Romeo

Character in Romeo and Juliet

For other uses, see Romeo (disambiguation).

Fictional character

Romeo Montague

Romeo and Juliet character

The balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet as depicted by Ford Madox Brown (1869-70)

First appearance|

* Romeo and Juliet
* c. 1591–95

Created by| William Shakespeare
Based on| Romeus, from The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet (1562)
In-universe information
Family|

* Lord Montague (father)
* Lady Montague (mother)
* Lord Capulet (father-in-law)
* Lady Capulet (mother-in-law)
* Benvolio Montague (cousin)
* Tybalt Capulet (cousin by marriage)
* Rosaline Capulet (cousin by marriage)

Spouse| Juliet Capulet
Nationality| Italian

Romeo Montague (Italian: Romeo Montecchi) 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.

Forced into exile after slaying Juliet's cousin, Tybalt, in a duel, Romeo dies by suicide upon hearing falsely of Juliet's death.

The character's origins can be traced as far back as Pyramus, who appears in Ovid's Metamorphoses, but the first modern incarnation of Romeo is Mariotto in the 33rd of Masuccio Salernitano's Il Novellino (1476). This story was reworked in 1524 by Luigi da Porto as Giulietta e Romeo (published posthumously in 1531). Da Porto named the character Romeo Montecchi, and the storyline is nearly the same as Shakespeare's adaptation.[1] Since no 16th-century direct English translation of Giulietta e Romeo is known, Shakespeare's main source is thought to be Arthur Brooke's English verse translation of a French translation of a 1554 adaptation by Matteo Bandello.[2] Although both Salernitana and da Porto claimed that their stories had a historical basis, there is little evidence that this is the case.

Romeo, an only child like Juliet, is one of the most important characters of the play and has a consistent presence throughout it. His role as an idealistic lover has led the word "Romeo" to become a synonym for a passionate male lover in various languages.

## Origins

[edit]

The earliest tale bearing a resemblance to Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is Xenophon of Ephesus' Ephesiaca, whose heroic figure is a Habrocomes. The character of Romeo is also similar to that of Pyramus in Ovid's Metamorphoses, a youth who is unable to meet the object of his affection due to an ancient family quarrel, and later kills himself due to mistakenly believing her to have been dead.[3] Although it is unlikely that Shakespeare directly borrowed from Ovid while writing Romeo and Juliet, the story was likely an influence on the Italian writers whom the playwright was greatly indebted to.[4] The two sources which Shakespeare most likely consulted are Brooke's translation of da Porto and William Painter's The goodly historye of the true, and constant Love between Romeo and Juliet.[5]

## Film portrayals

[edit]

Romeo and Juliet has been adapted into film several times, and the part of Romeo has been played by several actors, including

* Leonard Whiting in Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 film, Romeo and Juliet, opposite Olivia Hussey as Juliet.
* Leslie Howard in George Cukor's 1936 film, Romeo and Juliet, opposite Norma Shearer as Juliet.
* Laurence Harvey in Renato Castellani's 1954 film Romeo and Juliet.
* Leonardo DiCaprio in Baz Luhrmann's modernized 1996 version, Romeo + Juliet, alongside Claire Danes as Juliet.
* Douglas Booth in Carlo Carlei's 2013 Romeo and Juliet film adaptation, opposite Hailee Steinfeld as Juliet.
* Orlando Bloom in a Broadway adaptation in 2013.
* Jordan Luke Gage in the West End musical & Juliet.
* Kyle Allen plays the character in Rosaline (2022 film).
* Kit Connor in Sam Gold's 2024 Broadway adaptation, opposite Rachel Zegler as Juliet.

## Other portrayals

[edit]

* Nice Peter in an episode of the YouTube comedy series Epic Rap Battles of History.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ da Porto, Luigi (1868). "The Original Story of Romeo and Juliet". In Pace-Sanfelice, G. (ed.). The original story of Romeo and Juliet by Luigi da Porto. From which Shakespeare drew the subject of his drama. Being the Italian text of 1530, and an English translation, together with a critical preface, historical and bibliographical notes and illustrations. Translated by Pace-Sanfelice, G. Cambridge: Deighton, Bell, and co. hdl:2027/mdp.39015082232961.
2. ^ Hunter, Lynette; Lichfield, Peter (2009). Negotiating Shakespeare's language in Romeo and Juliet: reading strategies from criticism, editing and the theatre. Farnham, England: Ashgate Publishing. p. 93\. ISBN 978-0-7546-5844-3.
3. ^ Halio, Jay (1998). Romeo and Juliet: A Guide to the Play. Hoboken, New Jersey: Blackwell Publishing. p. 93\. ISBN 1-4051-1396-0.
4. ^ Bevington, David M. (2006). How to read a Shakespeare play. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. p. 37. ISBN 0-313-30089-5.
5. ^ Hunter & Lichfield, p. 11

## Bibliography

[edit]

* Shakespeare, William (1859). Romeo and Juliet:A tragedy. Leipzig: G. Græbner.

## External links

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Romeo (character).

* Complete listing of all of Romeo's lines

* v
* t
* e

William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

Characters|

* Romeo
* Juliet
* Mercutio
* Tybalt
* Benvolio
* Friar Laurence
* Nurse
* Paris
* Rosaline
* Queen Mab

Sources|

* The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet
* Pyramus and Thisbe
* Palace of Pleasure
* Troilus and Criseyde
* Ephesiaca

Ballets|

* Romeo and Juliet (1938, Prokofiev)
* Romeo and Juliet (1962, Cranko)
* Romeo and Juliet (1965, MacMillan)
* Romeo and Juliet (1977, Nureyev)
* Romeo and Juliet (1965, Lavery)
* Radio and Juliet (2005)
* Romeo + Juliet (2007, Martins)
* Romeo and Juliet (2008, Pastor)

Operas|

* Romeo und Julie (1776, Benda)
* Giulietta e Romeo (1796, Zingarelli)
* Giulietta e Romeo (1825, Vaccai)
* I Capuleti e i Montecchi (1830, Bellini)
* Gloria (1874, Cilea)
* Roméo et Juliette (1867, Gounod)
* A Village Romeo and Juliet (1907, Delius)
* Romeo und Julia (1940, Sutermeister)
* Romeo und Julia (1943, Blacher)

Musicals|

* The Belle of Mayfair (1906)
* West Side Story (1957)
* Once on This Island (1990)
* Roméo et Juliette, de la Haine à l'Amour (2001)
* Giulietta e Romeo (2007)
* & Juliet (2019)

Classical|

* Beethoven's String Quartet No. 1 (c. 1800)
* Roméo et Juliette (1839, Berlioz)
* Romeo and Juliet (1870, Tchaikovsky)

On screen|

| Films|

* 1900
* 1908
* 1916 Metro
* 1916 Fox
* 1936
* 1940
* 1953
* 1954
* 1955
* 1964
* 1967 (TV)
* 1968
* 1978 (TV)
* 1992 (TV)
* 1996
* 2006
* 2013
* 2025

|

TV series|

* Ronny & Julia (2000)
* Skin (2003)
* Romeo × Juliet (2007)
* Romeo y Julieta (2007)
* Harina de otro costal (2010)
* Star-Crossed (2014)
* Romil & Jugal (2017)
* Still Star-Crossed (2017)
* A Infância de Romeu e Julieta (2023)

Plays|

* Romanoff and Juliet (1956)
* People's Romeo (2010)
* Romeo and Juliet (2013)

Songs|

* "Montagues and Capulets" (1935)
* "Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet" (1968)
* "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" (1976)
* "Angelo" (1978)
* "Romeo and Juliet" (1978)
* "Romeo and Juliet" (1981)
* "Cherish" (1989)
* "Amor Prohibido" (1994)
* "Kissing You" (1996)
* "Starcrossed" (2004)
* "Peut-être toi" (2006)
* "Mademoiselle Juliette" (2007)
* "Love Story" (2008)
* "Love Me Again" (2013)

Albums|

* Romeo and Juliet (1968)
* Romeo + Juliet (1996)
* Romeo & Julia (2006)
* Tragic Lovers (2008)
* Star-Crossed (2021)
* Rosaline (2022)

Literature|

* Les Chouans (1829)
* The Wandering Jew (1844)
* The Stolen Dormouse (1941)
* The Faraway Lurs (1963)
* The Destruction of Faena (1989)
* Ronny & Julia (1995)
* Romiette and Julio (2001)
* New Moon (2006)
* Warm Bodies (2010)

Art|

* Romeo and Juliet: the Tomb Scene (1790)
* The Last Kiss of Romeo and Juliet (1823)
* Juliet and her Nurse (1836)
* Romeo and Juliet (1978)

Phrases|

* A plague o' both your houses!
* A rose by any other name would smell as sweet
* Star-crossed

Story within
a story|

* Nicholas Nickleby
* 1912 film
* 1947 film
* 1980 play
* 2001 film
* 2002 film
* The Picture of Dorian Gray
* 1910 film
* 1913 film
* 1915 film
* 1916 film
* 1917 German film
* 1917 Hungarian film
* 1945 film
* 1976 TV special
* 2009 film
* Harlequinade
* W Juliet
* "Nothing Broken but My Heart"
* Panic Button
* Bare: A Pop Opera
* Bolji život
* The Sky Is Everywhere
* Pay as You Exit
* The White Mercedes
* She Died a Lady
* "Moonshine River"
* Rendez-vous
* Fame
* "I Am Unicorn"
* The Frog Prince
* Molly
* Smart Girls Get What They Want
* Tumbleweeds
* "The Thief of Baghead"
* The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke
* Prince Charming
* Km. 0
* Phileine Says Sorry
* Hamateur Night
* "Say You'll Be Mine"
* Into the Gauntlet
* Wandering Son
* K-On!

Other|

* Such Tweet Sorrow
* Romeo and Juliet effect
* Romeo and Juliet laws
* After Juliet
* "Upper West Side Story" (2012)
* Millennium Dome Show
* Inge Sylten and Heinz Drosihn
* Boys Don't Cry
* My Wedding and Other Secrets
* Donkey in Lahore
* Upside Down
* Letters to Juliet
* Sherlock Gnomes
* Romeo and Juliet in Sarajevo

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF
* 2
* WorldCat

National|

* United States
* Poland
* Israel

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