We ignore if William Shakespeare really existed: there are uncertain proofs about his historical existence. But of course,
we are rather certain about the written works which are related to such mysterious and worldwide famous name. One of the most known play of the british playwriter is
Romeo and Juliet.
This play has influenced generations of romantic lovers, and still it's influencing.
The story takes place in the north of Italy, and the background is the conflict between the two most powerful families of their respective cities: the Capulets from Verona and the Montagues from Mantua.
These two families have been enemies for ages, and many events still happen to provoke their hatred.
The fate has strange plan to realize: the young Romeo, younger pupil of the Montagues and the young Juliet, lovely girl of Capulets family, meet and start to be interested in each other.
It's a love strike. The families cannot stop the rising passion among these young two souls. Both are blinded by love, and ready to pay the extreme consequences for their forbidden passion.
They have an idea: for escaping from families restrictions, they will fake their own death. It will look like a suicide, but it will only look so, thanks to the effect of a medicine.
The fate is not glad with the lover's plan realizing: something goes wrong.
One believes that the other is really dead. So, the masquerade is destined to leave place to the real death, which takes away the feelings of these innocent and dreaming young lovers. It takes away their feelings together with their lives.
The ending is a tragedy: even the families cannot do anything else than crying together on the tombs of their wonderful departed sons.
A decade ago, there has been realized a movie titled "Shakespeare in love", that suggests a fantastic connection between Shakespeare's personal love experience with the Romeo's one. Such idea is nothing less than a fruit of imagination: there's no proof at all, to establish the link. Anyway, the movie proposes also a very nice reconstruction of Romeo and Juliet play.
Marzio Valdambrini