Romeo and Juliet Analysis

"Call me but love and I'll be new baptized" (2.2.4). That's what our smooth-talking Romeo says to Juliet as a way to suggest that Juliet's love has the potential to make him "reborn." Jeez. It seem...

Many of the scenes take place in the streets of Verona, Italy where the young men of the upper-class Capulet and Montague families hang out and get into fights with one another.Within Verona, Romeo...

You probably guessed that The Most Excellent and Lamentable Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet is, well, a tragedy. (And yes, that's the full title on the 1599 version of the play.) But for the first two...

"Here's much to do with hate, but more with love," Romeo says at the play's beginning, and the dynamics of extreme emotion define the tone of the play (1.1.7). Romeo and Juliet deals in extremes th...

From the Prologue we know Shakespeare wants to make this play a big deal. Besides the fact that he employs the Greek tragedy-esque Chorus, check out how epic his language is, right from the beginni...

This title is pretty much as self-explanatory as titles get. You might be interested to know that the full title of the 1599 version of the play reads The Most Excellent and Lamentable Tragedy of R...

In the play's final scene, Romeo finds Juliet's seemingly "dead" body and, rather than face life without her, he swallows a vial of poison moments before Juliet wakes up. When Juliet realizes her h...

Montagues vs. Capulets. GRRRR!The prologue says it all. "Two households both alike in dignity"– the Capulets and the Montagues – are battling it out in the streets of Verona. The play o...

Act 1 – the first halfBoth Romeo and Juliet have potential romantic partners, but neither one is really satisfied.Act 1 – the second halfRomeo and Juliet meet each other, and they have...

Romeo and Juliet fall in love, only to realize that they are on opposite sides of an ongoing war between their families. Act I ends with the lovers pursuing their affair (the famous balcony scene)....

Think Romeo's "O she doth teach the torches to burn bright" speech is an awesome pick-up line? So did John Gaugh, the author of a 17th century version of "Dating for Dummies." In his 1639 book, The...

There's very little in Romeo and Juliet that can't be interpreted as some kind of dirty joke. Even the most serious moments in the play have sexual puns lurking under the surface. Here's a guide to...