Romeo and Juliet door William Shakespeare

Explanation of the title: Romeo and Juliet are the main characters: the whole story is about them, their relationship, and their family. When and where does the story play: When: You can’t say a precise time if you have read the story, it isn’t mentioned in the book, but I think it’s a long time ago. I think it takes place in the time that it’s written, 1591. Where: Montau and Verona, Italy. 3. Description of the main characters: Romeo Montague: In the beginning he is down and doesn't want to speak to others, because he's disappointed in a woman who dislikes him. But when he meets Juliet, he forgets everything and wants to share the rest of his live with her, despite the fact that she is a Capulet. He is very passionate about her. Juliet Capulet: She’s a fourteen-year-old girl, but a very strong woman. She is in love with Romeo and she must keep it a secret because of her and his parents. She is very cautious about their relationship. But when Romeo is banished from Verona and her parents have decided that she must marry to Paris, she decides she wants to leave the family of Capulets and wants to stay with Romeo.
4. The theme(s): Love: Everything is about the love between Romeo and Juliet: how they fall in love, how they meet in secret, how they get married, how Juliet tries to be with Romeo for the rest of her life and how they kill themselves because they can't live without the other. Hate: The feud between the Montague and Capulat family is a very big obstacle for the love between Romeo and Juliet. It's the reason why they should keep it a secret and why Romeo loses his best friend and Juliet her cousin. And it's also the reason why they end up dead: they could not be with each other and when the plan doesn't turn out right, is costs Romeo's death. 5. The actual summary: Romeo is the only son of the Montagues and Juliet the only daughter of the Capulets. These two families live in Verona, an Italian city. There is a feud between the two families. Romeo is in love with Rosaline, Juliet’s niece, but she does not love him. But when Romeo hears about a ball at the Capulets, he’s sure that he’s coming. During this ball he meets Juliet and falls in love with her. It’s real love at first sight. They can’t be in love in public because of the feud, so they keep it a secret. They also marry in secret, with help from Friar Lawrence. When the best friend of Romeo, Mercutio, gets killed in a fight between the Capulets and the Montaques, Romeo wants to take revenge and he kills Juliet's cousin Tybalt. Because of this murder, Romeo is banished from Verona and goes to Mantua. Juliet feels sad and alone. Her parents want her to marry Count Paris. She asks advice from Friar Lawrence who gives her a potion, which will make her unconscious for 42 hours. There should have been sent a message to Romeo, which explains that Juliet isn’t really dead. But the messenger never reaches Romeo. Juliet is buried and Paris is very sad. Romeo’s servant goes to Mantua to tell that Juliet is dead. Romeo is desperate, buys some poison, and goes to Juliet’s grave. Paris tries to stop him but gets killed. Romeo enters the vault, drinks the poison and dies. When Juliet wakes up and sees her dead husband she kills herself with his sword. Then many people arrive and Friar Lawrence tells the whole story; he married the two young lovers to establish peace between the two families. After the death of the two youngsters peace is restored. 6. Your very own opinion My opinion about the story is that it’s a very interesting story about love. Love between the two young persons, but that love couldn’t possibly be there because of the feud between their parents. The only thing I really hated was the old English, where the real story was written in. It was a bit hard to understand but because of the introduction I could understand it. I also have seen the movies “Romeo and Juliet” and “Shakespeare in love”. In these movies is the story about Romeo and Juliet described. So that all makes it understandable for me. a. Which part of the book did you like best and why? I liked the part in the book of the balcony-scene the best, because it’s very romantic and I know the lines. There’s a lot of symbolism and imagery in this scene, which I like as well. b. Which character did you like best and why? The character of Juliet I like best. She’s a young girl, fourteen years old. And you see how’s she’s growing up when she meets Romeo. c. Could you identify with the main character? Why, why not? Yes, I could, with both of the main characters. They couldn’t live without each other and they wanted that the feud was over. Juliet also didn’t want to marry Paris. I would have done the same thing if it happened to me. I think it was a good thing that she married Romeo before she should marry Paris. And it’s also good that Juliet killed herself when she saw the dead body of Romeo.
d. Would you recommend the book to others? Why, who not? If you like the story of Romeo and Juliet and you already know something about the story, it’s nice to read. But if you don’t know something about it it’s hard to understand. It’s also hard to understand the old English of the play. But the tragedy around Romeo and Juliet is beautiful!