Romeo and Juliet: The New Oxford Shakespeare

Romeo and Juliet: The New Oxford Shakespeare

William Shakespeare, Emma Smith, Hannah August, Francis X. Conor

3.74(2700406 readers)
'A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life'

This edition provides a clear and accessible introduction to Shakespeare's enduring tale of ill-fated lovers. Hannah August pays particular attention to the dramatic function of the famous prologue and the significance of the play's ending. August also explores ways of reading the play as a text that queries rather than validates the tenets of heterosexual romantic love, proving that at multiple points throughout the play's four-hundred-years-plus stage history, Verona has more queer than the prevailing view of Romeo and Juliet as a core text of heterosexual love might lead us to believe. It includes a substantial section which addresses the play's early modern production and reception history in both print and performance, as well as providing an overview of later performance traditions drawing on up-to-date examples of key productions.

The New Oxford Shakespeare offers authoritative editions of Shakespeare's works with introductory materials designed to encourage new interpretations of the plays and poems. Using the text from the landmark The New Oxford Shakespeare Complete Modern Critical Edition , these volumes offer readers the latest thinking on the authentic texts (collated from all surviving original versions of Shakespeare's work) alongside innovative introductions from leading scholars. The texts are accompanied by a comprehensive set of critical apparatus to give readers the best resources to help understand and enjoy Shakespeare's work.

ABOUT THE For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Publication Date

7/11/2024

ISBN

9780192866363

Pages

192

Categories

Literature

About the Author

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was an English playwright, poet, and actor. He is 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" (or simply "the Bard"). His extant works, including collaborations, consist of some 39 plays, 154 sonnets, three long narrative poems, and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. Shakespeare remains arguably the most influential writer in the English language, and his works continue to be studied and reinterpreted.
Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Sometime between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part-owner ("sharer") of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men after the ascension of King James VI and I of Scotland to the English throne. At age 49 (around 1613), he appears to have retired to Stratford, where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare's private life survive; this has stimulated considerable speculation about such matters as his physical appearance, his sexuality, his religious beliefs, and even certain fringe theories as to whether the works attributed to him were written by others.
Shakespeare produced most of his known works between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were primarily comedies and histories and are regarded as some of the best works produced in these genres. He then wrote mainly tragedies until 1608, among them Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth, all considered to be among the finest works in the English language. In the last phase of his life, he wrote tragicomedies (also known as romances) and collaborated with other playwrights.
Many of Shakespeare's plays were published in editions of varying quality and accuracy during his lifetime. However, in 1623, John Heminge and Henry Condell, two fellow actors and friends of Shakespeare's, published a more definitive text known as the First Folio, a posthumous collected edition of Shakespeare's dramatic works that includes 36 of his plays. Its Preface was a prescient poem by Ben Jonson, a former rival of Shakespeare, that hailed Shakespeare with the now famous epithet: "not of an age, but for all time".

Questions & Answers

Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" challenges and subverts traditional tragic and comedic genres of the time through its blend of both. The play's tragic elements, such as the inevitable deaths of the title characters and the feud that leads to their demise, defy the typical comedic resolution. Yet, the inclusion of comedic elements, like the bawdy Nurse and the witty banter between characters, complicates the tragic narrative. The prologue's revelation of the lovers' fate introduces dramatic irony, a technique more common in tragedies, into a narrative that also contains comedic moments. Additionally, the characters' exploration of love and gender norms, particularly through Juliet's defiance of traditional feminine roles, subverts the rigid genre boundaries of the time. The play's structure, with its juxtaposition of tragic and comic elements, ultimately questions the very definitions of tragedy and comedy.

Love in "Romeo and Juliet" is the driving force behind the tragic outcome, as it leads the young lovers to defy societal expectations and traditional gender roles. Their intense, passionate love compels them to marry in secret, bypassing the arranged marriages typical of their time. This love is both romantic and idealistic, as seen in their shared sonnet and the "one flesh" rhetoric, which challenges the patriarchal norms of their society.

However, their love is also destructive, as it leads them to reject the advice of friends who offer alternative paths. Their adherence to the romantic ideal of love, despite its flaws, ultimately leads to their tragic deaths. The play explores the limitations of romantic love in a patriarchal society, where the lovers' rejection of traditional gender roles and societal expectations ultimately results in their demise. The juxtaposition of love and death underscores the play's themes of fate, societal constraints, and the complex interplay between love and societal norms.

The prologue of "Romeo and Juliet" significantly influences the audience's understanding of the play's themes and characters' fates. It reveals the tragic ending from the outset, creating a sense of dramatic irony and foreshadowing. This knowledge of the lovers' deaths shapes the audience's interpretation of the play's themes, such as love, fate, and conflict. The prologue's mention of "star-crossed lovers" and the "fearful passage of their death-marked love" emphasizes the inevitability of their fate, suggesting themes of predestination and the power of fate over human will. Additionally, the prologue's introduction of the Montague-Capulet feud and its resolution through the lovers' deaths highlights themes of conflict and the destructive nature of enmity. The prologue also sets the stage for the binary oppositions that permeate the play, such as love/enmity, life/death, and parents/children, which are central to the characters' fates and the play's tragic outcome.

The play reflects early modern England's political and social dynamics through the Montague-Capulet feud and patriarchal authority. The feud symbolizes the class and religious tensions of the period, with the Montagues representing Protestants and the Capulets Catholics. This reflects the real-world conflict between these groups. The patriarchal authority is evident in the parents' control over their children's lives, particularly in the arranged marriage of Juliet to Paris. This reflects the societal expectation that women's lives were controlled by men. The play also shows the limitations of patriarchal authority when the young lovers defy their parents' wishes for a secret marriage, leading to tragic consequences. The power dynamics between the Montagues and Capulets, and the parents' control over their children, mirror the broader power structures of early modern England.

Adaptations and interpretations of "Romeo and Juliet" have evolved significantly over time, reflecting the play's enduring relevance and its ability to resonate with contemporary audiences. Early modern performances emphasized the play's tragic elements, with the prologue's spoiler creating dramatic irony. The Victorian era focused on the play's sexual content, while the 20th century saw it adapted for diverse audiences, including youth culture and LGBTQ+ communities.

Modern adaptations often set the play in contemporary settings, exploring themes like racism, mental health, and gender identity. This evolution reveals the play's adaptability and its capacity to address contemporary issues. Its exploration of love, conflict, and identity continues to resonate, making "Romeo and Juliet" a timeless work.

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