When Romeo, heartbroken and love-sick over Rosalind, meets Juliet, he falls in love almost instantly. Masked and unaware of her family origins, Romeo doesn't realize that Juliet is a Capulet—sworn enemies of his family, the Montagues. The lovers decide to escape their families' legacies and marry. Yet, it is not to be so—Juliet and her Romeo meet a tragic end, which finally unites their families and ends years of strife. Perhaps the most famous love story in the world, Romeo and Juliet is Shakespeare's most enduring work, and from Shakespeare in Love to Shakespeare in the Park, the star-crossed lovers have met across a crowded stage for over four hundred years.

Known as "The Bard of Avon," William Shakespeare is arguably the greatest English-language writer known. Enormously popular during his life, Shakespeare's works continue to resonate more than three centuries after his death, as has his influence on theatre and literature. Shakespeare's innovative use of character, language, and experimentation with romance as tragedy served as a foundation for later playwrights and dramatists, and some of his most famous lines of dialogue have become part of everyday speech.

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