What was the connection between shakespheres romeo and juilet and lope de vega?

Answer 1

Shakespeare's play antedates Lope's by about a decade, but both may have used the same source, Bandello's telling of the tale in Italian. It is highly unlikely that Lope was familiar with the Shakespeare. And in fact, Lope turned the story into a tragicomedy, with a relatively happy ending--the lovers survive. There is also quite of bit of farce comedy in the Lopean version--even in scenes where we might expect pure romance or pure tragedy, and generally Lope used similar, but different names for his characters. There is no Friar Lawrence character in the play, though the friar is mentioned. There is no Nurse, though Julia has a comic maid that serves in a similar capacity. And there is no Mercutio; in his place is a rather pathetic, inept wooer named Octavio, whom Julia mocks and who is later killed in the duel with Romeo.