The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet

Frontispiece of The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet.

The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet is a narrative poem, first published in 1562 by Arthur Brooke, who is reported to have translated it from an Italian poem by Bandello. Romeus and Juliet was the key source for William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Little is known about Arthur Brooke, except that he drowned in 1563 by shipwreck while crossing to help Protestant forces in France.

Adherents to the theory that Shakespeare's plays were really written by Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford consider this poem to be a youthful composition by de Vere, later expanded and revised for the stage (See: Chronology of Shakespeare's Plays - Oxfordian). Ponderous amounts of source study and comparisons can be found in the introduction in the edition listed below.

References

Brooke, Arthur, d. 1564, Brooke’s ’Romeus and Juliet,’ being the original of Shakespeare’s ’Romeo and Juliet’ newly edited by J. J. Munro. London, Chatto and Windus; New York, Duffield and company, 1908. Reprinted in 1978.

External links

• Arthur Brooke's Romeus and Juliet
• Essay: How Romeus Became Romeo Comparing Brooke's work with Shakespeare's

A series on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet
Characters	Romeo • Juliet • Mercutio • Tybalt • Benvolio • Friar Laurence • Nurse • Paris Prince Escalus • Lord Capulet • Rosaline • Other Characters
Sources	The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet • Pyramus and Thisbe Palace of Pleasure • Troilus and Criseyde • Ephisaica
Musical Adaptations	West Side Story (musical) • Roméo et Juliette (musical) • Giulietta e Romeo (musical) Roméo et Juliette (opera) • I Capuleti e i Montecchi (opera) • Romeo and Juliet (ballet) Roméo et Juliette (symphony) • Romeo and Juliet (overture)
On Screen	Romeo and Juliet (1908) • Romeo and Juliet (1936) • Romeo and Juliet (1954) Romeo and Juliet (1968) • Romeo and Juliet (1978) • The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet (1983) Romeo and Juliet (1988) • Romeo and Juliet (1992) • [[Romeo + Juliet|Romeo + Juliet (1996)]]
	Beneath the 12 Mile Reef (1953) • Romanoff and Juliet (1960) • West Side Story (1961) Romie-0 and Julie-8 (1979) • The Sea Prince and the Fire Child (1981) Tromeo and Juliet (1996) • Love Is All There Is (1996) • Romeo Must Die (2000) حبك نار Hobak Nar (2004) • Pizza My Heart (2005) West Bank Story (2005) • Romeo x Juliet (2007)

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