Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet was first performed on this day in 1595
It is assumed that the play "Romeo and Juliet" on William Shakespeare it was performed for the first time on this day in 1595, while the work itself was published two years later - in 1597, says "Politics".
The famous tragedy of the English playwright, and perhaps one of the most famous plays in the history of the theater, has over the centuries become an archetypal story about two young people who are unhappily in love. Namely, it is a tragic story about two young lovers, whose premature death unites forever their quarreling families - the Montagues and the Capulets.
"Romeo and Juliet", along with "Hamlet", is counted among Shakespeare's most famous works.
Where did Shakespeare get his inspiration?
The legend of the ill-fated lovers of Verona predates this play.
And even Dante Alighieri in his work "Divine Comedy" he mentions "the Montagues and Capulets sunk in sorrow".
Apart from him, Girolamo della Corte in his History of Verona, published between 1594 and 1596, he tells the story of the ill-fated lovers as a historical event that happened precisely in 1303. However, there are suspicions that the story is fictional, as even Xenophon of Ephesus mentions a girl freeing herself from an unwanted wedding with a sleeping potion.
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The influence on popular culture
The influence of Shakespeare's tragedy is very important - not only on music, but also on film tradition.
In poems whose lyrics are inspired by love's sorrow, Romeo and Juliet are often mentioned as an analogy. Melancholy lovers separated by death are one of the most common themes in music history due to the presence of one of the most universal feelings – love.
Film adaptations of this play are very common, and perhaps the most famous is the 1996 version starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes.
Interesting facts
Proof of the importance of this work is the fact that two satellites of Uranus, Julia and Mab, were named after him.
It is interesting that one of the most famous scenes of the play, in which Juliet talks to Romeo from the balcony, did not exist as such in the original performance, but Juliet went to the window and spoke to her lover from there. The word "balcony" itself first appeared two years after Shakespeare's death, and the use of balconies in plays was popularized during the 19th century.
