Romeo and Juliet, also known as the greatest love story of all time, is William Shakespeare’s iconic tragedy. The ultimate tale of star-crossed lovers tells the story of two teens destined to be with each other despite their feuding families. Since 1597, it’s been on people’s minds worldwide. The big question is: Is it still relevant in 2025?
Before we get into the various ways this love story is portrayed..what even happens in the story?
Romeo and Juliet was originally written as a play set in Verona, Italy. It follows two young lovers, each a member of the feuding families, the Capulets and the Montagues. Despite their families’ demands, the two marry in secret. In retaliation, Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin who’s angry with Romeo, kills his friend. This sends Romeo into a rage and he kills Tybalt and disappears. Meanwhile, in order to avoid an arranged marriage, Juliet drinks a potion to fake her own death, planning to meet up with Romeo after she has fooled her family. Unfortunately, Romeo is fooled as well and commits suicide thinking she is dead. Once Juliet wakes up and finds Romeo dead, she kills herself too. So, no happily ever after for those two lovebirds.
The play is obviously monumental, but it’s still reasonable to ask why. Ms. Slattery, one of the incredible English teachers here at GA, says that although she hasn’t read Romeo and Juliet in a while, she still remembers every detail of reading it in high school. In terms of the play’s value and impact, she explains “Every time it breaks your heart. It captures the purity of love in an impure world.” She also likes “the idea that even in the oldest feuds—and our world has too many—we find hope in the next generation.” Pretty poetic, huh? Maybe that’s why the story is still around 458 years later.
With hundreds or thousands of versions of Romeo and Juliet, it’s hard to focus on all of them, but there are three that jumped out to me. We can’t talk about the different adaptations of Romeo and Juliet without talking about the original as that’s where it all started. At the beginning of everything, it was just William writing in his London home. Many don’t know that the initial version was actually based on an already existing poem by Arthur Brooke and that all roles were played by male actors back then. Even Juliet!
Quite a few years later, the talented Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes took the story to the big screen grossing almost $150 million. Although this film was released in 1996, it remains popular to this day, showcasing Shakespeare’s impact on our current society. (And for more on the aforementioned drag, check out 1998’s Gwyneth-fest Shakespeare in Love.)
Even more recently, & Juliet, the smash Broadway musical based on the play, looks at the story from a different perspective. Here, the storyline is reimagined from Juliet’s perspective as she realizes that in these modern times that there’s more to life for a woman than just being a wife. The show also features a queer love story and lots of comedy throughout. All signs that the play can adapt to any era. Overall, Romeo and Juliet’s uniqueness and individuality are never lost throughout the many different versions.
The main takeaway: Although Romeo and Juliet has existed for more than 400 years, it’s still here for good reason. It’s adaptable, timeless, and deeply moving. Shakespeare’s tragic story has been recognized for its greatness throughout the years, and with so many different variations, it’s hard to forget this work of art.
