RØmèØ åñd Jµ£îèT > Þlåý ßý §håkè$Þèå®è

Picture - Scene from "Romeo and Juliet." 1597

Introduction

The play and the image displayed in the pictureThis section is dedicated to Romeo and Juliet, the play by William Shakespeare. The picture is 18th century and image displayed represents the essence of the play which, we hope, will bring to life a famous scene or character from the famous play. The information provided in this section of william-shakespeare.info includes famous quotes / quotations from Romeo and Juliet, summary of the plot or story, facts about the play, a list of the cast and characters and access to the full text - script of the play by William Shakespeare

Summary of the plot or story

Shakespeare's tragic drama of the "star-crossed" young lovers Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet is best remembered for the famous balcony scene. Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet are teenagers who fall deeply in love but their families are bitter enemies. They seize the moment and marry in secret, they make every effort to conceal their actions but these end in tragedy when Romeo, Juliet, Tybalt, Mercutio and Paris all die. The themes running through the play address the issues of the consequences of immature blind passion, hatred and prejudice.

Information provided about the play

William Shakespeare never published any of his plays and therefore none of the original manuscripts have survived. Eighteen unauthorised versions of his plays were, however, published during his lifetime in quarto editions by unscrupulous publishers (there were no copyright laws protecting Shakespeare and his works during the Elizabethan era). A collection of his works did not appear until 1623 (a full seven years after Shakespeare's death on April 23, 1616 ) when two of his fellow actors, John Hemminges and Henry Condell, posthumously recorded his work and published 36 of William’s plays in the First Folio. Some dates are therefore approximate other dates are substantiated by historical events, records of performances and the dates plays appeared in print.

Date first performed

It is believed that the play was first performed between 1594 and 1595. In the Elizabethan era there was a huge demand for new entertainment and the tragedy would have been produced immediately following the completion of the play.

Date was first printed

It is believed that Romeo and Juliet was first printed in 1597. As William Shakespeare clearly did not want his work published details of the play would have therefore been noted, and often pirated without his consent, following a performance.

The settings

The settings for the production are Verona and Mantua in Italy

The theme

The play Romeo and Juliet is categorised as a Tragedy

Number of words

The number of words in Romeo and Juliet, according to the Complete Public Domain Text is 25,948

Most important characters

The most important characters in Romeo and Juliet are:Montague and Juliet Capulet

Famous Quotes / Quotations

The quotes from Romeo and Juliet are amongst Shakespeare's most famous including 'Parting is such sweet sorrow' and 'What's in a name'. Details of these famous quotes follow, complete with information regarding the Act and the Scene, allowing a quick reference to the section of the play that these quotations can be found in.

"It is the east, and Juliet is the sun" . (Act II, Scene II).

"Good Night, Good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow, that I shall say good night till it be morrow." (Act II, Scene II).

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet". (Act II, Scene II).

History of the play

Romeo and Juliet was based on real lovers who lived in Verona, Italy who died for each other in the year 1303. At that time the Capulets and Montagues were among the inhabitants of Verona.

William Shakespeare's Main Source

Shakespeare found the story in Arthur Brooke's poem 'The Tragical Historye of Romeus and Juliet' (1562).

Inspiration from the play

Romeo and Juliet has inspired other works, such as Berlioz's dramatic symphony (1839), Tchaikovsky's fantasy-overture (1869-80), and Prokofiev's full-length ballet (1938).The academy award winning musical West Side Story is based on the story of Romeo and Juliet.The Cast and CharactersClick the link at the top of the page to access a list of all the cast and characters. Characters
Romeo and Juliet the play by William Shakespeare

TîTåñî¢ - †hè Úñdîèd "£ØVÊ" Fº® èvè®

Titanic Facts

Historical and movie facts about the world's most famous ship

In 1912, the Titanic, a steamship in England's White Star Line, set out on its doomed maiden voyage, with 2,227 enthusiastic passengers and crew members on board for the history-making trip from Southampton, England, to New York City. Only 705 would survive the ship's collision with a massive iceberg.

The "unsinkable" ocean liner hit an iceberg late in the evening on April 14 and sunk in the early hours of April 15.

Titanic Facts

Here are some of the most interesting facts about the ship and its fateful journey:

The Titanic was designed to hold 32 lifeboats, though only 20 were on board; White Star management was concerned that too many boats would sully the aesthetic beauty of the ship.

Survivors were rescued by the Carpathia, which was 58 miles southeast of Titanic when it received the distress call.

Titanic boasted electric elevators, a swimming pool, a squash court, a Turkish Bath, and a gymnasium with a mechanical horse and mechanical camel.

The wreckage of Titanic was located in 1985, 12,500 feet down, about 350 miles (531 km) southeast of Newfoundland, Canada.

A first class (parlor suite) ticket on Titanic cost $4,350, which translates into $50,000 today.

Lillian Gertrud Asplund, the last American survivor of the Titanic tragedy, died in Massachusetts on May 6, 2006, at age 99. Her mother and a brother also survived, but her father and three other brothers perished. Two other survivors live in England. Eleanor Shuman, who was the inspiration for Kate Winslet's Rose, died on March 7, 1998, at age 87.

James Cameron's 1997 Blockbuster

These days, the word Titanic immediately conjures up images of the starry-eyed Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet passionately embracing as they lean precariously over the bow of the ship, with the wind in their sprightly young faces and the world at their feet.

With all the hoopla over the epic's mega-budget, mega-box-office gross and record-tying slew of Oscars, the film Titanic has become itself a cultural phenomenon—nearly as monumental as the event on which it was based.

Millions of Dollars, Millions of Fans

Indeed, Titanic director James Cameron meticulously replicated the minutiae of the original ship, from chandeliers and wallpaper that adorn the posh dining rooms down to the ashtrays.

The fact remains that Americans have dished out more than $600 million not out of interest in learning more about the disaster, but out of fascination with the Hollywood spectacle.