INTRODUCTION

  In fair Verona, two families, the Capulets and the Montagues, have been fighting for a very long time. One day, the Capulets organise a party. Romeo and his friends decide to go, but, as it is a ball organised by the Capulets, they decide to wear masks in order not to be recognised. At the party, Romeo meets Juliet and he immediately falls in love with her. At that very moment, he forgets his beloved, Rosalinde.

After the ball, Romeo and Juliet meet again and they declare their love to each other, even if Juliet knows that she is going to marry Paris, a kinsman of the Prince. The two lovers decide to get married in secret, with the help of Friar Lawrence.

During a street fight, Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin, hurts Mercutio, Romeo’s best friend. For this reason, Romeo kills Tybalt and he is banished from Verona. Before going to Mantua, Romeo and Juliet spend the night together.

In the meantime, Juliet’s parents tell her that it’s time for her to marry Paris. Since she does not want to, she goes to the Friar to ask for help and he gives her a sleeping potion, so that she will appear to be dead for a few days. Juliet drinks the elixir and she is put in the Capulet tomb.

The Friar sends a letter to Romeo to inform him about the plan, but, unfortunately, it fails to reach him. As Romeo hears about Juliet’s death, he buys a poison and he goes to Juliet's tomb, so that he can die and remain with her forever. As soon as she wakes up, she finds Romeo to be dead, right next to her, and so she stabs herself with his dagger.

Thanks to the death of their children, the two families will stop fighting and, finally, make peace.

The play is set both in Verona and Mantua. The main characters are Romeo and Juliet, a pair of star-crossed lovers, Friar Lawrence, Paris (a kinsman of the Prince), Tybalt (Juliet’s cousin), Mercutio (Romeo’s best friend), Juliet’s nurse, the Capulets and the Montagues.

Shakespeare did not invent the story himself, but he was inspired by other compositions. The source of the play is a poem written by Arthur Brooke, called The Tragicall History of Romeus and Juliet, in 1562. It is based on an Italian version of a French composition, written by Matteo Bondello. The main themes of the play are love and death, fate and free will, audacity, hate, conflict, the individual and society, revenge, violence, miscommunication, unawareness and life.

 

Romeo is the son of Lord Montague and Lady Montague. He is an only child and an important man of high social standing. In fact he is a handsome, intelligent and sensitive man. Romeo is a young, passionate and impulsive character; he passes from a state of happiness to a state of despair, because of some weakness-tragic flaws. He is not evil, he is a mixture of good and bad and he is a tragic hero, that is to say a man with flaws and weaknesses. We can say that he is a fully rounded character. It is often fate or supernatural elements that control his destiny and death is generally the only escape he can find from pain and suffering.

Juliet is the only child of Lord and Lady Capulet. She's a shy, young girl, but she is also decisive, passionate and she has great strength. At the beginning of the story, Juliet appears to be an innocent and modest girl, respectful of her mother and father’s authority. But then, during the story, she starts showing the other side of her personality and she appears to be courageous, like a strong and independent woman.

Written by Martina Perri, Alessia Ferrer and Wissal Lahlou