Romeo and Juliet (The Annotated Shakespeare)

251 Pages·2004·0.68 MB·English

by  William Shakespeare

the annotated shakespeare

Romeo and Juliet
(cid:1)
William Shakespeare
Fully annotated,with an Introduction,by Burton Raffel
With an essay by Harold Bloom
the annotated shakespeare
Burton Raffel,General Editor
Yale University Press • New Haven and London
Copyright © 2004by Burton Raffel.
All rights reserved.
This book may not be reproduced,in whole or in part,including illustrations,
in any form (beyond that copying permitted by Sections 107and108
of the U.S.Copyright Law and except by reviewers for the public press),
without written permission from the publishers.
“Romeo & Juliet,”from Shakespeare:Invention of the Human,by Harold Bloom,
copyright © by Harold Bloom.Used by permission of Riverhead Books,an
imprint of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
Designed by Rebecca Gibb
Set in Bembo type by The Composing Room of Michigan,Inc.
Printed in the United States of America by R.R.Donnelley & Sons.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Shakespeare,William,1564‒1616.
Romeo and Juliet /William Shakespeare ;fully annotated,with an
introduction by Burton Raffel ;
with an essay by Harold Bloom.
p. cm.— (The annotated Shakespeare)
Includes bibliographical references.
isbn0-300-10453-7(paperbound)
1. Romeo (Fictitious character)—Drama. 2. Juliet (Fictitious character)—
Drama. 3. Verona (Italy)—Drama. 4. Vendetta—Drama. 5. Youth—
Drama. I. Raffel,Burton. II. Bloom,Harold. III. Title.
pr2878.r6r34 2004
822.3(cid:1)3—dc22
2004002597
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
10987654321
For my own Juliet:Elizabeth

contents
(cid:1)
AboutThis Book ix
Introduction xv
Romeo and Juliet 1
An Essay by Harold Bloom 195
Further Reading 215
Finding List 221

about this book
(cid:1)
W
ritten four centuries ago,in a fairly early form of
Modern English, Romeo and Juliet is a gorgeously
passionate, witty, and complex text. Many of the
play’s social and historical underpinnings necessarily need,for the
modern reader,the kinds of explanation offered in the Introduc-
tion.But what needs even more,and far more detailed,explana-
tion are the play’s very words.Toward the end of act 1,scene 1,
Romeo and his loyal friend,Benvolio (the name means,in Italian,
“well loved,”just as Romeo’s name,in Italian,means “pilgrim”),
spar wittily about the nature of love:
Benvolio Alas that love,so gentle in his view,
Should be so tyrannous and rough in proof.
Romeo Alas that love,whose view is muffled still,
Should without eyes see pathways to his will.
(lines78–81)
For comprehension of these lines—completely typical of the
play’s language—the modern reader needs help. In Benvolio’s
two lines,
ix