William Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" was based upon Arthur Brooke's poem - "The Tragicall History of Romeus and Juliet" (1562). He wrote a play that the audience already knew - Romeo and Juliet was a tragedy originally written in 1599. The opening of the play creates tension, which is followed throughout the ply by the dramatic irony of the chorus giving the prologue to the play, making the audience start to wonder when things will happen. "Who …showed first 75 words of 1024 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1024 total…characters. The play puts a lot of emphasis on the message that people are prepared to die just to be with their loved one. I think people can learn a lot from Shakespeare's plays. Audiences today still enjoy this play because it has the same meaning to people now as it had when it was first written. I enjoyed the play and have learned more about Shakespeare and his plays as a result of this.