William Shakespeare

Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare's tragedy of star-crossed lovers, is one of the most popular romantic tragedies in English literature. The drama has been reworked and adapted to the likes and times of audiences from the sixteenth century until today. Shakespeare himself adapted his drama from a folktale that originated at least one hundred years earlier than his play. Despite the changes in the story over the centuries, whether they were made for religious, political, or social concerns, at the core of this drama is a tale that has not been changed and that reaches deeply into the psyche. It is a story about growing up, experiencing love, rebelling against authority, surrendering to the power of fate, and facing mortality—of friends and lovers as well as one's own.

In a capsule, Romeo and Juliet is a play about life. The drama's consistent popularity proves it. Everyone, at some stage of their lives, can relate to Romeo and Juliet. A prominent aspect of the construction of Romeo and Juliet is Shakespeare's handling of the passage of time. He has set up the short time frame to underscore the lovers hasty actions (Dobson397). This is most clearly emphasized in Romeo and Juliet's headlong rush to fulfill their love for each other.Throughout his lifetime English port and actor William Shakespeare left a legacy of drama unparalleled by any other playwright, was inspired to disseminate his wonders of poetry and acting during the age of mythology and legend, The Elizabethan Age, and therefore penned Romo and Juliet a play about star-crossed lovers which was one of his most famous works.

William Shakespeare (baptised 26 April 1564; died 23 April 1616) was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon". His surviving works, including some collaborations, consist of 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright (Merriman, 2006).

Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part owner of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men. He appears to have retired to Stratford around 1613, where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare's private life survive, and there has been considerable speculation about such matters as his physical appearance, sexuality, religious beliefs, and whether the works attributed to him were written by others.

Shakespeare produced most of his known work between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were mainly comedies and histories, genres he raised to the peak of sophistication and artistry by the end of the sixteenth century. He then wrote mainly tragedies until ...