Part of the dramatic tension in Romeo & Juliet is that the audience can predict negative consequences for the title characters’ rash decisions. Why don’t they stop and think instead of jumping to conclusions? Partly because their teenaged brains are still in the process of developing, not ready for life-and-death choices.
Upon seeing Juliet for the first time, Romeo forgets about pining for Rosaline, exclaiming, “Did my heart love till now?”This sudden change may seem far-fetched, but plenty of people believe in the idea of love at first sight.
Shakespeare’s astonishing output of plays didn’t spring from thin air; he drew from a wide array of sources for his plots and characters, including those of the star-crossed Romeo and Juliet.
Like the Capulets and Montagues, the legendary Hatfield and McCoy feud featured long-standing and sometimes deadly conflict between families . . . and love between members of the feuding clans.
The subject matter of Shakespeare’s plays ranges from the violent to the sublime, and that’s no accident. This article explores the reasons behind this seeming contradiction.
Recently, two co-workers at The Guardian tested out a list of questions designed to make people fall in love. The questions move from the ordinary to the deeply personal, mimicking the progression of a relationship. But do they really work?
Each February 14th, people express their love for each other with cards, flowers, and candy. How did this tradition start? This HISTORY feature has the answers.
The 1998 film Shakespeare in Love, winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture, presented a fictionalized young William Shakespeare in the process of writing The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. Get a sneak peek by reading legendary film critic Roger Ebert’s review.
Diane Ackerman, author of “Love’s Vocabulary,” fell head-over-heels for her eventual husband, author Paul West, on their first date. But in 2003, West suffered a stroke that robbed him of language. Ackerman chronicled his recovery and their evolving relationship in the book One Hundred Names for Love.
Sometimes it seems there are just about as many theories on why we fall in love as there are couples in love. But statistics have shown that certain factors play a huge part in what attracts us to certain people and what keeps relationships strong.
“Love locks” bearing names and messages can be found on bridges and other landmarks in cities across the world. But as this seemingly harmless trend has increased in popularity, it’s become a much bigger issue in cities such as Paris, where the structural integrity of bridges is being threatened by the weight of love.
We use the word heartbreak to describe what it feels like when love is lost, but what actually happens to the body during this process? Watch this short video to learn about some of the science behind a broken heart.
Julian Fellowes’s film adaptation of Romeo and Juliet has drawn criticism for altering the lines of Shakespeare’s most famous love story. Read the article to find out why critics and scholars feel that Fellowes’s adaptation is misleading.
There are people who believe that Shakespeare didn’t actually write the works attributed to him. They question how a humble man from Stratford could possibly have written about royalty, distant countries, and political intrigues. Read this article to find out more about the Shakespeare conspiracy.
A couple arrested in Yemen have sparked a major Facebook campaign. Read this article to find out about this modern-day Romeo and Juliet.
The Hip-Hop Shakespeare Company poses this question: “If Shakespeare were alive, would he be a rapper?” Exlore the site to find out about this exciting theater company.
The Royal Shakespeare Company is one of the most famous theater companies in the world. Neil Bartlett, director of a 2008 production of Romeo and Juliet, ponders why the play is still so popular with audiences. After you read the article, browse the site to find out more about the RSC and about their many productions of Romeo and Juliet.
In 2012, as a part of the World Shakespeare Festival, the Royal Shakespeare Company challenged theater groups around the world to create contemporary versions of Shakespeare’s works. Read this article to find out how one playwright reimagined the timeless story of Romeo and Juliet in war-torn Iraq.
Did you know that there is such a thing as broken heart syndrome? Read to learn about the health risks of love and loss.
The story of Romeo and Juliet has been retold in countless book and film adaptations, not all to great success. Read one reviewer’s critique of a recent animated attempt to recreate Shakespeare’s characters as garden gnomes.
