Romeo and Juliet book review

     "Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare is probably the best known piece of literature in the world.  Countless movies and books have been based on it,and the theme is classic: two star-crossed lovers from different backgrounds meeting and falling in love. 

      Shakespeare's tragedy Romeo and Juliet takes place in Verona, Italy, where the houses of Capulet and Montague are in conflict. Each of these older men commands the loyalty of numerous friends and family members, and the factions battle in the city streets. The town is ruled by Prince Escalus, who warns the citizens that he will not tolerate any further bloodshed and mayhem from the opposing factions. Capulet's daughter, Juliet, and Montague's son, Romeo, meet at a feast held by Capulet and fall in love. The two are sweethearts are determined to be together despite the division between their families, and they secretly marry. Romeo is later goaded into fighting with Capulet's cousin Tybalt, who is stabbed and killed. Romeo is then banished from Verona. Meanwhile, Capulet wants Juliet to marry another man, and Juliet knows she can't tell her parents whom she has already married. She conspires with the friar who married them to deceive her family so that she can steal away and be with Romeo. It's not until that plan ends tragically that the two families realize how foolish they have been.

      Romeo and Juliet is written in the form of a play, making it slightly more difficult to read than your average romance novel. Shakespeare is renowned for the poetic imagery of his language and for the word pictures he creates. He loved to invent words, and to give existing words new meanings by fresh uses and unexpected twists. As we have seen most of his plots are not original, but it is his ability to revitalise old stories and histories, shape them into compelling dramas.

        My personal opinion of this play was not as enthusiastic as it could have been. Romeo and Juliet are a couple of idiotic kids who thought they were in love because each liked the look of the other. They knew nothing about each other, they barely talked, and the highlight of their relationship was the pseudo-sugar rush from sneaking around. Don`t get me wrong, I agree that this is a classic of English literature, but I think I liked it more for its storyline than for its characters. 

       The storyline alone was well worth it. Director Franco Zeffirelli's beautiful 1968 film version is very true to the play, and well worth seeing. A much more modern and artful, but brutal, film starring Claire Danes and Leonardo DiCaprio was well received when it came out in 1996. It's also worth checking out the 1961 musical film West Side Story, which was based on this timeless play. This is the 400 year old idea that all this comes from. Even today, there are many instances of lovers split by family, religious or ethnic circumstances.