How can you explain the story of Romeo and Juliet in a short?

Answer 1

There are two different families that are battling for power. (I think its Italy. Wherever Verona is.) Romeo and Juliet meet at a party and they begin to fall in love but they are from the two different families and it is forbidden for them too see each other. Soon they are caught and Juliet takes a potion that fakes her death and they have a funeral and bury her in the catacombs. Romeo gets there and sees that she is dead and kills himself because he cannot live without her. But soon after Juliet awakes to see him dead and she kills herself along with him and the story ends.

Hopefully that helps!

Answer 2

Hello! To understand any Shakespeare play you have to go in depth into the language and times. In my opinion, schools shouldn't make kids read Shakespeare as if it was any other book because it is not; mostly because (obviously) they're plays but also because the language is so different it takes weeks to grow used to it and finally grasp the true beauty, power, and extreme flow of Shakespeare's words. Telling a person to just pick up and read Romeo and Juliet is about the same as telling a unilingual American to pick up and read a book in French; you won't understand it well unless you spend at least a week or two solely focusing on studying the language if the time. Tyr to get in touch with what certain words mean; notice how some words back then were completely different from our modern language. Also read up on slang from Elizabethan England; Shakespeare includes a lot of casual (and occasionally perverted) jokes in his works. Finally, if possible, read a translated version before reading the original. The translated version is no where near as eloquent, beautiful, and powerful as the original version, but it'll give you an idea on what characters are saying. After doing this read the original. Trust me, it's very rewarding to read Shakespeare and understand what is happening. His depth with psychology, poetry, social and economic problems, and different ethnicities is fascinating and truly exciting to watch. Enjoy and good luck!