Act 1
Act 2
Act 3
Act 4
Act 5

Commentary on the work | Romeo and Juliet: An eternal love completed by death
Author's chronology
Shakespeare's works

Pioneering a new literary genre called the 'tragic happy ending'.

Another reason why 'Romeo and Juliet' is still loved today is because of its 'tragic happy ending', that is, it contains elements of a happy ending within a tragic ending.
Romeo and Juliet clearly ends in tragedy with the deaths of both protagonists.
However, that doesn't mean that the audience who sees it will leave the theater crying loudly or feeling endlessly sorry for the two main characters.
Because, the love that could not be achieved in reality was achieved through death, and it brought about the opportunity for two families that had been enemies to finally reconcile with each other.
A pair of young lovers, who loved each other with their whole hearts, bodies, and lives, and then burned to a crisp! As the lord's final line suggests, "There will never be a sadder story than that of Romeo and Juliet" (Act 5, Scene 3), their love, which became a story and will be read over and over again, will forever remain with us as the archetype of love.


Evidence of Shakespeare's literary genius
Infinite poetic metaphors that stimulate the audience's five senses

In particular, 『Romeo and Juliet』 has many scenes set at night.
The balcony scene, the most famous scene in the play and the culmination of love, is set the night after the party where Romeo and Juliet first met.
The balcony of the garden, a place from which Romeo would have difficulty "escaping safely" without dying if Juliet's family knew, is a place of love for them, but also a place where death awaits them at any time.
However, in this work, death is paradoxically connected to the world of infinite love in which the lovers will advance together.
Their love is infinite, like the endless night sea that stretches out in the darkness, and their feelings for each other are likened to the night and the sea, and are connected to death.


Although I am not a sailor, for a treasure like you,
I would gladly sail to any distant shore.
Act 2, Scene 2 Romeo's lines

My love is as boundless and deep as the sea, so I give more to you
The more I give, the more love I have.
Both are endless.
_Act 2, Scene 2 Juliet's lines

In this way, expressions that reveal Shakespeare's poetic genius stimulate the audience's imagination, allowing them to focus on the development of the play, while also maximizing the emotions of the two main characters.
Therefore, even though it was already heralded as a “love story that ends in death,” their deaths remain in the readers’ hearts not as a sad but as a vivid reminder of a love that is still alive and continues endlessly.