Romeo and Juliet (Folger Shakespeare Library)

Of course this is an immortal story that has been read for centuries and at least one beautiful motion picture has been based on it. But, I guess I'm a "dunce" because I never could understand much of the dialogue. "What he say?" was my reaction to much of it. But, I discovered these Folger Shakespeare Library editions that have the dialogue as written by Shakespeare in Elizabethan English on the right side of the page and the "translations" and explanations on the left. Wow! That format makes it very easy to enjoy this book without going to a dictionary every 90 seconds or so! And, for teachers, I think they'll be overjoyed when they see the positive results they could get in class! If you have any opinions about this edition please email boland7214@aol.

I recently re-read ROMEO AND JULIET prior to attending The Colorado Shakespeare Festival's performance of the Bard's most famous love story under the summer stars here in Boulder. It tells the familiar, romantic tragedy of an age-old feud between the Montague and Capulet familes, and the love between "star-crossed" lovers, Romeo (a Montague) and Juliet (a Capulet). After the two lovers secretly marry, the hostility between their families escalates, driving young Romeo and Juliet to their shared destiny of love and death. ROMEO AND JULIET is a powerful play about the pursuit of love in a violent society. It is also a play that reminds me that it is perhaps better to read and re-read Shakespeare than to devour one bestseller after the next.

G. Merritt

Romeo and Juliet is a wonderful read. I loved reading every minute of it. The summaries and the explanatory notes help you understand everything about it. This is a great book and I would recommend you read this as an introduction to Shakespeare. I did and I am now going to start A Midsummer Night's Dream. Read this book! You'll love every minute of it!

In one of Shakespeare's most famous and beloved plays, true love is thwarted at the cruel hands of fate.

The Capulets and the Montagues have been rivals for years. However, this doesn't stop Juliet Capulet and Romeo Montague from falling in love with one another. And so the timeless and beautiful story of Romeo and Juliet begins.

Both the play and the romance of the two main characters take off almost unrealistically quickly; the play is set only over the course of a few days. But what a few days it is. Shakespeare expertly captures the naive and innocent viewpoints of the two teenagers and his language is always metaphorical and flawless.

I found this version of the play extremely helpful, as it was the first Shakespeare play I had read and I wasn't yet accustomed to the unique language of the era. On one side of the page is the actual text of the play and on the opposite side is a list of words and phrases that modern-day citizens may not be accustomed to. This greatly increased my comprehension level of the book, and is a definite asset to anyone who isn't yet "Shakespeare-savvy". Happy reading!

The Folger edition of Romeo and Juliet is very easy to read. The many notes and illustrations make it enjoyable.