How Did Shakespeare Influence Romeo And Juliet

Throughout the school year in Mr.Crafts english 9 class, we have explored in depth all the nooks and crannies of literature. We have read and we have learned to understand what it is we are reading. We have also learned the importance and the influence that literature can have on the past, present and future. We have learned that the trivial stories that we read or hear throughout our lives are in fact much more than that. Some stories are actually hidden warnings, some are lesson, and some of the ones that do in fact start out as just stories go on to influence all the other stories after it. Shakespeare told stories and his stories influenced other stories and those stories created more stories. When I was very young I knew who Shakespeare was, however to me Shakespeare was not a man or an actor or a playwright, Shakespeare was just where Romeo and Juliet came from.

Besides the multitude of remakes and knock-offs of the play, Romeo and Juliet has practically set the blueprint for romances as we know them. The thing that makes Romeo and Juliet so romantic and enthralling is that their story, while very romantic, is a story of tragedy and forbidden love. That genus combination of romance and tragedy really tugs on ones heart-strings in a way that not much else does. Romantic tragedies certainly weren’t unheard of before Shakespeare as people realized early on how entertaining emotionally that genre was. However, Shakespeare is the one who really harnessed that genre and fulfilled it to everything it could be. Shakespeare brought romantic tragedies to the spotlight and they never left. Most of the very well-known and well-loved romantic movies and books have that basic principal of a tragic and/or forbidden love. Just a few examples of these love stories are Water for Elephants, The Notebook, and of course