Romeo and Juliet was based on real lovers who lived in Verona, Italy who died for each other in the year 1303. At that time the Capulets and Montagues were among the inhabitants of Verona.

Shakespeare found the story in Arthur Brooke's poem 'The Tragical Historye of Romeus and Juliet' (1562).

It is believed that Romeo and Juliet was first printed in 1597. As William Shakespeare clearly did not want his work published details of the play would have therefore been noted, and often pirated without his consent, following a performance.

It is believed that the play was first performed between 1594 and 1595. In the Elizabethan era

there was a huge demand for new entertainment and the tragedy would have been produced immediately following the completion of the play.

Shakespeare's tragic drama of the "star-crossed" young lovers Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet is best remembered for the famous balcony scene. Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet are teenagers who fall deeply in love but their families are bitter enemies. They seize the moment and marry in secret, they make every effort to conceal their actions but these end in tragedy when Romeo, Juliet, Tybalt, Mercutio and Paris all die. The themes running through the play address the issues of the consequences of immature blind passion, hatred and prejudice.

William Shakespeare never published any of his plays and therefore none of the original manuscripts have survived. Eighteen unauthorised versions of his plays were, however, published during his lifetime in quarto editions by unscrupulous publishers A collection of his works did not appear until 1623 (a full seven years after Shakespeare's death on April 23, 1616 ) when two of his fellow actors, John Hemminges and Henry Condell, posthumously recorded his work and published 36 of William’s plays in the First Folio. Some dates are therefore approximate other dates are substantiated by historical events, records of performances and the dates plays appeared in print.

Romeo and Juliet has inspired other works, such as Berlioz's dramatic symphony (1839), Tchaikovsky's fantasy-overture (1869-80), and Prokofiev's full-length ballet (1938).

The academy award winning musical West Side Story is based on the story of Romeo and Juliet.

The quotes from Romeo and Juliet are amongst Shakespeare's most famous including :

'Parting is such sweet sorrow' 'What's in a name'. "It is the east, and Juliet is the sun" . (Act II,

Scene II)."Good Night, Good night! Parting is such sweet

sorrow, that I shall say good night till it be morrow." (Act II, Scene II).

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet". (Act II, Scene II).