Romeo and Juliet

Content Group

Overview
Romeo and Juliet, William Terriss as Romeo, 19th Century

This play has become the adored icon for doomed romantic love, although the first two acts have a verve and humor missing in the concluding downbeat scenes, which are usually heavily cut. Early productions favored a more positive conclusion in their revisions, including the survival of the lovers, as did Lope de Vega in his treatment of the same story. Throughout Juliet has a charm and verve which wins her more sympathy than the fickle, volatile and over-hasty Romeo, who precipitates their ruin, and who is responsible directly or indirectly for six deaths in Shakespeare's script. Mercutio adds a distinctive eccentricity to the early scenes (see James William Wallack in the role). The Nurse is an archetypal humorous figure: the garulous, sex-fixated crone, like Chaucer's Wife of Bath or La Celestina of Rojas (see Edith Evans in the role). The filmed versions of the play, such as Zeffirelli's, often have more energy and visual appeal than the staged ones (compare, for instance, this 1911 production with Zeffirelli's film). See Performing Romeo and Juliet for a curated tour of this site's materials on the play.

Images
Romeo and Juliet, 19th Century
Romeo and Juliet, Frank Benson as Romeo, 1888
Romeo and Juliet, Eric Mayne as Mercutio, 20th Century
Romeo and Juliet, Nora Kerin as Juliet, 1909
Romeo and Juliet, Knickerbocker Theatre, 1904
Romeo and Juliet, Jane Cowl as Juliet, 1923
Romeo and Juliet, Guthrie McClintic Company, 1934
Romeo and Juliet, Phoenix Theatre, 1998
Romeo and Juliet: Bryn Mawr College, 1908
Romeo and Juliet: Fred Terry Production
Romeo and Juliet: 1968 Film
Romeo and Juliet: Royal Shakespeare Company, 1990
Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, 2007: Set for Romeo and Juliet.

Pages

Slideshows
Performing Romeo and Juliet
Renaissance Marriages: Spain and Cyprus
Renaissance Marriages: Venice, the Veneto, and Italy
Bibliography

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Alexander, Peter, ed. Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare. London: BBC; New York: Mayflower Books, 1978.

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Black, James. "The Visual Artistry of Romeo and Juliet." Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900, 15, no. 2 (Spring 1975): 245-56.

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Brown, John Russell, ed. Romeo and Juliet. New York and London: Applause, 2001.

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Jackson, Russell, ed. Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare at Stratford. London: Arden Shakespeare, 2003.

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Levenson, Jill. Romeo and Juliet: Searchable Database for Prompt Books

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Romeo and Juliet at Talkin' Broadway.

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