Background information
On this page, we give you background information about Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, including the historical context of the play.
The genre of Romeo and Juliet: tragedy
Romeo and Juliet is a drama, or play. This is relevant to your analysis in several ways. First, a play has no narrator. This means that we do not have direct access to the characters’ feelings and thoughts. Instead, we must work out the personality and motives of each character by observing what they say (their dialogue) and do (their actions).
Second, whenever a play is staged, its interpretation relies on the director and actors (and not just the text itself). On top of this, a staged version holds elements such as the use of props, clothing, or the actors' movements and facial expressions. This study guide, however, focuses on Romeo and Juliet as a text and not a staged play. This is because the focus point in English class is the text itself.
Third, the genre of Romeo and Juliet can be narrowed down even further as the play is a tragedy. The genre of tragedy goes back to Ancient Greece. Tragedies genera...
