"Romeo and Juliet"

Romeo and Juliet is perhaps the most famous love story there has ever been. It takes place in Italy, in the city of Verona. The Capulet family and the Montague family hate each other. So when Juliet Capulet and Romeo Montague meet and fall in love, it can only lead to tragedy, with the death of both the lovers.

Although Shakespeare wrote his play about four hundred years ago, the basic story is timeless, and so it can be adapted to any period. One of the best-known adaptations is West Side Story. In this 1950s musical the two families in Verona are replaced by two street gangs in New York. Gangs also play a part in the movie Romeo and Juliet, which was made in 1996. This time the action takes place in Miami-style badlands and involves problems like drugs. The environment is modern, but the characters speak in rhyme, as they did in Shakespeare´s play.

Baz Luhrmann, who made the movie, says that Shakespeare had a genius as a story teller. He wrote plays that everyone could enjoy, whether young or old, rich or poor. His characters have the kind of feelings, problems and relationships that real people experience. Shakespeare has the power to communicate with us all. That is why he is still so popular today.

Red Line New 6, Ernst Klett Verlag, Stuttgart, 2000, page 78