Romeo and Juliet is a play written by William Shakespeare in 1594. It became a very famous story and has influenced the world tremendously in many ways. Three examples of the play’s influence on the world are William Shakespeare has become a historically famous figure known by all, numerous movies have been produced with similar themes, and many real people who have lived out similar love stories have been compared to the story of Romeo and Juliet.
William Shakespeare was a very well known author. He was most likely born on April 23, 1564. Around the age of fifteen, Shakespeare went to Stanford to study Latin classics as well as memorization, writing, and acting. In 1582, William married Anne Hathaway. William was eighteen and his wife was twenty six when they expected their first child, Susanna. Later on in 1585 they had two twin boys, Judith and Hamel. Shakespeare's work was not noticed until 1592(“Shakespeare's Life”). Romeo and Juliet was written around 1594-1596. In 1597 was the first published quatro, the second in 1599, then a third quatro in 1623 that was finally used as a folio. In music and theatre, Romeo and Juliet has always been illustrated (“Romeo and Juliet”).
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Movies have been influenced by the story of Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare's plays were very popular with Elizabethan audiences. Hollywood Scriptwriters tagged on to Shakespeare's theme and celebrities were craving over the acting parts(“Ten Ways”). Since Shakespeare was so amazing at poetry he impacted our language today. He changed around verbs and added noun forms of other words to make a new word. Plays, such as West Side Story by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim, are a modern day version of Romeo and Juliet (“William Shakespeare”). West Side Story is about two lovers, Tony and Maria, who are on opposite gangs. Tony's gang the Jets, is led by his friend Riff. Maria is on the Sharks and this gang is led by her older brother, Bernardo. The gangs compete to win over a territory. Tony sees Maria and falls in love. So that Maria will not get hurt, he tries to stop the fight. After hearing that Maria is dead, Tony is on a hunt to attack the Sharks. The Sharks then kills him after he finds out Maria is still alive (“West Side Story”). In Washington D.C. there is a library called Folger Shakespeare Library with Shakespeare's Quartos and some exhibits about Shakespearean culture (“William Shakespeare”). The Folger Shakespeare Library contains Shakespeare's first printed collection of plays (“William Shakespeare”). There are hundreds of Shakespeare's Quatros at the library.
There are real life tragic love stories named after Romeo and Juliet since they are about people who died because of their love for each other. In Bosnia, in the mid 1980s, two people fell in love, Admira and Bosko. Admira’s father was not against the relationship but her grandmother was. Admira was a Muslim and Bosko was a Serb. After highschool, Bosko went off to a military school. War broke out in Sarajevo and the Serbs killed Muslims in order to win the capital of Sarajevo (“Reuters”). He couldn't handle killing his girlfriend's people. Because of this, Admira and Bosko left Sarajevo. In order to leave they had to travel over the Miljacka River where the Muslim and Serb lines where. With snipers all around, they were both shot. Bosko was killed first. When Admira saw him dead she dragged herself over to him before her last breaths (“Romeo and Juliet in Bosnia”). It seems as though Admira and Bosko died because of their love for each other just like Romeo and Juliet.
Romeo and Juliet has had a huge impact on the world because William Shakespeare was a very good writer, many things have been made because of Romeo and Juliet, and most love stories ending in a death are named after Romeo and Juliet. It is quite a love story. This is why we still learn about Romeo and Juliet today.
Work Cited
- Bevington, David. “Romeo and Juliet.” Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 30 November 2019, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Romeo-and-Juliet. Accessed 17 January 2019.
- Herbert, Bob. “In America; Romeo and Juliet in Bosnia.” The New York Times, The New York Times Company, 8 May 1994, https://www.nytimes.com/1994/05/08/opinion/in-america-romeo-and-juliet-in-bosnia.html, Accessed 31 January 2019.
- Kelly, Charles, and Lawrence Kelly. “William Shakespeare, 1564-1616: How Culture Affected Him and How He Affected Culture.” ManyThings.org, Interesting Things for ESL Students, 1997, http://www.manythings.org/voa/people/William_Shakespeare-2.html. Accessed 15 January 2019.
- McCrum, Robert. “Ten Ways in Which Shakespeare Changed the World,” The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited, 17 April 2016, https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2016/apr/17/ten-ways-shakespeare-changed-the-world. Accessed 30 January 2019.
- Royal Shakespeare Company. “When Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet and the stories which inspired the play.” Dates and Sources, Arts Council England, 16 January 2019, https://www.rsc.org.uk/romeo-and-juliet/about-the-play/dates-and-sources. Accessed 16 January 2019.
- “Shakespeare's Life.” Folger Shakespeare Library, https://www.folger.edu/shakespeares-life. Accessed 14 January 2019.
- “Super Summary.” West Side Story Summary and Study Guide, http://www.supersummary.com/west-side-story/summary/. 31 January 2019.
- “What happened During the War in Bosnia,” Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL21644464. Accessed 31 January 2019.
- “William Shakespeare Biography.” Shakespeare Trust Birthplace, Arts Council England,https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/shakespedia/William-shakespeare/wIlliam-shakespeare-biography/. Accessed 28 January 2019.
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