The Origins of Juliet(te)

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romeo_and_Juliet

Origins and Sources

A common misconception is that the plot of Romeo and Juliet was invented by Shakespeare. In fact, his play is a dramatisation of Arthur Brooke‘s narrative poem The Tragicall History of Romeus and Juliet (1562).Shakespeare followed Brooke’s poem fairly closely but enriched itstexture by adding extra detail to both major and minor characters, inparticular the Nurse and Mercutio.

Brooke’s poem was not original either, being a translation and adaptation of Giuletta e Romeo, by Matteo Bandello, included in his Novelle of 1554. This was in turn an adaptation of Luigi da Porto‘s Giulietta e Romeo, included in his Istoria novellamente ritrovata di due Nobili Amanti (c. 1530). This is the version that gave the story much of its modern form, including the names of the lovers, the rival families of Montecchi and Capuleti, and the location in Verona, in the Veneto.

However, the earliest-known version of the tale is the 1476 story of Mariotto and Gianozza of Siena by Masuccio Salernitano, in Il Novelino (Novella XXXIII).

Bandello’s story was the most famous and was translated into French(and into English by Brooke). It was also adapted by Italian theatricaltroupes, some of whom performed in London at the time that Shakespearewas writing his plays. One such performance or script could haveinspired Shakespeare’s version of Romeo and Juliet.

This story of ill-fated lovers had obvious parallels with similar tales told throughout history, including those of Hero and Leander, Pyramus and Thisbe, Floris and Blanchefleur, Troilus and Cressida, Antony and Cleopatra, Layla and Majnun, Tristan and Iseult, Shirin and Farhad and Hagbard and Signy.Shakespeare was familiar with these stories, some of which wereincluded in his other plays. The tale of Pyramus and Thisbe appears incomic mode in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, while the Trojan War lovers, Troilus and Cressida, were given a history play of their own.

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