Rupa Publications India Pvt Ltd Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare (...

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Romeo And Juliet is a tragedy written By William Shakespeare early in his career which revolves around the love story of two young star-crossed lovers, and the sworn enmity between their families. Summary Of The Book The play starts off with a huge fight between the Montagues and Capulets, which are two prestigious families in Verona. This causes the Prince of Verona to declare a punishment of death if anyone tried to disrupt the peace of Verona. As the plot progresses, Count Paris asks Capulet for his daughter’s hand in marriage, but Capulet requests him to wait for another two years. However, he invites Count Paris to attend the Capulet ball. Lady Capulet and Juliet’s nurse try and convince Juliet to accept Paris’s proposal. In the meanwhile, Benvolio speaks to his cousin, Romeo who has been awfully depressed lately. Romeo confides in him that he is in love with a woman named Rosaline, but she has chosen to live a life of chastity. After being prodded by his cousin and a close friend, Romeo musters up the courage to attend Capulet’s ball, hoping to meet Rosaline. However, he meets Juliet, and the two immediately fall in love with each other. Romeo and Juliet decide to get married secretly, and Friar Laurence hopes to bring about reconciliation among the families by their children’s marriage. Juliet’s cousin, Tybalt challenges Romeo to battle as he had secretly attended the ball. Romeo refuses to fight, and his friend then duels with Tybalt on his behalf, and gets killed. Romeo slays Tybalt, and is exiled from Verona, with the threat of execution if he returns. Meanwhile, Juliet is forced to get married to Count Paris. She seeks Friar Laurence for help, who offers her a drug which would make her sleep for hours, thus making it appear that she died. About William Shakespeare William Shakespeare is an English poet, playwright and actor. He is widely considered as the greatest writer in the English Language. He is credited with great works: The Tempest, Julius Caesar, and King Lear only to name a very few. He has written 38 plays and 154 sonnets through the course of his career. His literary works have been translated into every major living language, and performed more than that of any playwright in history. In 1613, he retired to Stratford, and passed away on the 23rd of April, 1616.