Probably, in all world literature there is no such famous and great work that has not lost its relevance over the centuries, like the play “Romeo and Juliet”. Who wrote this immortal creation is known to all educated people today. One of the tragedies that made William Shakespeare famous is Romeo and Juliet. Its author - the famous English poet and playwright - is recognized as the greatest of the brilliant personalities of the Renaissance. His story of Romeo and Juliet is permeated with a bright sense of love, conquering not only many years of human enmity, but also death.
History of creation
“Romeo and Juliet” ... Who wrote the ingenious work? It is known that before the creation of this play, there were already several legends and short stories by other authors about the love of two representatives of the warring clans. Shakespeare’s tragedy is based on three short stories. The earliest was written in 1562 by Arthur Brooke, a famous playwright. It was called The Tragic Story of Romeus and Juliet. This poem is considered the direct source of the plot on which the work “Romeo and Juliet” is based.
Who wrote another prototype of Shakespeare's play is also known from the history of literature. They became the novella “Romeo and Juliet”, created by one of the famous Italian writers of the XVI century, Matteo Bandello. Even later, the Italian writer and historian Luigi Da Porto wrote the short story “The Story of Two Noble Lovers”, which almost completely repeated the plot of Shakespeare's play.
As you know, William Shakespeare only slightly changed the previous works, for example, in the early plays the action took place over a longer time - about nine months. In Shakespeare's story, five days are allotted for everything that happens.
"Romeo and Juliet". Summary
In the play, the author describes the events that occur in the Italian city of Verona. Two warring clans, two families - Montecchi and Capulet, have long vied with each other. Their enmity then calms down, then resumes again. The last outbreak begins with a hassle of servants, then goes into a real battle. Romeo Montecci, the heir to one of the families, does not participate in the bloodshed, he is busy thinking about winning the noble beauty Rosalina, whose heart he wanted to win. His friends - Mercutio and Benvolio - are trying in every way to distract him from heavy thoughts, but Romeo continues to be sad.
At this time, a cheerful holiday is scheduled in the Capulet family. These people do not have aristocratic roots, but they are very wealthy, and with the help of organized balls they strive to further demonstrate their wealth and luxury. A relative of the Duke himself is invited to their holiday - Count Paris, who falls under the spell of the beautiful Juliet and asks the head of the family for her hands. Juliet's father gives his consent, despite the young age of his daughter. Juliet is only 13 years old.
At this time, Romeo's friends suggest that he put on a mask and enter the house of Capulet at the ball to have fun. Romeo agrees. One of the relatives of the Capulet family, Tybalt, recognizes in Romeo the son of Montecca, with whom there is enmity. But at this time, Romeo sees Juliet, falls in love with her at first sight and forgets about his former lady of the heart Rosalina. Juliet also falls in love with Romeo, they are hiding from everyone and swear allegiance to each other.
Late in the evening after the ball, Juliet goes to the balcony and begins to talk aloud about her feelings for Romeo, he hears her words and confesses to her reciprocal attraction. Lovers plan to get married. In the early morning, Brother Lorenzo, a minister of the monastery of St. Francis, helps them in this.
At the same time, Mercutio and Tybalt accidentally meet. A quarrel erupts between them, and Tybalt kills Mercutio. Romeo is forced to avenge the death of his friend, he kills Tybalt. After this, the young man hides, so as not to incur the wrath of the Duke. He is forced to flee the city. Before this, Romeo spends the night with Juliet, the approach of dawn means their separation. Listening to the morning chirping of larks, they say goodbye.
The Capulet family is set to marry Juliet as Count of Paris, and the bride's parents begin preparations for the wedding. The girl, in desperation, seeks solace from her brother Lorenzo, and he offers her an insidious plan - to drink a drink that will immerse her in a deep sleep, like death. Juliet will sleep, in the meantime everyone will think that she is dead, and thus she will be able to avoid the fateful wedding. Romeo sent a letter warning them about this plan. Unfortunately, the messenger does not have time to warn Romeo because of quarantine about the plague, and the news of Juliet's death comes earlier. Romeo returns to Verona to say goodbye to his beloved.
At the sight of the dead Juliet, not knowing that she was just sleeping, Romeo drinks poison, unable to imagine life without her. Juliet wakes up when Romeo is already dead. She desperately considers herself guilty of the death of her beloved, grabbing his dagger, striking herself in the heart. When the rival families of Montecca and Capulet learn about the tragedy, they agree on peace - the death of their beloved children softens their hearts, the enmity ceases. The love of Romeo and Juliet becomes an atonement for all the evil of the clans caused to each other.
William Shakespeare. "Romeo and Juliet". Who wrote the masterpiece
There is very little information about the life of the most talented English playwright W. Shakespeare. He did not keep a diary, did not write down his memories, and practically did not correspond with anyone. All documents bearing his signature or at least some recording made by his hand are of great historical value.
William Shakespeare was born in the small English town of Stratford, which is located on the banks of the Avon River, in 1564.
His father, a wealthy merchant, went bankrupt when William was fifteen. From this age, he himself was forced to earn a living. In 1585, William Shakespeare went to London. There he changed several professions. For example, he guarded the horses while noble gentlemen watched the performance. Then he entered the service of the theater, where he sometimes replaced the prompter, rewrote some roles and made sure that the actors went on stage on time. Such work in the future helped him to stage stunning plays, since he knew the backstage very well.
Gradually, after serving several years, he ensured that he was given small roles on the stage. Then he himself began to write and stage plays. Shakespeare is known for his poems and sonnets. In addition to Romeo and Juliet, he also has some immortal creations - A Midsummer Night's Dream, Macbeth, The Taming of the Shrew, Hamlet, King Lear, Twelfth Night, Much Ado About Nothing and others. In total, 37 plays by Shakespeare, 154 sonnets and 4 poems are known.
William did not invent many of his texts, but simply reworked real events - it was thanks to this talent that his works are known for their truthfulness and vitality. Shakespeare's work conveys the breath of that time - the humanistic ideas of the Renaissance. His works are thoughtful, his heroes are spiritual and strong people, they struggle with human passions and vices.
One of the main ideas of the brilliant Shakespeare: people need to be assessed not by status and titles, not by level of wealth or status, but by thoughts, deeds and human qualities. Shakespeare's contribution to world culture is difficult to overestimate, his works are still relevant, they win the hearts of millions of fans around the world.
William Shakespeare died at the age of 52 in 1616. He is buried in his hometown, Stratford. Numerous fans and tourists still come to his grave. Perhaps life in the town would have completely died out if it had not organized the “Shakespearean” industry - every sign of the city will certainly indicate the genius of William Shakespeare. Crowds of tourists annually come to Stratford to bow to the grave of the great writer and playwright.
Theater performances
The play “Romeo and Juliet” was staged thousands of times on many stages of the world. Perhaps this play can be called one of the most popular in the repertoires of many world theaters. In Russia, the play "Romeo and Juliet" was staged in the theater "Satyricon" them. A. Raikin, in the theater. Pushkin and in many others. The main characters are played by the most talented actors, great directors undertake to stage this play.
Shakespeare, “Romeo and Juliet” - this is the eternally relevant, timeless classic, the production of which can be considered an honor for any theater. Musicals on the theme of unhappy lovers are constantly updated, the most unexpected details are sometimes added to the tragedy, the production is interpreted by talented people in the most unexpected way. “West Side Story” is one of the adaptations of the classic Shakespeare play, the world premiere of which took place for the first time in 1957. The play “Romeo and Juliet” (author - Shakespeare) is the property of world culture, it constantly attracts many admirers of the talent of the great master.
Romeo and Juliet in the movie
Since 1900, almost since the advent of cinema, Shakespeare (Romeo and Juliet in particular) has been filmed a huge number of times. Almost every year, films about the tragedy of lovers are shot in different countries of the world. In France and the USA, in the United Kingdom and Spain, in Mexico, Belgium, Italy, Argentina, in Brazil and Portugal, Romeo and Juliet are played by the best actors in world cinema. In the USSR, the film ballet "Romeo and Juliet" was shot in 1983, the main roles were played by Alexander Mikhailov and Olga Sirina. The last film co-produced by the United States and Italy was released in 2013. He was successful in many countries of the world and recognized as one of the best for the year.
Music
Based on the immortal play of Shakespeare, many academic works have been written. In 1830, the opera Romeo and Juliet by V. Bellini appeared, in 1839 the symphonic poem by G. Berlioz, in 1938, a ballet to the music of Prokofiev was published.
In addition to opera and classical versions, there are many compositions of rock bands and pop artists. Songs about Romeo and Juliet were performed by V. Kuzmin, A. Malinin, S. Penkin, D. Gurtskaya. The name of the play is used in album names of different groups.
Translation in the literature
The work “Romeo and Juliet” (translation in Russian and not only) was reprinted many hundreds of times. Based on the immortal play, novels by G. Keller and the novel by Ann Fortier were published. The creation of “Romeo and Juliet” in Russian first appeared in the second half of the 19th century. One of the best is the translation of I. Raskovshenko. Translations by Grekov, Grigoryev, Mikhalovsky, Sokolovsky, Schepkina-Kupernik, Radlova were popular with readers. The work “Romeo and Juliet” (the original was in English) translated by B. Pasternak was especially warmly received. This option is far from the most accurate, but the most beautiful and poetic. It is Pasternak who owns the line “But the story of Romeo and Juliet will remain the saddest in the world ...”.
Curious facts
To date, tourists in Verona are invited to visit the houses of Romeo and Juliet, and even their graves. In fact, it is known that these attractions have nothing to do with the literary characters of Shakespeare. Nevertheless, in the courtyard of the house where Juliet supposedly lived, her statue is cast in bronze. Local legend says that anyone touching her breast will find happiness and love.
Another interesting fact is that in Italy, when they talk about the play of Shakespeare and his heroes, it is customary to mention first the name of the girl, and then the guy - Juliet and Romeo. For the Russian language, it is more common to use the names in the name on the contrary.
Juliet's balcony is an important detail of any production or film about the legendary lovers. However, it is known that in the original version of Shakespeare it is not about the balcony - Romeo listened to her speech simply from the window. Nevertheless, over time, Juliet's balcony has become one of the most significant details of all productions of lovers. Guides of Verona and now demonstrate to many tourists exactly the balcony on which Juliet stood.
Historical or literary characters?
The story of Romeo and Juliet is beautiful and very tragic. Many scholars, historians, and literary scholars are concerned about the question of whether the heroes of the Shakespeare play actually lived. It is known that some personalities really existed - for example, Escala, mentioned by Shakespeare, in reality was the Duke of Bartolomeo I della Scala. It is approximately established which year is described in the play - 1302nd.
Italy of that time was really characterized by various conflicts, when various clans vied for titles and nobility. The American historian Olin Moore devoted several years to the study of the legend of lovers, and thanks to his studies, it was possible to find out that precisely in the years in question, there were really two clans in Verona with very similar surnames - Dal Capello and Monticoli. In fact, there was a confrontation between them, which was explained by different parties whose followers were these families. In the history of the city it is indicated that in fact there was a girl who did not reciprocate with a high-ranking person and got married to a poor young man, despite pressure from relatives. The offended man took revenge on them, and the lovers died during torture, never admitting any guilt and not parting even after death.
It is possible that the story of the unfortunate lovers, described by Shakespeare in his tragedy, was based on real events, but slightly modified by the author and decorated with artistic details for greater expressiveness.
Symbol of eternal love
The tragedy of two unfortunate lovers, belonging to the pen of the great W. Shakespeare, has not lost its relevance for several centuries. The story happened more than four hundred years ago, but the theme still lives in numerous theatrical productions, in sculpture and painting, in music and cinema. Perhaps all of humanity, with its diverse culture, would have noticeably impoverished if Shakespeare had not written his brilliant creation.
The story of Romeo and Juliet is the most moving and beautiful story known to the world. Young people are recognized as a symbol of high feelings, devotion and fidelity, eternal love and its power over death and time. This play has many fans - there is the Museum of Love, which presents all the exhibits that testify to the truthfulness of the history of Romeo and Juliet. There are clubs of fans of legendary lovers. You can even write a letter to Juliet - one of her clubs has special secretaries who receive messages in different languages, read them and respond on behalf of Juliet.
On Valentine's Day, February 14th, this club chooses the most moving and romantic story, and the author of the letter receives a gift from Juliet. A thirteen-year-old girl, who suffered from deep feelings, is revered by fans as one who can bless the lovers, give them confidence and bring real happiness.
In Verona, the legend of lovers is very popular to this day - there is a travel agency and a hotel named after Juliet, they sell pastries of the same name in pastry shops, guides conduct excursions to mansions supposedly belonging to the families of Montecca and Capulet. The name "Romeo and Juliet" is given to champagne, confectionery, furniture, flowers and aromas - everything that you want to consider romantic and beautiful. In general, you can see that the industry also with pleasure and benefit supports the brand of Romeo and Juliet - their history is well sold, and manufacturers cannot help but use it.
It is not so important whether Shakespeare’s heroes really existed, all the same people want to believe in a fairy tale, not to lose hope and dream of the same strong and pure feeling as Romeo and Juliet. While we are able to love, the story of Romeo and Juliet will remain one of the most popular and most romantic in world culture.