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Shakespeare’s Poisonous Remedies
If love is a drug, then Romeo and Juliet pushes that belief to its extremes. You might have noticed that the play’s third biggest role after the lovers is Friar Laurence, the play’s would-be pharmacist. But why is the Friar so interested in drugs and home cures?
Love and Hate in Romeo and Juliet
I love you! I hate you! Have you ever said those words? Did you mean them? Have you had them said to you? How did that make you feel? In Romeo and Juliet, the emotions of love and hate are the lifeblood. Everything that happens seems to be caused by these…
Violent Delights and Violent Ends
Nowadays, we use the story of Romeo and Juliet’s ‘star-crossed’ relationship as a short-hand for a particular sort of passionate, heroic love that defies prejudice and convention. There are Romeos and Juliets in every community and country across the world…
Brooke and Shakespeare
Arthur Brooke’s poem ‘Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet’ is 3,020 lines long, and is the first English translation of this tale. It served as a key source for Shakespeare with Romeo and Juliet. We’ve compiled some points for comparison, alongside extracts from each text…
