Persuaded by Benvolio and Mercutio, Romeo attends the ball at the Capulet house in hopes of meeting Rosaline. Benvolio discovers that it stems from unrequited infatuation for a girl named Rosaline, one of Capulet's nieces. Meanwhile, Benvolio talks with his cousin Romeo, Montague's son, about Romeo's recent depression. Lady Capulet and Juliet's Nurse try to persuade Juliet to accept Paris's courtship. Later, Count Paris talks to Capulet about marrying his daughter Juliet, but Capulet asks Paris to wait another two years and invites him to attend a planned Capulet ball. Prince Escalus of Verona intervenes and declares that further breach of the peace will be punishable by death. The play, set in Verona, Italy, begins with a street brawl between Montague and Capulet servants who, like their masters, are sworn enemies. L'ultimo bacio dato a Giulietta da Romeo by Francesco Hayez.
Believed to have been written between 15, the play was first published in a quarto version in 1597.
Shakespeare borrowed heavily from both but expanded the plot by developing a number of supporting characters, particularly Mercutio and Paris. The plot is based on an Italian tale translated into verse as The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet by Arthur Brooke in 1562 and retold in prose in Palace of Pleasure by William Painter in 1567. Romeo and Juliet belongs to a tradition of tragic romances stretching back to antiquity. Today, the title characters are regarded as archetypal young lovers.
It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with Hamlet, is one of his most frequently performed plays. Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about two young Italian star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately reconcile their feuding families. Problems playing this file? See media help.