Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet is synonymous with the tragic fate of two young "star-cross'd lovers." The idea wasn't originally Shakespeare's - he borrowed the plot from a few other sources-but his version is the only real living masterpiece. What makes Shakespeare's work so timeless is its depth and varied interpretations. Scholars have never settled on an a grand, unifying theme for Romeo and Juliet, though its smaller elements can be seen as fate, time, the dualities of light and dark, and obviously - Love. It's been taught and performed countless times over its 400 year history, not to mention bowdlerized and plagiarized. This is the original, not-made-for-MTV version.