Romeo and Juliet Resources

West Side Story is a retelling of Romeo and Juliet as a musical centered around two warring New York City gangs. The classic film was directed by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim.

Tromeo and Juliet is a campy, street punk version of Romeo and Juliet that high school teachers are highly unlikely to show in class. It also happens to feature a whole lot of raw meat (we're not kidding).

Shakespeare in Love is a fictionalized account of how Shakespeare overcame writer's block and penned Romeo and Juliet, starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Joseph Fiennes. Anyone who hearts Shakespeare should see this film. (Psst. It's co-written by Tom Stoppard, the guy responsible for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.)

Romeo Must Die, a modern re-telling of the classic play, directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak and starring Jet Li.

Gnomeo and Juliet, an animated film featuring Emily Blunt as Juliet and James McAvoy as Gnomeo.

West Side Story (1961) is a retelling of Romeo and Juliet as a musical centered around two warring New York City gangs. The people behind this movie are a who's who of awesome mid-century Broadway (Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, Jerome Robbins). There's literally no way you'll regret watching this, except if you run out of tissues.

Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 adaptation is a classic—and it raised eyebrows for casting 15-year-old Olivia Hussey and then giving her a nude scene.

Tromeo and Juliet (1996)is a campy, street punk version of Romeo and Juliet that high school teachers are highly unlikely to show in class. (You might have better luck in college.) It also—we're not kidding—happens to feature a whole lot of raw meat.

Romeo Must Die, a modern re-telling of the classic play, directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak and starring Jet Li, Aaliyah, and Isaiah Washington.

Stephenie Meyer thought of New Moon as an updated Romeo and Juliet. Do you agree?

An 18th season episode of The Simpsons is called "Rome-old and Juli-eh" – it's about old Grandpa Simpson's "forbidden" love affair with Marge's sister Selma, who is much younger but equally unattrractive. You can watch the full episode here.

Shakespeare's play is based on Arthur Brooke's popular English poem "The Tragicall History of Romeus and Juliet" (first published 1562, two years before Shakespeare was born). You can read online or download a (modernized) copy of Brooke's poem that was republished in 1908.

Book 4 of Ovid's Metamorphoses (Ovid started the project around 2 A.D.) contains "The Story of Pyramus and Thisbe," another source for Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. You can read and download an English translation here.

Act 5, Scene 1 of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream (written around the same time as Romeo and Juliet) features a performance of "Pyramus and Thisbe," a play-within-the-play that explores the same themes as Romeo and Juliet. You can read it here (and check out Shmoop's learning guide for Midsummer while you're at it). This is a link to Act 5, Scene 1 but you can follow the links to read the entire play.

Shakespeare's play is based on Arthur Brooke's popular English poem "The Tragicall History of Romeus and Juliet" (first published 1562, two years before Shakespeare was born). You can read online or download a (modernized) copy of Brooke's poem that was republished in 1908.

Book 4 of Ovid's Metamorphoses (Ovid started the project around 2 A.D.) contains "The Story of Pyramus and Thisbe," another source for Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. You can read and download an English translation here.

Act 5, Scene 1 of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream (written around the same time as Romeo and Juliet) features a performance of "Pyramus and Thisbe," a play-within-the-play that explores the same themes as Romeo and Juliet. You can read it here (and check out Shmoop's learning guide for Midsummer while you're at it). This is a link to Act 5, Scene 1 but you can follow the links to read the entire play.

Think Romeo and Juliet would make a great tabloid cover story? You're not the only one. Check out the BBC's hilarious "60 Second Shakespeare."

Check out this modern and super-condensed adaptation of Shakespeare's play, compliments of the BBC's "60-Second Shakespeare."

Galaga meets Romeo and Juliet? Play 'Speare, an arcade-style video game that helps users learn about Shakespeare's language and plays. Compliments of the Canadian Adaptations of Shakespeare Project.

Play Romeo and Juliet Jeopardy! (PowerPoint)

Check out the "Interactive Folio" of Romeo and Juliet, where you can click on the lines of the play for access to definitions, fun facts, images, dramatic readings, and cool video clips.

Think Romeo and Juliet would make a great tabloid cover story? You're not the only one. Check out the BBC's hilarious "60 Second Shakespeare."

Galaga meets Romeo and Juliet? Play 'Speare, an arcade-style video game that helps users learn about Shakespeare's language and plays. Compliments of the Canadian Adaptations of Shakespeare Project.

Check out the "Interactive Folio" of Romeo and Juliet, where you can click on the lines of the play for access to definitions, fun facts, images, dramatic readings, and cool video clips.

… is checking out the website of the Folger Shakespeare Library.

Shakespeare in Love is a fictionalized account of how Shakespeare overcame writer's block and penned Romeo and Juliet, starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Joseph Fiennes. Anyone who hearts Shakespeare should see this film. (Psst. It's co-written by Tom Stoppard, the guy responsible for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. Dude knows his Shakespeare.)

We defy you to watch this dancer perform the death of Juliet in Prokofiev's ballet without feeling a little emotional.

Here's the trailer from Zeffirelli's 1968 adaptation, complete with a teenage Juliet.

Shmoop totally had a crush on Leo and Claire in 1996. Check out the trailer from Baz Luhrmann's 1996 version here.

Classic 80s band Dire Straits does a version of Romeo and Juliet. Still good after all these years.

Here's a 100% free version of Romeo and Juliet.

NPR recommends a recording of Sergei Prokofiev's hit scoring of Romeo and Juliet. You can't go wrong with "one of the most beautiful scores of the 20th centuries."

Check out a bunch of awesome images from the first edition of Romeo and Juliet.

Here are a bunch of stills from the 1968 Zeffirelli adaptation. Do you buy Juliet as a 13-year-old?

Now compare a bunch of images of Baz Luhrmann's 1996 update—do they convey the story?