dramatist through his development of minor characters and subplots to embellish the plot. Contrary to what many people think, this play was not an original story of the playwright. Shakespeare developed his plot of “Romeo and Juliet” based on the narrative poem of Arthur Brooke in 1562 entitled “The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet” and its prose version written by William Painter in 1582. Painter wrote his adaptation in prose which was entitled “The goodly History of the true and constant love of Rhomeo and Julietta.” He published it as one of the stories featured in the “Palace of Pleasure,” a collection of Italian tales.

The plot of “Romeo and Juliet” centers on the lives of two teenage lovers who belonged to two feuding families, the Capulets and the Montagues. Juliet Capulet is the play’s female protagonist while Romeo Montague is the male protagonist. These families eventually reconciled after the tragic deaths of the two lovers. Young love is considered to be the dominant theme of this story. At present, the characters of Romeo and Juliet have become emblems of those who die young for the sake of love.

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