Sonetto inglese: Romeo and Juliet, a brief summary
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La storia di Romeo e Giulietta in inglese
Romeo and Juliet is a love tragedy that ranks among the most famous of all time. The story is about forbidden love and death. This work is the first tragedy written by the famous English writer William Shakespeare, and it was written between 1594 and 1596. It was first published in 1597. The tragedy was created in the first period of Shakespeare's creativity, and it was inspired by the well-known legend about two lovers from Verona whose lives ended tragically because of love.
Although Romeo and Juliet are one of the most famous love stories in the world, Shakespeare wasn't the first writer to write about the two lovers. Before Shakespeare, several writers used the story of the ill-fated lovers from Verona. That's how Dante Alighieri mentioned the tragedy of the Capulet and Montecchio families in his Divine Comedy. Around 1595, there was a printed story of Verona that mentioned the same thing.
Romeo and Juliette were children of two rich and powerful noble families in Verona, the Capulets, and the Montagues, which were constantly involved in conflicts.
In fact, the First act begins with a fight on the street between members of both families. The fight was stopped by the Prince of Verona, who warned the members of the two families not to argue anymore, under penalty of death.
The tragedy of Romeo and Juliet is divided into four acts, set in Verona and Mantua. It begins with a prologue written in a sonnet form.
Romeo Montague was in love with Rosalina, a member of the Capulet family, but she was not in love with him. He went to the masquerade party organized by the Capulets, to see Rosalin, but instead, he met Juliet. She was only 14, but her father promised her to Count Paris. Romeo and Juliet fell in love instantly.
The Second act
After the party, Juliet went to the balcony dreaming and talking about Romeo. She didn't know that Romeo had jumped over Capulet's wall and was in her garden, listening to her. She was describing her love for him. He showed himself and declared his love for her. She demanded that Romeo reject his father's name, or if not, she would reject her name. She said that Montague's name is “nor hand, nor foot, nor arm, nor face, nor any other part belonging to a man”. She didn’t care about his name and origin. Romeo agreed and said, "Call me love and I will be newly baptized”. They decided to get married, met at the church, and informed Friar Laurence about it. He agreed to marry them.
The Third act
After the secret wedding between Romeo and Juliet, Tybalt, Juliet's cousin, searched for Romeo to fight. Romeo refused to fight, but the fight did happen and his friend Mercutio was killed by Tybalt. Tybalt was killed by Romeo. The Capulets asked the Prince of Verona to sentence Romeo to death, but he sent him to exile. Romeo was rescued by Friar Laurence. While the Capulets were preparing for the wedding between Juliet and Count Paris, she escaped.
The Fourth act
Juliet asked for help from Friar Lorence, where she met Paris and had a little argument with him. The friar gave her something to sleep for 48 hours, with the idea to tell her family that she was dead, so she could have time to meet Romeo and avoid the wedding with Paris. Her family was crying, the wedding was canceled, and Romeo heard the news. Friar Laurence sent a messenger, Friar John, to inform Romeo that Juliet was alive, but the messenger never arrived. Desperate Romeo bought poison, went to Juliet's tomb, and met Paris there. They fought, he killed Paris, and then drank, so he drank the poison and died at her tomb. Juliet awoke and saw him dead. She was asked by Friar Laurence to dedicate her life to God and become a nun, but she declined. She kissed Romeo, took his knife, and committed suicide.
In the end, Romeo's father reads a letter that Romeo had written before dying. The death of their children stopped the conflict between the two families because they realized that their conflicts had brought this tragedy.
Type of opera: drama (tragedy)
Time of action: 16th century
Place of action: Verona and Mantua
The theme of the opera: forbidden love between two young lovers
The idea of the opera: nothing can stop pure love, especially not revenge and reasonless hatred
