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    Romeo and Juliet
    Romeo and Juliet
    Romeo and Juliet
    Audiobook2 hours

    Romeo and Juliet

    Written by William Shakespeare

    Narrated by Michael Sheen, Kate Beckinsale and Fiona Shaw

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    About this audiobook

    Romeo and Juliet is the play which, in English literature at least, effectively invented the modern love story. Its charm and its power derive from the romantic setting (Verona, an Italian Renaissance city), the youthful innocence and ardour of the lovers, and (perhaps crucially) the excitement and drama created by the opposition which they have to contend with, an opposition which does not simply stem from the older generation but which is starkly present in the feud between their two families and which seems to be supported by the malignity of Fate. The wit, tenderness, dramatic variety and poetic beauty of this play continue to work their spell: it has proved a perennial favourite inspiring, even in our century, works such as the musical West Side Story.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherNaxos Audiobooks
    Release dateJun 9, 1997
    ISBN9789629546939
    Author

    William Shakespeare

    William Shakespeare was born in April 1564 in the town of Stratford-upon-Avon, on England’s Avon River. When he was eighteen, he married Anne Hathaway. The couple had three children—an older daughter Susanna and twins, Judith and Hamnet. Hamnet, Shakespeare’s only son, died in childhood. The bulk of Shakespeare’s working life was spent in the theater world of London, where he established himself professionally by the early 1590s. He enjoyed success not only as a playwright and poet, but also as an actor and shareholder in an acting company. Although some think that sometime between 1610 and 1613 Shakespeare retired from the theater and returned home to Stratford, where he died in 1616, others believe that he may have continued to work in London until close to his death.

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    Reviews for Romeo and Juliet

    4/5

    157 ratings94 reviews

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    • 3/5
      Bekannte Geschichte.Junge trifft Mädchen und sie verlieben sich. Eltern sind dagegen. Tragisches Ende. Der Stoff aus dem heute noch jeder dritte Liebesfilm besteht.
    • 2/5
      overly compressed, beautifully-written play in which two teenagers fall in love, marry, fuck, and die, all in the span of three days. concessions should be made to late 16th century literary convention, but still...
    • 5/5
      Romeo and Juliet has got to be one of my favorite stories. Even though i don't understand most of the language since it is hundreds of years old. It really makes me think about what they're trying to say in the sonnets and other poetry Shakespeare had put in this story. Other than the word choice the author uses, the plot catches my attention almost every scene. It's like there's one problem right after the other. But not of the small conflicts in the story could compare to what happened to the end. Even though i never like stories with bad endings, this has got to be my favorite.
    • 4/5
      Ah. The tragic story of Romeo and Juliet. After years and years of hearing what its about, I finally got to read the story for myself. And what a wonderfully tragic story is was. First thing that surprized me was the sexual stuff. Well, I didn't know it was referring to sexual stuff until the teacher pointed it out, but still. I also realised how unrealistic this play is. I mean, two people falling in love at first sight, getting married before the week is over, and dying because of each other is something that I don't see happening in real life. And I'm so glad it doesn't.
    • 5/5
      I absolutely love this! Romeo can be an idiot sometimes, their families are jerks and the Friar seriously screwed up but you have to love it all.

      Favourite Quote ;

      Oh she doth teach the torches to burn bright, it seems she hangs upon the cheek of night
      As a rich jewel in an Ethiop's ear, beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear.
    • 5/5
      A first-class presentation of this Shakespeare play. The cast includes Kenneth Branagh, Samantha Bond, Judi Dench, John Gielgud, Richard Briers, Derek Jacobi and Simon Callow.
    • 5/5
      I give this book 5 stars because it uses creative and expresses a true form of writing that makes you want to read more until you've read the whole book!!
    • 5/5
      I believed this play to be seriously overrated-- and then I read it. LOL. A beautiful piece of literature that truly encaptures what it is to be a "star-crossed lover."
    • 4/5
      Bruce Colville’s retells Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet in story form. It includes a narration of the major plot points in a clear and easy to follow language that is appropriate for younger children (as early as third grade or so). The book also contains beautiful pictures that capture the important parts of the story and help to tell the story. What I like most about this book is that it incorporates quotes from the play itself. The way that it is mixed in with the easy-to-follow narration of the book would, I believe, help children develop a basic understanding of Shakesperian language that will be helpful to them as they advance into higher grades. This book could also be useful to students in middle and high school. This book could be helpful to me in my current situation as a high school English tutor: Many of the students I tutor are completely thrown off by the language that Shakespeare uses, which inhibits their understanding of the entire story. Supplementing a lesson on Romeo and Juliet with this book would be a good way to get students to grasp the basics of the play and also to ease them into the complex language of the play. Great Book!
    • 5/5
      The first time I've ever enjoyed and understood this story.
    • 5/5
      Interest/Reading Level: Ages 12 and upSynopsis: Romeo and Juliet is the quintessential tragic romance. While written over 500 years ago, the story of passionate love between two teenagers remains a current theme today. Juliet Capulet’s father has told Count Paris, a suitor, that Juliet is too young to marry and he must wait two years. Paris is very in love with Juliet, but Juliet does not love him. Romeo Montague is in love with Rosaline but his love is not returned. The Capulet’s have a party and Romeo with his cousins, crash the event. Romeo sees Juliet and Juliet sees Romeo and it is love at first sight. However, their families have had a long feud and it is unlikely they would ever be able to marry. Juliet wants to marry in secret. Romero, needing some counsel, seeks Friar Laurence for advice. Within a day of the party, Friar Laurence marries the young couple in secret hoping that the marriage will heal the feud between the families. Friar Laurence warns the couple that their love is intense and cannot last long. Benvolio (related to the Prince) and Mercutio (Romeo’s cousin) meet Tybalt (Juliet’s cousin) and other Capulets. Tybalt wants to fight Romeo. Romeo refuses to fight and Mercutio takes up Tybalt’s challenge. When Romeo steps between them, Tybalt kills Mercutio with his sword. In turn, Romeo kills Tybalt. When the Prince hears of the deaths, he does not order Romeo’s execution but banishes him from Verona. Juliet hears the news of her cousin’s death and Romeo’s banishment. Romeo cannot bear leaving his new wife and goes to Friar Laurence for more advice. Friar Laurence tells Romeo he must leave before dawn and tells him to go to Mantua. Friar Laurence is in hopes that he can convince both families to reconcile with the news of their children marrying. Paris still wants to marry Juliet and as her parents have no knowledge of her marriage to Romeo, set a wedding date to be in three days. Juliet’s mother tells her of the wedding and Juliet says no to the marriage. Juliet goes to Friar Laurence for help. Friar Laurence gives her a potion to simulate her death to avoid marrying Paris. He assures her that he will give Romeo the information and Romeo will return to rescue her from the tomb. She drinks the poison, her family believes she is dead, and they bury her in the family tomb. Friar Laurence sends Friar John to Romeo with a letter explaining all the details. But the city officials in Mantua believe he is carrying the plague and refuse to let him enter the city. Romeo returns to Verona upon hearing of Juliet’s death. Romeo starts to open Juliet’s tomb when Paris appears. Paris and Romeo fight and Paris is killed. Romeo says goodbye to Juliet and drinks poison, falling dead at Juliet’s side. Juliet wakes up and sees Romeo is dead. She takes Romeo’s dagger and kills herself. When the families find out, they are bound by shared grief and agree to end the feud.Review: Without a doubt, this is one of my all time favorite love stories. I first read it in high school when my English teacher provided each act on mimeographed paper. She had made a class set and we read the play in class. This was back in the day when class sets of books were unheard of. This particular book is well thought out providing a couple of pages of Shakespeare’s original copy written 1599 as samples of plays written in his time period. The book has footnotes the text references written in bold and the annotations written in standard type. The cover of the book has a dark-haired young man with a blonde young women looking into his eyes. The young people are dressed in current clothing, not period clothing. This is from Penguin Group (Puffin) and they are marketing the teen population by making the illustrations enticing. Other titles they have done like this include Hamlet, Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, and Dracula. Once inside the cover, the play is classic Shakespeare. The old English is a bit difficult to read, but with so many versions of the movie available, most students have a good idea of the story line. The task for the teacher is to cut through the language and work through the words to understand the meaning of the dialogue. Act 5, Scene 3, Line 29 begins Friar Laurence’s explanation of the events surrounding the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. He claims it is his fault that they are dead and offers his life in sacrifice. This is my favorite monologue of the play. Shakespeare captures all the events and outcome is the simple friar’s speech. It is as beautiful as is the last line of the time-honored tragedy. “For never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo.”
    • 1/5
      This is a tragedy in the sense that Shakespeare did so much better with his other plays. This one is weak. The amount of coincidence is down right ridiculous, Shakespeare plays way too much into the "love" for a tale that is supposed to be cautionary(or so I think it might've been senseless fighting between two families led to tragic deaths, never really capitalizes on it til the end). It's also the standard for classic love story although it is nothing of the sort. I despised it.
    • 3/5
      Much has been written concerning this classic. The story is famous and of merit. The problem with Shakespeare's works is that much is lost due to the change in language and in culture over time. One could research the changes to repair the loss but the time spent to do so is not well spent for me.
    • 5/5
      The definitive edition of this play for 21st century academics. Weis is an intelligent editor who shows an objective viewpoint when looking at textual cruxes, and really provides a decent overview of the scholarship on the text. Perhaps the introduction doesn't cover the text in a literary analysis sense, but I suppose there are more highschool-oriented texts out there for that. Very good, and - while not perhaps in my Top 5 of the current Arden series - an example of what the Arden editions aspire to be.
    • 5/5
      This review is for the Frankly Annotated First Folio Edition, with annotations by Demitra Papadinis.The layout of the book is fantastic, making it easy to keep your place in the play when checking on the notes. The notes themselves are fantastic, going in depth and not leaving out the dirty jokes. A thoroughly enjoyable and educational edition!
    • 3/5
      There's only so much you can take reading old English before your mind starts to wander.
    • 3/5
      Classic... what else is there to say?
    • 4/5
      In the book Romeo and Juliet, two families, the Montagues and the Capulets, who are worst enemies, try to discourage the love between their children Romeo and Juliet. Things only get worse when Romeo kills one of the Capulet’s kinsmen, Tybalt, in a duel. Romeo is banished and Juliet is broken hearted when she finds out that she will have to marry Paris. To get rest and pass the time, she drinks a vile which will make her appear dead. After she drinks the vile she is pronounced dead and put into a charnel house. Word reaches Romeo that Juliet is dead so he buys a bottle of poison and drinks it next to Juliet’s body. When Juliet wakes up and sees Romeo dead, she takes his dagger and stabs herself. This book was a page-turner! I think it was so exciting because it had just the right amount of romance. It was also a little sad because death could have been prevented. A lesson I have been reminded of is think before you act. I look forward to reading another Shakespeare book. This edition was useful because it had a vocabulary list for some of the Old-English. In my opinion this is a must read.
    • 4/5
      For never was a story of more woe
Than this of Juliet and her Romeo.Reading a Shakespeare-play and seeing one is two entirely different things. Having been to the Globe in London and experienced the magic of an evening with Shakespeare it seems a dry thing to "just" read the play. Still, reading it offers time to stop and contemplate and enjoy and savour all the famous quotes and lines of poetry.In this romantic tragedy there's plenty of over-the-top emotions, frantic pace, overwhelming love-songs and declarations of eternal bliss or eternal sorrow - it's just a thing you accept coming to Shakespeare. This is his world and it's just for us to drink it in.And although it's exaggerated the theme is eternal and universal - love - mixed with infatuation and madness - it's a force too powerful to be kept down - and it's explosive in the midst of a feud between two families. This emotional tour de force between Romeo and Juliet is something to be appraised and lamented at the same time. I'm not sure what Shakespeare does most. But both things are there. The admiration of such head-over-the-heels love and the warning against it's power to overwhelm and blinding the persons involved. Good Night, Good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow
    • 5/5
      Didn't like the ending.
    • 2/5
      I don't get the hype. I find Romeo to be completely annoying and the story is just frustrating. Worse is trying to see modern film adaptations of the same story, where life-or-death lost messages is impossible. I don't see the point in reading this story except to promote cultural literacy (in which case, a plot summary would suffice).
    • 4/5
      This frayed beauty of a long ago created book has the most grieved, nut stunning end of all time.
    • 5/5
      This updated Folger's edition is very readable, yet still contains all of the explanatory picture from the previous editions.I sometimes was able to read several pages without referencing the footnotes on the left page. I also thought the suggested books for further reading were helpful, as they highlight major themes of this classic.
    • 3/5
      It's okay. And I love the Queen Mab speech. And look, Shakespeare's SHAKESPEARE. Man knows how to write. And I get that it's not a love story and that Shakespeare knows this. Just. Everyone in this story needs to calm down like forty notches. It's histrionic. And I love Catcher in the Rye, so when I say something's histrionic, I mean it.
    • 2/5
      I love Shakespeare. I simply detest this play.
    • 3/5
      Shakespeare has a nice writing style, but Romeo and Juliet were really stupid, so I'm feeling this was just okay. It wasn't true love as much as it was infatuation.
    • 5/5
      O teach me how I should forget to think

      I was prepared to be underwhelmed by a jaded near fifty return to this plethora of love-anchored verse. It was quite the opposite, as I found myself steeled with philosophy "adversity's sweet milk" and my appreciation proved ever enhanced by the Bard's appraisal of the human condition. How adroit to have situated such between two warring tribes, under a merciful deity, an all-too-human church and the wayward agency of hormonal teens. Many complain of this being a classic Greek drama adapted to a contemporary milieu. There is also a disproportionate focus on the frantic pacing in the five acts. I can appreciate both concerns but I think such is beyond the point. The chorus frames matters in terms of destiny, a rumination on Aristotelian tragedy yet the drama unfolds with caprice being the coin of the realm. Well, as much agency as smitten couples can manage. Pacing is a recent phenomenon, 50 episodes for McNulty to walk away from the force, a few less for Little Nell to die.

      Shakespeare offers insights on loyalty and human frailty as well as the Edenic cursing of naming in some relative ontology. Would Heidegger smell as sweet? My mind's eye blurs the poise of Juliet with that of Ophelia; though no misdeeds await the Capulet, unless being disinherited by Plath's Daddy is the road's toll to a watery sleep. The black shoe and the attendant violent delights.
    • 3/5
      It's a classic, but not really a favorite of mine.
    • 3/5
      Like most, I imagine, I was forced to read this in high school (freshman year, specifically). I was no fan of Shakespeare at the time, though I've since come around somewhat. While I've not read it since, I've no real desire to. They're just a couple of horny teenagers thinking they're experiencing true love and all that. For that reason, this work does not entertain me as one might want. However, I do appreciate what it's lent to our culture, and specifically to derivative works. Without this book, we would not have West Side Story, which I do happen to be fond of.
    • 5/5
      I read this fall semester of my freshman year of high school, and have loved it ever since--it remains one of my most favorite books/plays.