Romeo and Juliet: Current Events & Pop Culture

Teachers Use New Moon to Teach Romeo and Juliet

It’s no secret that Romeo and Juliet is the inspiration for author Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight saga. (Meyer says so herself in an interview released by her publisher.) Love it or hate it, more and more educators are embracing Meyer’s wildly popular work as a way to teach Shakespeare’s play. At the 99th Annual NCTE Convention (2009), three teachers made a case for introducing students to the classics by way of the Twilight saga. These presentation materials include plot summaries and comparative lists for themes found in New Moon and Romeo and Juliet.