Romeo and Juliet

William Shakespeare, the immortal figure of English drama, featured in the third reading circle meeting. Born in 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare balanced life on stage and page, producing masterpieces such as Hamlet. Romeo and Juliet—adapted countless times for stage and screen—depicts the tragic love of two young people from feuding families in Verona.

The five-act drama tells of two feuding families in Verona whose children fall in love. The Montague and Capulet families live in tension. When Romeo sees Juliet at a ball and falls in love, he begins visiting her at night. The most important scenes of the drama are these balcony encounters. However, Juliet is betrothed to a count. During wedding preparations, she drinks a potion and falls into a deep sleep. Her family, believing her dead, buries her. Romeo poisons himself, and when Juliet awakens to see her beloved has died, she stabs herself with a dagger and dies.