Romeo Montague is the male protagonist of William Shakespeare’s tragedy Romeo and Juliet. The son of Lord Montague and his wife, Lady Montague, he secretly loves and marries Juliet, a member of the rival House of Capulet, through a priest named Friar Laurence. When Romeo was forced into exile after slaying Juliet’s cousin, Tybalt, in a duel, Friar Laurence gives Juliet a sleeping potion that makes her seem dead for 42 hours and sent a letter to Romeo, but it never reached him. Romeo dies by suicide upon hearing falsely of Juliet’s death. Juliet later dies upon waking to find Romeo dead.
First Appearance La seconda parte de le novelle del Bandello (1554) by Matteo Bandello — contains “La sfortunata morte di dui infelicissimi amanti…” (the Romeo/Juliet novella, in Part II)
First Publisher ○
Appearance List La seconda parte de le novelle del Bandello (1554) by Matteo Bandello — contains “La sfortunata morte di dui infelicissimi amanti…” (the Romeo/Juliet novella, in Part II); The Tragical Historye of Romeus and Iuliet (1562) by Arthur Brooke — English narrative poem; The Tragicall Historie of Romeus and Juliet (1587) by Arthur Brooke (reprint); The second tome of the Palace of pleasure (1567) by William Painter — includes prose tale “Rhomeo and Julietta”; Romeo and Juliet (1597) by William Shakespeare — first printed quarto; Romeo and Juliet (1599) by William Shakespeare; Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies (1623) by William Shakespeare; Romeo and Juliet: a tragedy (1748) stage adaptation by David Garrick; I Capuleti e i Montecchi (1830) by Vincenzo Bellini — opera adaptation; Roméo et Juliette (1839) by Hector Berlioz — symphonie dramatique; Romeo and Juliet, Overture-Fantasy (1869; rev. 1870, 1880) by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky; Roméo et Juliette (1867) by Charles Gounod — opera; Romeo and Juliet (1935; world premiere 1938) by Sergei Prokofiev — ballet; Romeo and Juliet (1936) directed by George Cukor — feature film; Romeo and Juliet (1954) directed by Renato Castellani — feature film; West Side Story (1961) by Jerome Robbins & Robert Wise — film adaptation of the Broadway musical; Romeo and Juliet (1968) directed by Franco Zeffirelli — feature film; Romeo & Juliet (1978) directed by Alvin Rakoff — BBC Television.
Sample Read Mr. William Shakespeare’s Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies [Internet Archive]
Description Romeo Montague is the male protagonist of William Shakespeare’s tragedy Romeo and Juliet. The son of Lord Montague and his wife, Lady Montague, he secretly loves and marries Juliet, a member of the rival House of Capulet, through a priest named Friar Laurence. When Romeo was forced into exile after slaying Juliet’s cousin, Tybalt, in a duel, Friar Laurence gives Juliet a sleeping potion that makes her seem dead for 42 hours and sent a letter to Romeo, but it never reached him. Romeo dies by suicide upon hearing falsely of Juliet’s death. Juliet later dies upon waking to find Romeo dead.
