Category: Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet remains popular due to its tragic love story, relatable characters, and universal themes of love, fate, and the clash between youth and age. Its enduring popularity is also attributed to its poetic language and captivating storytelling, as well as its numerous adaptations and cultural references. The play has been adapted countless times in film, theatre, and literature and continues to be studied and performed worldwide, making it one of Shakespeare’s most beloved works.

Browse the text of Romeo and Juliet entire play here.

15 More Romeo Stories

~ duane ~ 5 Comments

I always read lists like this. Always. Because you knew never know if it’s going to be a rehash of all the standards we’ve seen before, or if there’s going to be maybe 1 that’s new to me — or, like this list, be almost entirely new content!
We’re talking about adaptations of Romeo and Juliet, by the way. And I can honestly say that of the 15, I had no idea that about 10 of them were Romeo and Juliet stories. That doesn’t mean I’m interested in going to hunt them all down, of course (some are even foreign films), but it’s nice to know there are journalists out there who are still actually researching their stories and not just churning out the cut and paste jobs for Valentine’s Day.
Bonus – #12 on the list is local favorite Sealed With a Kiss, which the reviewer calls, “one of the modern Romeo & Juliet adaptations that most respects the original’s text” and “almost a retelling more than a revision.”
#13 of course is Gnomeo (why else would they be publishing such a list?) and I agree with the summary here, as well:

Nor does it prevent them from arrogantly boasting to their audience that their film, Gnomeo & Juliet, has a more exciting opening than the original play, and a better, happier ending. Apparently gnomes know as little about humility as they do about tragedy.

What Happens in Romeo and Juliet Act 1 Scene 1?

~ duane ~ 1 Comment

Originally posted June 2005. That’s right, five years ago – this is one of my original posts. Sometimes I like to go back and see how my attitudes and approaches have changed. In this particular case, not too much. I still do believe that step 1 in explaining Shakespeare to people is to tell them the story. I never followed up this post because I didn’t have the readership then to get into the discussion, but should we do more of these? Over time we could work through the entire play.

I’m convinced that Shakespeare’s work can be downright entertaining if it can be understood. I think that the emphasis on “Memorize first, and never see the movie” really ruins it. Get the story across. Shakespeare wrote real people in real situations, and if you can point this out to the audience and hook them at that level, the language comes easily.

So in the spirit of putting my money where my mouth is, let’s talk about Romeo and Juliet. For the moment just act 1 scene 1 since obviously I can’t cover the whole play in one blog post.

Two men, Sampson and Gregory, enter. They’re “Capulet”, meaning that they are probably some servant of the house. If you want to think in West Side Story terms, imagine them as all members of the same gang. They banter back and forth, making some fairly ancient jokes that you’re unlikely to get but might be able to figure out if you were to see it performed. Let’s just say that by the time Sampson gets to the line about “thrusting Montague’s maidens to the wall” and being cruel when he cuts off their maidenheads, you can take a pretty good guess at what he’s talking about.

The real fun comes when Balthazar and Abraham, who are Montagues, wander into the picture. Now thus far Sampson and Gregory have just been full of talk. Sure they’ve been saying some pretty big things about what they’ll do to the Montague men (before doing it to their women), but now here are two of them right in front of them. How do the Capulet men react? Sampson “bites his thumb” at them as they pass by. This isn’t really the same obscene gesture now that it was then, so feel free to insert “flips his middle finger.” Gets the same point across. He tries to lure the Montagues into starting something.

The next exchange I have seen played for comedy, where both sides are just big talkers, but it’s also often played with some serious violence, screamed at the top of lungs. Whatever floats your boat. Either there’s some major tension where you just know somebody’s about to get hurt, or you come to realize that this has happened dozens of times in the past and both sides are really just acting out their parts.

The Montagues come over and ask, “Did you just bite your thumb at us?”

“I did bite my thumb, ” says Sampson.

“Did you bite your thumb at us,” asks Abraham again.

Sampson turns to Gregory and asks, “Is the law on my side if I say aye?” Here’s the crucial moment. Both want to say that the other started it, neither wants to be the first to draw (or use) a weapon. Gregory correctly answers, “No.” If you bit your thumb at him, then you started the fight. Sampson backpeddles, “I do not bite my thumb at you, sir, but I do bite my thumb, sir!” How snide is that response? “Nope, I was just sitting here with my middle finger up in the air. Wasn’t directing at you, I just like to stick it up there and wave it around…”

Gregory steps up and asks of the Montagues, “Do you quarrel?” In other words, “Are you looking to start something?” Is Gregory here actually trying to get the Montagues to walk on by? Not really. You’ll see…

“Me?” replies Abraham, “No, not me, I’m not looking at start anything.” The Montagues actually come off well, here, and quite possibly would have walked away.

Sampson makes what is ultimately the losing move when he says, “I’m just saying that if you want to start something, I’m standing right here. I serve as good a man as you.”

Abraham has him now. “No better?”

Sampson thought he was saying the proper thing in defending the honor of his house, and Abraham has trapped him. If he says “Better”, in other words yes, I think that my master Capulet is better than your master Montague, then the fight is on – and Sampson will have started it. But if he says no, Montague is not better than Capulet, then he dishonors his house.

Gregory saves him when he spots some more Capulets coming. “Say better!” he says, knowing that the odds are in their favor. See, I told you that Gregory wasn’t trying to avoid the fight. He was just waiting for it to be an unfair fight.

Sampson needs no more prompting. “Yes, better!” he says, and the fight is on.

Enter more representatives from both sides, Benvolio of the Montagues (sort of), and Tybalt of the Capulets. That’s a mismatch. Benvolio is the peacemaker, trying to beat down the swords of both sides. Tybalt, on the other hand, sees the fight as a great opportunity and tries to help his side win it. Tybalt, as we quickly learn, is pretty single minded in his hatred of the Montagues. “What, drawn, and talk of peace! I hate the word, As I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee: Have at thee, coward!” Those are some pretty strong words given that he just walked in on this argument 3 seconds ago.

Anyway, the fight does not go on long as now the crowds are beginning to gather and the heads of both houses come running out to see what’s going on. The Prince provides the law and order here, and gives us our major plot point — if he catches anybody from either side fighting in the streets again, then they’re dead men. (“If ever you disturb our streets again, our lives shall pay the forfeit of the peace.”) Don’t forget this, it’s going to become a major problem for our hero Romeo right around Act III, Scene i.

So that’s my version of the first scene. It’s actually quite entertaining when you see it performed. I highly recommend checking out one of the movies to see it for yourself. The Zeffirelli version is considered the classic, but I say if the Leonardo DiCaprio version is more what floats your boat (lots of screaming in this one, and guns), then go for it and don’t pay any attention to the critics.

Romeo and Juliet : The War

~ duane ~ 2 Comments

Want.

Spotted this new Stan Lee project on IO9’s list (posted previously). I don’t know if I’m just getting more into comics lately, but it looks cool. Don’t miss the character sketches. Somebody want to tell them there’s a typo in Montague’s name? 🙂 Benvolio looks pretty badass for a peacemaker.

What Would You Teach? (The Romeo And Juliet Dilemma)

~ duane ~ 13 Comments

As we’ve just confirmed, Romeo and Juliet remains most students’ introduction to Shakespeare (at least in the US, assuming approximately a 9th grade / 14yr old introduction). The problem, as many have also pointed out, is that Romeo and Juliet has got a crazy amount of sex references in it, and typically a high school teacher (again, at least in the US) is severely constrained in exactly how far he or she can go in explaining these things. Lastly there’s also the question of whether Romeo and Juliet is the best example of Shakespeare’s work to start with. Maybe being a teenager has changed since I was a teenager, but the thought of re-enacting the balcony scene with some random girl from class was always to be met with “Oh god no not that I hate that don’t make me do that” feelings.

So then, here’s the question : Should it be changed? Assume the following : You must introduce Shakespeare to United States school children in a way that could be accepted as national curriculum (i.e, we can’t talk about special case “let them pick their own” situations, we need to actually pick one). When do you introduce it (roughly what age), and what play do you start with? Why? Do you teach it as history, as literature, or as drama? I fully expect “a combination of all three” answers, so let me rephrase that – assuming that Drama, Literature and History are different departments taught by different teachers, who will be teaching Shakespeare? To set a baseline let us also assume that the students would be required to read the play, have some degree of homework associated with the play, and be able to pass some form of test demonstrating their knowledge of the play. This is primarily to rule out the “I took my kids to see The Tempest when they were 3 years old!” argument. I will not try to argue that my kids “know Shakespeare” until they have experienced it to at least this level.

Keep in mind the realities of the situation – there will most likely be a bell-curve of students, some of whom excel, some of whom just can’t seem to get it, and a whole bunch in the middle who may or may not care at all. Any play that has any level of performance involved should take into consideration roles for both boys and girls (or at least, have a plan for how to deal with this).

If you want to defend Romeo and Juliet as still the best choice, feel free.

Romeo and … Brittney? All Right.

~ duane ~ Leave a comment

These names – Romeo and Brittney – kept coming up on my newsfeeds over the last couple of days. Given how overused the name Romeo is these days, and attaching no special significance to the name Brittney, I skipped them. Most of them.
Turns out that Romeo and Brittney is to be a new “literate teen comedy” in the style of Ten Things I Hate About You (which, as we know, was based on Shrew – and was also quite a success, spinning off it’s own tv show).

Karen Gillan has landed a lead role as a time-travelling Juliet in David Baddiel’s directorial debut, Romeo And Brittney.

The Scottish beauty, best known for playing Doctor Who’s feisty companion Amy Pond, will play a high school teenager from New Jersey who finds herself travelling back in time to “mythical 13th-century Verona” in William Shakespeare’s Romeo And Juliet, reported Deadline.

That could be cool. I love the whole Dr. Who connection, what with David Tennant and all.