Shakespeare's works /
Introduction to the play
InRomeo and Juliet, Shakespeare creates a violent world, in which two young people fall in love. It is not simply that their families disapprove; the Montagues and the Capulets are engaged in a blood feud.
In this death-filled setting, the movement from love at first sight to the lovers’ final union in death seems almost inevitable. And yet, this play set in an extraordinary world has become the quintessential story of young love. In part because of its exquisite language, it is easy to respond as if it were about all young lovers.
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The Folger Shakespeare
Our bestselling editions of Shakespeare's plays and poems
But soft, what light through yonder window breaks?
It is the East, and Juliet is the sun.
—Romeo
Act 2, scene 2, lines 2–3
Good night, good night. Parting is such sweet
sorrow
That I shall say “Good night” till it be morrow.
—Juliet
Act 2, scene 2, lines 199–201
From the audio edition of Romeo and Juliet
Full recording available fromSimon & Schuster Audioon CD and for download.
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Essays and resources from The Folger Shakespeare
Romeo and Juliet
Learn more about the play, its language, and its history from the experts behind our edition.
About Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet
An introduction to the plot, themes, and characters in the play
Reading Shakespeare’s Language
A guide for understanding Shakespeare’s words, sentences, and wordplay
An Introduction to This Text
A description of the publishing history of the play and our editors’ approach to this edition
Shakespeare and his world
Learn more about Shakespeare, his theater, and his plays from the experts behind our editions.
Shakespeare’s Life
An essay about Shakespeare and the time in which he lived
Shakespeare’s Theater
An essay about what theaters were like during Shakespeare’s career
The Publication of Shakespeare’s Plays
An essay about how Shakespeare’s plays were published
Related blog posts and podcasts
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It may not surprise you to hear that Romeo and Juliet is Shakespeare’s teenaged play but that might have surprised earlier readers who considered the play adolescent for other reasons.
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Shakespeare and Beyond
Staging Puerto Rican Culture: Speaking Spanish and English in Romeo and Juliet
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Author
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Carla Della Gatta explores how bilingual staging methods help evoke Puerto Rican culture for the Capulet women in Folger Theatre’s Romeo and Juliet.
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Director's cut: Exhibits inspired by "Romeo and Juliet"
Posted
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Selected by director Raymond O. Caldwell and the Folger staff, with evocative descriptions by Caldwell, rare objects resonate with the themes of Romeo and Juliet.
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Shakespeare and Beyond
AI and iambic pentameter: Making political speeches in the metaverse
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Melanie Bender Martin explores how the Folger Theatre’s Romeo and Juliet, set in a DC metaverse, was equipped with political ads… in iambic pentameter.
A round-up of intriguing looks at "Romeo and Juliet"
Shakespeare and Beyond
A round-up of intriguing looks at "Romeo and Juliet"
Posted
Author
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As we welcome Folger Theatre’s Romeo and Juliet, we take a look back at some intriguing and varied highlights of our past looks at the play.
Shakespeare and Beyond
Q&A with director Raymond O. Caldwell on Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare and AI, and his “love letter to DC”
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In a Q&A, director Raymond O. Caldwell explores divisive politics, youth-related issues, and how Folger Theatre’sRomeo and Julietis a “love letter to DC.”
Teaching Romeo and Juliet
Use the Folger Method to teach Romeo and Juliet. Become a Teacher Member to get exclusive access to lesson plans and professional development.
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The Key to Getting ALL Students Understanding and Interpreting Complex Texts
Teaching Resource
The Key to Getting ALL Students Understanding and Interpreting Complex Texts
Free resource
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- Shakespeare and race
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Romeo and Juliet: Teaching Teenagers Then and Now
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Romeo and Juliet: Teaching Teenagers Then and Now
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Cutting and Performing Scenes – Put Students in the Driver’s Seat!
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Cutting and Performing Scenes – Put Students in the Driver’s Seat!
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- Romeo and Juliet
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Exploring Gender: Shakespeare’s Take on Chaste, Silent, and Obedient
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Exploring Gender: Shakespeare’s Take on Chaste, Silent, and Obedient
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- Othello
- Romeo and Juliet
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William Shakespeare and Gwendolyn Brooks: Processing Death
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William Shakespeare and Gwendolyn Brooks: Processing Death
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This Illness is No Metaphor: Romeo and Juliet and the Plague
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This Illness is No Metaphor: Romeo and Juliet and the Plague
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Text Set: Maya Angelou Talks Back to Romeo
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Text Set: Maya Angelou Talks Back to Romeo
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Choral Reading: Juliet’s Soliloquy in Romeo and Juliet 4.3
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Choral Reading: Juliet’s Soliloquy in Romeo and Juliet 4.3
A longtime Folger favorite lesson!
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Cutting a Scene: Queen Mab in Romeo and Juliet 1.4
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Cutting a Scene: Queen Mab in Romeo and Juliet 1.4
Students do the work of directors and teachers everywhere: cut the strange, long, and imagery-rich "Queen Mab" speech!
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Pre-reading: Tossing Lines from Romeo and Juliet
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Pre-reading: Tossing Lines from Romeo and Juliet
Students never forget this first day of their Romeo and Juliet unit!
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Choral Reading: Romeo and Juliet 1.4 Queen Mab Speech
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Choral Reading: Romeo and Juliet 1.4 Queen Mab Speech
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Pre-reading: Tossing Words from Romeo and Juliet
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Pre-reading: Tossing Words from Romeo and Juliet
Forget a slide deck on Shakespeare's life and times. Start Romeo and Juliet with the words in your students' mouths-- actively and joyfully!
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- Romeo and Juliet
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3-D Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet 1.1
Teaching Resource
3-D Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet 1.1
Get out of the way and let your students create the opening scene of Romeo and Juliet. Here's how.
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Pre-reading: 20-minute Romeo and Juliet
Teaching Resource
Pre-reading: 20-minute Romeo and Juliet
Introduce the language and story of Romeo and Juliet with this lively 20-minute play.
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- Romeo and Juliet
- Lesson plan
Master Class: Teaching Romeo and Juliet
Teaching Resource
Master Class: Teaching Romeo and Juliet
What are the most essential, and eye-opening, things any teacher must know about Romeo and Juliet? What are wildly effective approaches to teaching it?
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Getting All Students Inside Tough Speeches
Teaching Resource
Getting All Students Inside Tough Speeches
How can any student encounter a speech for the first time and make meaning from it on their own, without any teacher explanation?
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- Romeo and Juliet
- The Merchant of Venice
- Professional development
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Early printed texts
Romeo and Juliet was first printed in 1597 (Q1) as a quarto that is markedly different than any subsequent early printing: it is shorter, the wedding scene is radically different, and the language widely differs in the last three acts. The play appeared as a quarto in 1599 (Q2) in a text that seems to have had a different source than the one behind Q1; this version of the play was reprinted in 1609 (Q3) and in 1623 (Q4). The play is included in the 1623 First Folio, with a text that differs from Q3 beyond what we would expect typesetters to change. Most modern editions, like the Folger, are based on Q2.
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