The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, often called Romeo and Juliet, is a play written by William Shakespeare. It tells the story of two young Italians from families that are enemies. This play was one of Shakespeare’s most popular during his lifetime and is often performed today, along with Hamlet. The main characters, Romeo and Juliet, are seen as classic examples of young lovers.

Romeo and Juliet is part of a long tradition of sad love stories that began in ancient times. The plot is based on an Italian story by Matteo Bandello. This story was turned into a poem by Arthur Brooke in 1562 and later written as a prose story by William Painter in 1567. Shakespeare used both versions but added more characters, such as Mercutio and Paris. The play is believed to have been written between 1591 and 1595. It was first published in 1597, but the early version had many errors. Later editions fixed these mistakes to better match Shakespeare’s original work.

Shakespeare used a special style of writing that mixes comedy and tragedy to create tension. He also added more characters and subplots to make the story richer. In the play, different characters use different types of poetry, and their styles change as they grow. For example, Romeo becomes better at writing sonnets as the story progresses.

Romeo and Juliet has been adapted many times for plays, films, musicals, and operas. During the English Restoration, William Davenant changed the play and made it more modern. In the 18th century, David Garrick removed some scenes he thought were inappropriate. Georg Benda’s version, Romeo und Julie, simplified the story and ended with a happy outcome. In the 19th century, performances like Charlotte Cushman’s returned to Shakespeare’s original text and focused on realistic acting. John Gielgud’s 1935 version stayed close to Shakespeare’s work and used old-fashioned costumes and stages. In the 20th and 21st centuries, the play has been made into films such as George Cukor’s Romeo and Juliet (1936), Franco Zeffirelli’s Romeo and Juliet (1968), Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet (1996), and Carlo Carlei’s Romeo & Juliet (2013).

Synopsis

The play takes place in Verona, Italy, and begins with a fight between servants of the Montague and Capulet families, who are enemies. Prince Escalus of Verona stops the fight and warns that breaking the peace again will result in the death penalty. Later, Count Paris asks Capulet if he can marry his daughter, Juliet, but Capulet tells Paris to wait two more years and invites him to a planned Capulet ball. Lady Capulet and Juliet’s nurse encourage Juliet to accept Paris’s proposal.

Meanwhile, Benvolio talks to his cousin Romeo, the son of Montague, about Romeo’s sadness. Benvolio learns that Romeo is upset because he is in love with Rosaline, a niece of the Capulet family. Encouraged by Benvolio and Mercutio, Romeo goes to the Capulet ball to see Rosaline. Instead, he meets Juliet and falls in love with her. Juliet’s cousin, Tybalt, is angry that Romeo attended the ball and tries to kill him, but Capulet stops him. After the ball, Romeo sneaks into the Capulet orchard and hears Juliet confess her love for him from her window. They agree to marry. With the help of Friar Laurence, who hopes to end the feud between the families, they are secretly married the next day.

Tybalt, still angry about Romeo attending the ball, challenges him to a duel. Romeo refuses to fight because he now considers Tybalt his relative. Mercutio, upset by Tybalt’s behavior and Romeo’s refusal to fight, takes Romeo’s place and duels Tybalt. Mercutio is killed during the fight, and before dying, he curses both families. Grief-stricken, Romeo kills Tybalt.

Montague argues that Romeo acted justly by killing Tybalt for Mercutio’s death. The Prince, who has lost a relative in the feud, exiles Romeo from Verona, threatening death if he returns. Romeo spends the night in Juliet’s room, where they complete their marriage. Capulet misunderstands Juliet’s sadness and agrees to marry her to Count Paris. When Juliet refuses, Capulet threatens to disown her. Her mother also rejects her when she pleads to delay the marriage.

Juliet visits Friar Laurence, who gives her a potion that will make her appear dead for 48 hours. He promises to send a message to Romeo so he can reunite with her. On the night before her wedding, Juliet takes the potion. When she is found apparently dead, she is placed in the family tomb.

Friar John, the messenger, cannot deliver the message to Romeo because a plague stops travel. Instead, Romeo learns of Juliet’s death from his servant, Balthasar. Heartbroken, Romeo buys poison and goes to the Capulet tomb. He meets Paris, who is mourning Juliet, and kills him. Believing Juliet is dead, Romeo drinks the poison. Juliet wakes up, finds Romeo dead, and kills herself with his dagger. The families and Prince arrive at the tomb and find the three dead. Friar Laurence explains the story of the two lovers, fulfilling Mercutio’s curse. The families agree to end their feud because of their children’s deaths. The play ends with the Prince’s words: “For never was a story of more woe / Than this of Juliet and her Romeo.”

Date and text

It is not known exactly when Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet. In the play, Juliet’s Nurse mentions an earthquake she says happened 11 years earlier. This may refer to the Dover Straits earthquake of 1580, which would place that line in the year 1591. Other earthquakes in England and Verona have also been suggested as possible references. However, the play’s writing style is similar to A Midsummer Night’s Dream and other plays that are usually dated to 1594–95. This suggests that Romeo and Juliet was written sometime between 1591 and 1595. One theory is that Shakespeare may have started writing the play in 1591 and finished it in 1595.

The play was published in two quarto editions before the First Folio of 1623. These are called Q1 and Q2. The first edition, Q1, was printed by John Danter in early 1597. Its text has many differences from later editions, so it is called a "bad quarto." A 20th-century editor, T. J. B. Spencer, described it as "a detestable text, probably a reconstruction of the play from the imperfect memories of one or two of the actors," suggesting it was pirated. Another idea is that the play may have been heavily edited before performances by the acting company. However, the theory that the "bad quarto" was based on actors’ memories is now questioned. Some scholars believe the "bad quartos" may be early versions of the play by Shakespeare or shortened versions made for other companies. In any case, the publication of Q1 in 1597 means the play could not have been written later than 1596.

The second quarto, Q2, was printed in 1599 by Thomas Creede and published by Cuthbert Burby. It is called The Most Excellent and Lamentable Tragedie of Romeo and Juliet and is about 800 lines longer than Q1. Its title page says it was "Newly corrected, augmented and amended." Scholars believe Q2 was based on Shakespeare’s pre-performance draft, called "foul papers," because it includes oddities like inconsistent character tags and "false starts" in speeches that may have been crossed out by Shakespeare but accidentally kept by the typesetter. Q2 is a more complete and reliable text. It was reprinted in 1609 (Q3), 1622 (Q4), and 1637 (Q5). All later quartos and folios of the play are based on Q2, as are modern editions, since editors believe later versions may have been changed by editors or printers, not Shakespeare.

The First Folio text of 1623 was mainly based on Q3, with possible corrections from a theatrical prompt book or Q1. Other folio editions were printed in 1632 (F2), 1664 (F3), and 1685 (F4). Modern versions of the play, which consider multiple folios and quartos, first appeared in Nicholas Rowe’s 1709 edition, followed by Alexander Pope’s 1723 version. Pope started a tradition of adding stage directions missing in Q2 by using information from Q1. This practice continued into the Romantic period. Fully annotated editions, which include footnotes explaining the play’s sources and cultural background, first appeared during the Victorian period and are still produced today.

Themes and motifs

Scholars find it hard to name one main theme for the play. Some ideas include the idea that people are not completely good or bad, but similar in many ways, the idea of waking from a dream into reality, the dangers of acting too quickly, or the power of fate. These ideas are not widely agreed upon. However, even without a clear main theme, the play has many smaller themes that connect in complex ways. Some of these themes are discussed below.

" Romeo If I profane with my unworthiest hand This holy shrine, the gentle sin is this: My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss. Juliet Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much, Which mannerly devotion shows in this; For saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch, And palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss."

Romeo and Juliet is sometimes seen as having no single theme except young love. The two characters are often seen as symbols of young lovers and love that ends in tragedy. Because this theme is so clear, many scholars have studied the language and historical background of the play's romance.

When Romeo and Juliet first meet, they use a communication method that was common in Shakespeare's time: metaphors. By using metaphors about saints and sins, Romeo tested Juliet's feelings in a way that was not threatening. This method was suggested by Baldassare Castiglione, whose writings were translated into English by this time. He explained that if a man used a metaphor as an invitation, a woman could pretend not to understand, allowing the man to back away without losing honor. Juliet, however, joined in the metaphor and expanded on it. Religious metaphors like "shrine," "pilgrim," and "saint" were popular in poetry at the time and were more likely to be seen as romantic rather than disrespectful, as ideas about sainthood were linked to older Catholic beliefs. Later in the play, Shakespeare removed more direct references to Christ's resurrection in the tomb that were in his source material, Brooke's Romeus and Juliet.

In the balcony scene, Shakespeare has Romeo hear Juliet's private thoughts, but in Brooke's version of the story, Juliet speaks alone. By having Romeo listen, Shakespeare changed the usual order of courtship. Usually, a woman was expected to be modest and shy to ensure her suitor was sincere, but breaking this rule helped speed up the story. The lovers skip the usual steps of courtship and move quickly to talk openly about their relationship, agreeing to marry after meeting only once. In the final scene where they die, there is a contradiction in the message. In Catholic beliefs, suicide was often seen as a path to Hell, but the idea of dying to be with a loved one in the "Religion of Love" was thought to bring the couple together in Paradise. Romeo and Juliet's love seems to support the "Religion of Love" idea rather than the Catholic one. Another point is that, although their love is strong, it is only fully expressed through marriage, which helps keep the audience's sympathy for them.

The play may connect love and sex with death. Throughout the story, both Romeo and Juliet, along with other characters, imagine death as a dark force, often comparing it to a lover. For example, Capulet describes Juliet's (faked) death as if she had been "deflowered" by it. Juliet later compares Romeo and death in a romantic way. Right before her death, she takes Romeo's dagger and says, "O happy dagger! This is thy sheath. There rust, and let me die."

"O, I am fortune's fool!"

Scholars disagree about the role of fate in the play. There is no agreement on whether the characters are truly meant to die together or if their deaths result from a series of bad luck. Arguments for fate often mention the phrase "star-cross'd," which suggests the stars have decided the lovers' future. John W. Draper points out similarities between the Elizabethan belief in the four humours and the characters in the play (for example, Tybalt as a choleric). Seeing the story through the lens of humours reduces the amount of chance in the plot for modern audiences. However, other scholars see the play as a series of unlucky events, so much so that they do not consider it a tragedy but an emotional story. Ruth Nevo believes the focus on chance makes Romeo and Juliet a "lesser tragedy" of happenstance, not of character. For example, Romeo's challenge to Tybalt is not sudden; it is the expected action after Mercutio's death. In this scene, Nevo sees Romeo as aware of the risks of breaking social rules, identity, and promises. He chooses to kill, not because of a personal flaw, but because of the situation.

"O brawling love, O loving hate, O any thing of nothing first create! O heavy lightness, serious vanity, Misshapen chaos of well-seeming forms, Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health, Still-waking sleep, that is not what it is!"

Scholars have long noticed Shakespeare's use of light and dark imagery in the play. Caroline Spurgeon sees the theme of light as "symbolic of the natural beauty of young love," and later critics have added to this idea. For example, both Romeo and Juliet see each other as light in a dark world. Romeo describes Juliet as brighter than a torch, a jewel in the night, and an angel among dark clouds. Even when she appears dead in the tomb, he says her beauty fills the space with light. Juliet describes Romeo as "day in night" and "Whiter than snow upon a raven's back." This contrast of light and dark can represent love and hate, youth and age in a symbolic way. Sometimes these images create dramatic irony. For example, Romeo and Juliet's love is a light in the darkness of their families' hatred, but their time together happens in the night, while the feud happens in daylight. This mix of images adds to the moral struggle the lovers face: loyalty to family or love. At the end of the story, when the morning is gloomy and the sun hides its face, light and dark return to their natural places, showing the family feud's true darkness. All characters now see their mistakes, and things return to normal because of the lovers' deaths. The "light" theme is also connected to time, as light was a way for Shakespeare to describe time through the sun, moon, and stars.

"These times of woe afford no time to woo."

Time is important in the language and story of the play. Both Romeo and Juliet try to ignore time as they face the difficult world around them. For example, when Romeo swears his love to Juliet by the moon, she says, "O swear not by the moon, th'inconstant moon, / That monthly changes in her circled orb, / Lest that thy love prove likewise variable." From the start, the lovers are called "star-cross'd," referring to an old belief that stars control human fates. As time passed, stars moved in the sky, showing the course of human lives.

Criticism and interpretation

The earliest known critic of the play was Samuel Pepys, a diary writer who wrote in 1662: "It is a play of itself the worst that I ever heard in my life." Poet John Dryden praised the play and its comic character Mercutio 10 years later, writing: "Shakespeare showed the best of his skill in his Mercutio, and he said himself that he was forced to kill him in the third act to prevent being killed by him." In the 18th century, critics had mixed opinions. Publisher Nicholas Rowe was the first to consider the play's theme, which he saw as the punishment of the two feuding families. In the mid-18th century, writer Charles Gildon and philosopher Lord Kames argued the play failed because it did not follow classical rules of drama, such as tragedy caused by a character's flaws, not fate. However, writer and critic Samuel Johnson believed the play was one of Shakespeare's most pleasing works.

In the late 18th and 19th centuries, critics debated the play's moral message. Actor and playwright David Garrick's 1748 version of the play removed Rosaline, as Romeo leaving her for Juliet was seen as careless. Critics like Charles Dibdin argued Rosaline's inclusion showed Romeo's recklessness, leading to his tragic end. Others believed Friar Laurence might represent Shakespeare's warning against acting too quickly. At the start of the 20th century, critic Richard Green Moulton argued the lovers' deaths were caused by accidents, not character flaws.

In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare used dramatic techniques that critics praised. For example, the play quickly shifts from comedy to tragedy, such as the humorous exchange between Benvolio and Mercutio before Tybalt arrives. Before Mercutio's death in Act III, the play is mostly funny. After his death, the tone becomes serious and tragic. When Romeo is banished instead of executed, and Friar Laurence offers Juliet a plan to reunite with Romeo, the audience still hopes for a happy ending. By the final scene in the tomb, the audience feels tense and anxious, as Romeo and Juliet might still be saved if he arrives in time. These changes from hope to despair and back to hope highlight the tragedy when the lovers die.

Shakespeare also used subplots to help the audience understand the main characters. For example, Romeo starts the play in love with Rosaline, who ignores him. His love for Rosaline contrasts with his later love for Juliet, showing how serious Romeo and Juliet's love is. Paris's love for Juliet also contrasts with Juliet's feelings for Romeo. Juliet uses formal language with Paris and talks about him to her Nurse, showing her true feelings lie with Romeo. The feud between the Montagues and Capulets creates a background of hate that contributes to the play's tragic ending.

Shakespeare used different poetic forms throughout the play. He begins with a 14-line prologue in the form of a Shakespearean sonnet, spoken by a Chorus. Most of the play is written in blank verse, often in strict iambic pentameter, with less rhythm variation than in many of Shakespeare's later plays. Shakespeare matched the poetry to the characters. Friar Laurence uses sermon-like language, while the Nurse uses a style close to everyday speech. Romeo tries to use the Petrarchan sonnet form when talking about Rosaline, a style often used to exaggerate the beauty of unattainable women. When Romeo and Juliet meet, the poetry changes to a more modern sonnet form using metaphors like "pilgrims" and "saints." Juliet breaks the sonnet form when she asks Romeo, "Dost thou love me?" seeking real expression instead of poetic exaggeration. Juliet uses simple words with Romeo but formal language with Paris. Other forms include an epithalamium by Juliet, a rhapsody in Mercutio's Queen Mab speech, and an elegy by Paris. Shakespeare often uses prose for common characters, though sometimes for others like Mercutio. Humor is also important, with scholar Molly Mahood identifying at least 175 puns and wordplays in the text, many of which are sexual.

Early psychoanalytic critics saw Romeo's impulsiveness as a problem, linked to uncontrolled aggression that leads to Mercutio's death and the lovers' suicides. Some critics believe the play is not very psychologically complex, and they compare Romeo's tragic experience to sickness. Norman Holland, writing in 1966, saw Romeo's dream as a realistic fantasy reflecting his adult and childhood experiences, though he acknowledged that dramatic characters are not real people. Critics like Julia Kristeva focused on the hatred between the families, arguing it causes Romeo and Juliet's passion. This hatred appears in their language, such as Juliet saying, "My only love sprung from my only hate." This leads to questions about Shakespeare's personal feelings, such as his grief over his son Hamnet's death.

Feminist critics argue the blame for the feud lies in Verona's male-dominated society. For example, Coppélia Kahn said the strict, violent code for men drives the tragedy. When Tybalt kills Mercutio, Romeo becomes violent, feeling Juliet made him "effeminate." In this view, young men become "men" by acting violently for their fathers or masters. The feud is also linked to ideas about male strength, as jokes about maidenheads show. Juliet follows a female code by letting others, like the Friar, solve her problems. Other critics, like Dympna Callaghan, look at the play's feminism through history, noting that when the play was written, old systems of power were changing, and new ideas about marriage were more accepting of love matches. When Juliet avoids marrying a man she does not love, she challenges her father's authority.

Legacy

Romeo and Juliet is one of Shakespeare's most performed plays, along with Hamlet. Its many adaptations have made it one of his most famous and lasting stories. Even during Shakespeare's lifetime, the play was very popular. Scholar Gary Taylor found it to be the sixth most popular of Shakespeare's plays during the time after the deaths of Christopher Marlowe and Thomas Kyd but before Ben Jonson became a major playwright in London. The exact date of the first performance is unknown. The First Quarto, printed in 1597, mentions that the play was performed publicly with great praise, suggesting it was performed before that year. The Lord Chamberlain's Men were the first to perform it. This group was closely connected to Shakespeare, and the Second Quarto includes the name of an actor, Will Kemp, instead of Peter in a line in Act V. Richard Burbage was likely the first actor to play Romeo, as he was the company's main tragedian; and Master Robert Goffe, a young boy, was probably the first to play Juliet. The premiere is likely to have been at The Theatre, with other early performances at the Curtain. Romeo and Juliet is one of the first of Shakespeare's plays to be performed outside England: a shortened and simplified version was performed in Nördlingen, Germany, in 1604.

All theatres were closed by the Puritan government on 6 September 1642. When the monarchy was restored in 1660, two groups of actors (the King's Company and the Duke's Company) were formed, and the existing plays were divided between them.

Sir William Davenant of the Duke's Company staged a version of the play in 1662. In this version, Henry Harris played Romeo, Thomas Betterton played Mercutio, and Betterton's wife, Mary Saunderson, played Juliet. She was likely the first woman to professionally play Juliet. Another version, by James Howard, was also performed by the Duke's Company. This version was a tragicomedy, meaning it had both sad and humorous elements, and the two lovers survived.

Thomas Otway's The History and Fall of Caius Marius, one of the more extreme adaptations of Shakespeare during the Restoration period, debuted in 1679. The setting was changed from Renaissance Verona to ancient Rome, with a balcony scene. Romeo became Marius, Juliet became Lavinia, and the feud was between patricians and plebeians. In this version, Juliet/Lavinia wakes from her potion before Romeo/Marius dies. Otway's version was very popular and was performed for seventy years. His changes to the ending were used in later adaptations for over 200 years, including Theophilus Cibber's version in 1744 and David Garrick's in 1748. These versions also removed parts of the story that were considered inappropriate at the time. For example, Garrick's version moved descriptions of Rosaline to Juliet to emphasize faithfulness and reduce the focus on love at first sight. In 1750, a "Battle of the Romeos" began, with actors at Covent Garden and Drury Lane competing to perform the play.

The earliest known production in North America was an amateur one. On 23 March 1730, a doctor named Joachimus Bertrand advertised in the Gazette newspaper in New York, promoting a production in which he would play the apothecary. The first professional performances of the play in North America were by the Hallam Company.

Garrick's version of the play was very popular and ran for nearly a century. It was not until 1845 that Shakespeare's original version returned to the stage in the United States, performed by sisters Susan and Charlotte Cushman as Juliet and Romeo, respectively. In 1847, the same version was performed in Britain by Samuel Phelps at Sadler's Wells Theatre. Charlotte Cushman followed Shakespeare's original story, performing Romeo for eighty-four shows. Her portrayal of Romeo was praised by many, with The Times calling her performance "a creative, living, breathing human being." Queen Victoria wrote in her journal that "no one would ever have imagined she was a woman." Cushman's success ended the Garrick tradition and allowed later performances to return to the original story.

Professional performances of Shakespeare in the mid-19th century had two main features: first, they often focused on a single star actor, with other roles being cut or made less important. Second, they used elaborate and colorful sets, which required long pauses for scene changes, and often included tableaux, or frozen scenes. Henry Irving's 1882 production at the Lyceum Theatre, with Irving as Romeo and Ellen Terry as Juliet, is seen as a model of this style. In 1895, Sir Johnston Forbes-Robertson took over from Irving and began a more natural way of performing Shakespeare that is still popular today. Forbes-Robertson avoided showy performances and instead portrayed Romeo as a realistic, everyday person, speaking the poetic lines as simple prose.

American actors began to compete with British actors. Edwin Booth (brother of John Wilkes Booth) and Mary McVicker, who later married Edwin, opened as Romeo and Juliet at Booth's Theatre in New York on 3 February 1869. The theatre had European-style stage machinery and an air conditioning system that was unique in New York at the time. Some reports said this was one of the most elaborate productions of Romeo and Juliet ever seen in America. It was also very popular, running for over six weeks and earning over $60,000 (about $1,000,000 in 2025). The programme stated that the play would be performed "in strict accordance with historical propriety, in every respect, following closely the text of Shakespeare."

The 19th century marked the first time Romeo and Juliet was performed in Italy. The first four Italian translations of the play appeared in the early 19th century: in 1814 by Michele Leoni (based on a 1778 French version by Pierre Le Tourneur), in 1831 by Gaetano Barbieri, in 1838 by Carlo Rusconi, and in 1847 by Giulio Carcano. However, the play was first staged in Italy in 1869, when Ernesto Rossi produced a successful adaptation and performed as Romeo at the Teatro Re in Milan. Despite its late debut, the production was a significant moment in Italy's growing interest in Shakespeare's works, which had been present since the early 19th century. From as early as 1818, Italian authors such as Luigi Scevola, Giuseppe Morosini, Angelica Palli, and especially Cesare della Valle—whose Giulietta e Romeo (1826) was popular for decades before being replaced by Rossi's Shakespeare

Scene by scene

• Title page of the Second Quarto edition of Romeo and Juliet from 1599
• Act I prologue
• Act I scene 1: Argument between Capulets and Montagues
• Act I scene 2
• Act I scene 3
• Act I scene 4
• Act I scene 5
• Act I scene 5: Romeo meets Juliet for the first time
• Act II prologue
• Act II scene 3
• Act II scene 5: Juliet pleads with her nurse
• Act II scene 6
• Act III scene 5: Romeo says goodbye to Juliet
• Act IV scene 5: Juliet's fake death
• Act IV scene 5: Another depiction
• Act V scene 3: Juliet wakes up to find Romeo dead