Romeo and Juliet

Tragic love... also have it on DVD starring Leonard Whiting. Its awesome.

Pretty much drek. It's a favorite of pre-teens who think they're in love or whatever. The characters basically just make a bunch of ill-advised decisions in the name of love... and they're both like 14 years old. Overly dramatic. I found myself slightly annoyed at the way Shakespeare romanticizes the puppy love (and terrible decisions that follow). It's what you can expect from...more

Pretty much drek. It's a favorite of pre-teens who think they're in love or whatever. The characters basically just make a bunch of ill-advised decisions in the name of love... and they're both like 14 years old. Overly dramatic. I found myself slightly annoyed at the way Shakespeare romanticizes the puppy love (and terrible decisions that follow). It's what you can expect from Shakespeare: lots of dramatic and situational irony, idle wordplay that adds nothing to the story, lots of melodrama, and, my favorite, relying on the use of random chance and misunderstanding as plot devices rather than real character motivation. Not impressive. Probably not in his top 5 best works, though it's debatable that he actually wrote all of "his" plays.   hide

love Shakespeare; Romeo and Juliet is special, not because it is "the greatest love story ever told." I love this version, i have almost as many notes in margin as there are in the text...and have a line from this tattooed on my chest! But i would generally disagree with people who say it's a great love story, because it's a story of hatred anger and bigotry, that has a love story...more

love Shakespeare; Romeo and Juliet is special, not because it is "the greatest love story ever told." I love this version, i have almost as many notes in margin as there are in the text...and have a line from this tattooed on my chest! But i would generally disagree with people who say it's a great love story, because it's a story of hatred anger and bigotry, that has a love story within it. Many good people die in it solely because of a feud between their fathers. A feud in which children have taken it upon themselves to re-enact on the street. It has comparisons to todays woes and we all know someone whose dad doesn't like someone else's and tells their children that...teaches them hatred. That is wrong. But i do love the story (although my English graduate friends keep telling me it's derived from the ancient greek plays - like the rest of Shakespeare work) and i am fully aware and am non committal on the authorship debate.   hide

I love the language of this play. I mean, Romeo could just say "Hey you're hot, let's get together." But since it's Shakespeare, we get "What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east! and Juliet is the sun. Rise fair sun and kill the envious moon, who is sick and pale with grief that thou her maid art far more fair than she". I could read the balcony...more

I love the language of this play. I mean, Romeo could just say "Hey you're hot, let's get together." But since it's Shakespeare, we get "What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east! and Juliet is the sun. Rise fair sun and kill the envious moon, who is sick and pale with grief that thou her maid art far more fair than she". I could read the balcony scene over and over again. Also, I really love that he leaves most readers on the edge of their seats at the end.. will the friar make it in time?? Will Juliet wake up before Romeo offs himself? And really, it's incredible that Shakespeare pulls this suspense off, espcially since he tells us right at the beginning that they die!   hide

I’m Back!’’Oh Romeo, Oh Romeo, Wherefore Art Thou Romeo?Deny thy father, and refuse thy name, if thou will not,be but sworn my love, and i shall no longerbe Capulet.’’I remember having to utter these words when i was cast for the part of Juliet in my last ever school production. At that time, i had no idea what power was in the script of this plot by William Shakespeare.Now, as i sit at...more

I’m Back!’’Oh Romeo, Oh Romeo, Wherefore Art Thou Romeo?Deny thy father, and refuse thy name, if thou will not,be but sworn my love, and i shall no longerbe Capulet.’’I remember having to utter these words when i was cast for the part of Juliet in my last ever school production. At that time, i had no idea what power was in the script of this plot by William Shakespeare.Now, as i sit at home, all on my own, i have nothing else to do but turn to the books that gave me comfort in the past when i needed it. I haven’t been granted leave from my course to go to India and to drown off my sorrows, so my life remains etched in Newcastle among memories that are best forgotten, thoughts which are best left behind and words which are best unspoken. Before, i continue with this review on Romeo and Juliet, i would just like to thank some of my close friends on MS who have supported me through this tough stage of my life through my last review....Tanmay, Chandra, Ektaa, Suketu, Ali, Sneha, Anusha, Neha, Nidhi, Sweety and Milind just to mention a few. Thank you so much for your support and your kind words. I am not over things, but i find writing gives me something to do, something to fill up the lonesome days.So sorry, my reviews are definitely not up to scratch, but i’m trying my best...Romeo and Juliet is probably one of Shakespeare’s most famous tragedies. The plot focuses around two families, both alike in dignity, one named Montague and one named Capulet. Basically. they’ve been fighting over something so ’’ancient’’ that they can’t remember themselves. Tybalt, the kinsman of Capulet is always at loggerheads with Mercutio, friend of Montague.Then something happens between these two feuding families. Love happens. That treacherous thing called love occurs. Love takes place between Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet. They do not know that they are from rival houses, and when they do, they are already too much in love to stop it. Its impossible to stop love. It just completely takes over. The line that really gets to me is when Romeo finds out, he describes himself as ’’fortune’s fool.’’ It just shows you how nothing’s in human hands. Its all up above.Romeo and Juliet then meet in the mesmerising balcony scene. Many people think that ’’Oh Romeo, Oh Romeo, Wherefore art tho Romeo?’’ means ’’Oh Romeo, Oh Romeo, Where Are You Romeo?’’, whereas it actually means ’’Why are you Romeo?’’ Juliet is asking why he is Romeo, what’s in a name? Just because he’s from the enemy side, she still loves him. Love has no control. Romeo and Juliet meet and then decide to get married the next day...Romeo and Juliet get married through Friar Lawrence.. However, in other parts of the city of Verona, things are not looking good. Tybalt sends a note to Romeo challenging him to duel. Mercutio responds instead. Romeo tries to stop this duel, but Tybalt fatally injures Mercutio who dies with the mesmerising line ’’a plague on both your house!’’ Romeo then kills Tybalt, forgetting that he is Juliet’s cousin. Romeo is banished from Verona, and goes to spend his last night with Juliet.Romeo awakes from his last night with Juliet, and almost immediately has to leave. Juliet’s mother comes bustling into the room to give her the ’’good news’’ that her father has arranged her marriage with Paris, a young gentleman. When she refuses to marry him, an angry scene follows between her and her father. Her father then leaves telling her she will marry Paris, and soon after her mother leaves. The Nurse tries to convince her to marry Paris.This is the part where i really feel for Juliet. She is now all of her own. She can’t be older than 14. First Romeo left her. Then her dear father left her. Then her mother left her. Now, even the Nurse with whom she shared all her secrects has turned her back to her. She is truly and utterly alone in this world.So, what will happen? Will Romeo and Juliet meet? Will they live happily ever after? Will the Montagues and Capulets forget their feud and wed the two lovers? Will Romeo’s banishment end? Will the story have a lovely ending which brings a smile to your face, not tears to your eyes?I can’t tell you what happens after, because sadly the answer to all the questions about is NO. As we all know, Romeo and Juliet die, and then their family feud finishes. It seems quite a big price to pay. Two young lives to end a family feud.Was it fate? Was it luck? Was it their rush into things? Was it their parents? Was it the stars? The gods? The families? Unfortunately, none of these questions can be answered......When life gets me down, i read this book. I dunno why, i just do. When tears refuse to come into my eyes, this book brings them out. When my heart turns to stone, this book turns it back into gold. When i feel all hope is lot, this book brings me hope. I don’t know why, seeing as its a tragedy, but somehow the lives of Romeo and Juliet teach me to live life to the fullest. We never know when its gonna end. We never know when all good things will turn their back to us. We never know when or if they’ll ever come back. So just live it....Thank you, sorry its been such a boring review....   hide

The story may be somewhat implausible. I remember making a time line of the plot once and the entire story takes place in less than a week. They are married to each other in less than three days. They really only have actual contact for a few days and yet they commit suicide over one another. However, what makes this play so special isn't the story itself, it's the language. The poetry used...more

The story may be somewhat implausible. I remember making a time line of the plot once and the entire story takes place in less than a week. They are married to each other in less than three days. They really only have actual contact for a few days and yet they commit suicide over one another. However, what makes this play so special isn't the story itself, it's the language. The poetry used throughout almost every single scene is simply breath taking. It's not the profound soliloquies of Hamlet or the word play of some of his comedies, but more innocent, endearing, and bittersweet. The balcony scene, when she waits for him in her bedchamber, when they depart, and of course when he finds her in the tomb...all AMAZING writing. That is, of course, why we love Shakespeare; and that is why Romeo and Juliet is special, not because it is "the greatest love story ever told." (Because West Side Story was stupid....)   hide

Romeo and Juliet is an early tragedy by William Shakespeare about two teenage "star-cross'd lovers" whose "untimely deaths" ultimately unite their feuding households. The play has been highly praised by literary critics for its language and dramatic effect. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with Hamlet, is one of his most frequently...more

Romeo and Juliet is an early tragedy by William Shakespeare about two teenage "star-cross'd lovers" whose "untimely deaths" ultimately unite their feuding households. The play has been highly praised by literary critics for its language and dramatic effect. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with Hamlet, is one of his most frequently performed plays. Its influence is still seen today, with the two main characters being widely represented as archetypal young lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a tradition of tragic romances stretching back to Ancient Greece. Its plot is based on an Italian tale, translated into verse as Romeus and Juliet by Arthur Brooke in 1562, and retold in prose in Palace of Pleasure by William Painter in 1582. Brooke and Painter were Shakespeare's chief sources of inspiration for Romeo and Juliet. He borrowed heavily from both, but developed minor characters, particularly Mercutio and Paris, in order to expand the plot. Believed written between 1591–1595, the play was first published in a quarto version in 1597. This text was of poor quality, and later editions corrected it, bringing it more in line with Shakespeare's original text.Shakespeare's use of dramatic structure, especially his expansion of minor characters,use of subplots to embellish the story, has been praised as an early sign of his dramatic skill. The play ascribes different poetic forms to different characters, sometimes changing the form as the character develops. Romeo, for example, grows more adept at the sonnet form over time. Characters frequently compare love and death and allude to the role of fate.   hide

Of course everyone knows the story of Romeo and Juliet. The rivalry between the Montagues and the Capulets, the story of the teenage doomed lovers. It has become so much a part of our culture that we no longer think about what it meant to the Elizabethans, or the message that Shakespeare was trying to convey. We have projected our own views onto the story, Feminists have by turns exalted and...more

Of course everyone knows the story of Romeo and Juliet. The rivalry between the Montagues and the Capulets, the story of the teenage doomed lovers. It has become so much a part of our culture that we no longer think about what it meant to the Elizabethans, or the message that Shakespeare was trying to convey. We have projected our own views onto the story, Feminists have by turns exalted and villified Juliet. Much depends on the interpretation of her character, one could portray her as an irrational femme fatale, or as a rebel who defies her unreasonable parents in the pursuit of love. Unfortunately though neither of these portrayals does her character justice, these are the only two ways in which Juliet is played in professional productions, at least that I have seen. Her character is far more complicated than this, but most professional actresses seem incapable of portraying a complicated character,but I do not blame them, I rather blame our culture, which does not reward complicated women. In the book Juliet is often actually the stronger character of the couple, although not always. Although she is weaker physically, her mind is actually superior to Romeo's, she can actually outthink him, as evidenced in the Capulet's party scene, where Romeo and Juliet first meet, which attracts him. Also her courage matches if not succeeds Romeo's. Although she shows a meek face to the world, Romeo sees a tigress within her. She has the rare kind of courage, courage stronger than the fear of danger, stronger than self-preservation, to put her own life on the line in order to be with the person she loves. While this could be seen as being irrational, it could also be seen as taking a calculated risk, she carefully weighs the pros and cons, and examines the situation logically, before she decides to carry out the Friar's scheme. She is not desperate, and she is not irrational, her logic is perfectly sound. But I am ranting, in short, if you want to see the true Juliet it is necessary to read the words for yourself. As with all Shakespeare's works, you may find that you are in need of a dictionary or thesaurus, despite the wonderful annotations provided by the folks at the Folger Shakespeare Library. But it is well worth the read, as this is one of Shakespeare's greatest masterworks.   hide

Write your review WORST PART OF HIGHSCHOOL!!!! Why did I have to read Macbeth, Hamlet, King Lear, Rome and Juliet, and A midsummer nights dream? What was the fucking point of that? I never read any, not one. Some cliff notes, a bit of spark notes, a C+ on the test and I learned nothing absolutely nothing. Please stop teaching this pointless shit in school. Cant you fuckers teach us something...more

Write your review WORST PART OF HIGHSCHOOL!!!! Why did I have to read Macbeth, Hamlet, King Lear, Rome and Juliet, and A midsummer nights dream? What was the fucking point of that? I never read any, not one. Some cliff notes, a bit of spark notes, a C+ on the test and I learned nothing absolutely nothing. Please stop teaching this pointless shit in school. Cant you fuckers teach us something usefull. Read books with pscho-babble that are still easy to read. I wouldnt mind if it was tied in with watching the actual play. But I dont know how much time was wasted reading this stuff. Yeah, shakespheare was fucking brilliant, get over it. Yeah, the Beatles were awesome but I dont need to listen to their entire discography to get the hang of them.   hide