L'ultimo bacio dato a Giulietta da Romeo by Francesco Hayez. A Chorus reads a prologue to each of the first two acts.An Apothecary who reluctantly sells Romeo poison.Friar John is sent to deliver Friar Laurence's letter to Romeo.Friar Laurence is a Franciscan friar and Romeo's confidant.Abram and Balthasar are servants of the Montague household.Benvolio is Romeo's cousin and best friend.Romeo Montague, the son of Montague, is the play's male protagonist.Lady Montague is the matriarch of the house of Montague.Montague is the patriarch of the house of Montague.Peter, Sampson, and Gregory are servants of the Capulet household.

Rosaline is Lord Capulet's niece, Romeo's love in the beginning of the story.The Nurse is Juliet's personal attendant and confidante.Tybalt is a cousin of Juliet, the nephew of Lady Capulet.Juliet Capulet is the 13-year-old daughter of Capulet, the play's female protagonist.Lady Capulet is the matriarch of the house of Capulet.Capulet is the patriarch of the house of Capulet.Mercutio is another kinsman of Escalus, a friend of Romeo.Count Paris is a kinsman of Escalus who wishes to marry Juliet.Prince Escalus is the ruling Prince of Verona.In the 20th and into the 21st century, the play has been adapted in versions as diverse as George Cukor's 1936 film Romeo and Juliet, Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 film Romeo and Juliet, Baz Luhrmann's 1996 MTV-inspired film Romeo + Juliet, and most recently, Carlo Carlei's 2013 film Romeo and Juliet. John Gielgud's 1935 version kept very close to Shakespeare's text and used Elizabethan costumes and staging to enhance the drama. Performances in the 19th century, including Charlotte Cushman's, restored the original text and focused on greater realism. David Garrick's 18th-century version also modified several scenes, removing material then considered indecent, and Georg Benda's Romeo und Julie omitted much of the action and used a happy ending. During the English Restoration, it was revived and heavily revised by William Davenant. Romeo and Juliet has been adapted numerous times for stage, film, musical, and opera venues. Romeo, for example, grows more adept at the sonnet over the course of the play. The play ascribes different poetic forms to different characters, sometimes changing the form as the character develops. Shakespeare's use of poetic dramatic structure (including effects such as switching between comedy and tragedy to heighten tension, the expansion of minor characters, and numerous sub-plots to embellish the story) has been praised as an early sign of his dramatic skill. The text of the first quarto version was of poor quality, however, and later editions corrected the text to conform more closely with Shakespeare's original. Believed to have been written between 15, the play was first published in a quarto version in 1597. Shakespeare borrowed heavily from both but expanded the plot by developing a number of supporting characters, particularly Mercutio and Paris. The plot is based on an Italian tale translated into verse as The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet by Arthur Brooke in 1562 and retold in prose in Palace of Pleasure by William Painter in 1567. Romeo and Juliet belongs to a tradition of tragic romances stretching back to antiquity. Today, the title characters are regarded as archetypal young lovers. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with Hamlet, is one of his most frequently performed plays. Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about two young Italian star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately reconcile their feuding families. Problems playing this file? See media help.

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