When was the setting of romeo and juliet

The Friar sends to Romeo to rescue Juliet. She takes the potion the day before she must marry Paris. He finds Juliet, apparently dead, takes poison and dies. She awakes and, finding Romeo dead beside her, kills herself with a dagger. The Friar explains the story to the assembled Montagues and Capulets, who end their feud and join in mourning their dead children. Romeo and Juliet Creation of the play Romeo and Juliet can be plausibly dated to Early performances Romeo and Juliet had certainly been performed by , when the first quarto was published.

Publication in quarto and folio Romeo and Juliet appeared in seven editions before First quarto, The text may have been one cut and adapted for performance. Second quarto, The first quarto was probably also used, perhaps to help interpret the manuscript. The text is nearly half as long again as that in the first quarto.

Third quarto, Printed from the second quarto. Fourth quarto, []. Printed from the third quarto, but the first quarto was also used. The titlepage is undated, but modern scholarship suggests the publication date of It seems likely, then, that the play takes place sometime in the fourteenth century.

These are the protagonists of a story by the Italian writer Luigi da Porto concerning two Veronese lovers caught on either side of a family feud. Thus, by the time Shakespeare adapted the popular story for the stage, Verona would already have been well-known in England as a site of tragedy.

On the other hand, Shakespeare often set his comedies in Italy, and the play at first seems like it might go in the direction of a comedy. Shakespeare also reflects the popular belief that Italian women are more sexually passionate than English women when he gives Juliet explicitly erotic language. In addition to reflecting popular beliefs about Italy, Romeo and Juliet also emphasizes the division between two symbolic worlds that Romeo and Juliet inhabit within Verona. The first of these worlds is the dangerous, masculine world of the streets, where Romeo roves about with other rash and reckless youths.

The second of these worlds is the secluded, feminine world of the Capulet house, where Juliet remains confined. The symbolic division between these two worlds reinforces the difficulty the two lovers face in their attempts to be together.

In fact, the division remains so strict that the only reason the lovers even meet is that Romeo forces entry into the Capulet house on two occasions—first, to crash the ball, and later, to have a private meeting with Juliet. The scene is set Act 1 Scene 1 Montague and Capulet servants clash in the street, the Prince threatens dire punishment if another such brawl should take place, and Romeo tells his friend, Benvolio, of his obsession with Rosaline.

The lovers meet for the first time Act 1 Scene 4 Romeo is persuaded to attend a masked party at the Capulet household. Romeo risks death to meet Juliet again Act 2 Scene 1 When everyone has left the party, Romeo creeps into the Capulet garden and sees Juliet on her balcony.

The wedding is held in secret Act 2 Scene 5 Juliet tells her parents she is going to make her confession to Friar Laurence, meets Romeo there and, despite some personal misgivings, the friar marries them immediately. Romeo angrily kills Juliet's cousin, Tybalt Act 3 Scene 1 Romeo meets Tybalt in the street, and is challenged by him to a duel. The unhappy couple are parted Act 3 Scene 5 Arranged by the Friar and the Nurse, Romeo and Juliet have spent their wedding night together.

The Friar suggests a dangerous solution Act 4 Scene 1 Juliet arrives at the Friar's to be met by Paris, who is busy discussing their wedding plans. Juliet is found 'dead' Act 4 Scene 4 The Nurse discovers Juliet 's 'body' dead' when she goes to wake her for her marriage Paris. Romeo learns of the tragedy and plans suicide Act 5 Scene 1 Romeo's servant, Balthasar, reaches Mantua before the Friar's messenger and tells Romeo that Juliet is dead.

The tragic conclusion Act 5 Scene 3 Trying to break into the Capulet crypt, Romeo is disturbed by Paris and they fight. Discover now. This prologue reveals the ending to the audience before the play has properly begun. The play can be considered as a companion piece to that staged by the Mechanicals at the end of A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Here the young lovers take their lives in earnest, but in A Midsummer Night's Dream the story of Pyramus and Thisbe becomes comic entertainment for three sets of newly-weds.

It contains some of Shakespeare's most beautiful poetry, including the sonnet Romeo and Juliet share when they first meet. Although a story of passionate first love, the play is also full of puns.

Even in death, Mercutio manages to joke: 'ask for me tomorrow and you will find me a grave man'. Juliet is only 13 at the time she meets and marries Romeo, but we never learn his exact age. Like King Lear , the play was adapted by Nahum Tate, changing the story to give it a happy ending.

In , the famous David Garrick staged a version which did not include any mention of Romeo's love for Rosaline, because Garrick felt this made the tragic hero appear too fickle.

In March , Mary Saunderson became almost certainly the first woman to play Juliet on the professional stage. Until the Restoration of the Monarchy in , women were not allowed to perform in public. Romeo and Juliet , alongside Hamlet , is probably Shakespeare's most performed play and has also been adapted in many forms. You are in: About Shakespeare. You may also like.