Romeo and Juliet (1597) is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. Inspired by an Italian tale adapted for an English audience in 1562 by Arthur Brooke and in 1567 by William Painter, Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet sometime between 1591 and 1595. Alongside Hamlet, it is one of Shakespeare's most performed plays and has served as source material for countless film and television adaptations. "Two households, both alike in dignity, / In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, / From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, / Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean." For his wit and wordplay alone, William Shakespeare is often considered the greatest writer to ever work in the English language. Where he truly triumphs, however, is in his ability to portray complex human emotions, how these emotions contribute to relationships, and how these relationships interact with politics, culture, and religion. In Romeo and Juliet, a "pair of star-cross'd lovers" risk their lives for one another. Because Romeo is a Montague, he cannot love Juliet, a Capulet, the sworn enemies of his family and their major rival in the city of Verona. As is often the case, their hearts refuse the limits of history, leading them to their tragic, unforgettable end. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is a classic of English literature reimagined for modern readers.

Shakespeare, William

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was an English poet, playwright, and actor. Born in Stratford-upon-Avon, he was the son of John Shakespeare, an alderman and glove-maker, and Mary Arden, a woman from a wealthy family. Likely educated at the King's New School, he would have studied Latin in his youth. At eighteen, he married Anne Hathaway, then twenty-six. Together, they raised three children--Susanna and twins Hamnet and Judith. By 1892, several of his early plays had appeared on stage in London. These works, including Richard III and Henry VI, show the influence of Elizabethan dramatists Thomas Kyd and Christopher Marlowe. He then found success with a series of comedies, such as A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Merchant of Venice, As You Like It, and Twelfth Night. By the late 1590s, Shakespeare wrote two of his finest tragedies, Romeo and Juliet and Julius Caesar, proving his talent and thematic versatility. The beginning of the 17th century marked a turn in his work, ushering in an era often considered his darkest and most productive. Between 1600 and 1606, he produced such masterpieces as Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth, and King Lear, all of which are undoubtedly some of the finest works ever written in the English language. In addition to his 39 plays, many of which were performed by his own company at the legendary Globe Theatre, Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets and three long poems, many of which continue to be read around the world.