Although Arthur Brooke’s first English translation of the story in 1562 is credited as being the source material for Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, the tale has an evolutionary history, whose roots are based in the novelle genre of literature, popular in the 15th century (Brian Gibbons 32. Arden Shakespeare Edition).  Preceding Brooke’s publication as Shakespeare’s most immediate source, there were several versions of the narrative penned by four major figures: Masuccio Salernitano (1476), Luigi da Porto (1530), Matteo Bandello (1554), and Boaistuau (1559).  Each author added something different to the story.  

In Salernitano’s Cinquante Novelle, the lovers’ are married secretly by a Friar, Mariotto commits murder and is subsequently banished, Giannozza then marries her father’s choice for her husband, Giannozza bribes the Friar to make a sleeping potion, the Friar wakes her, she escapes, and she and Mariotto, overwhelmed with grief, die apart (Gibbons 33-4).

Da Porto’s tale includes quite a few additions, which are closer to what we know today as Romeo and Juliet.  His version is the first to use names of the real, Italian houses of Montecchi and Capelletti, causing many to believe the story to be true and inspiring tourists to continually flock to a balcony in Verona, said to be that infamous location.  Da Porto also included the lovers’ meeting at a ball in the rival family’s home, the balcony scene, the Friar’s plan of escape for the lovers, the miscarried message to Romeo, the all-too-late reunion in Juliet’s tomb, and their respective suicides (Gibbons 35).  

Like da Porto, Bandello has the couple awake for a brief time together before their deaths in the tomb.  However, Bandello’s additions include some familiar characters: the Nurse and a Benvolio counterpart.  Bandello also changes Juliet’s betrothed’s name from Conte Lodrone to Paris (Gibbons 35).  

Boaistuau, who translated the narrative into French, contributed the moment in the tomb, which has Romeo die before Juliet awakes.  He also has Juliet stab and kill herself with Romeo’s dagger (Gibbons 36).  

In his introduction to the Arden edition of the play, Brian Gibbons writes, “Brooke’s chief contribution is his emphasis on the power of the ‘blyndfold goddesse’ ‘fierce Fortune’ throughout the story” (36).  It is Brooke’s focus on the undeniable power of fate, in addition to his ability to set up stark contrasts between the public and private worlds depicted in Verona that inspire Shakespeare’s telling (Gibbons 37).

Some features that are uniquely Shakespeare’s include the juxtaposition of comedic scenes and characters with the tragedy of the story, the contrasts between Romeo and Paris as rivals for Juliet, and the fleshing-out of secondary characters: Tybalt as a threatening force, the Nurse as a comic character, and Mercutio as a confidant and rabble-rouser (Gibbons 39-40).  The nature of Shakespeare’s version of the tale as a text for performance highlights the theatricality of the story.  Apart from the contrasts that he furthered in character and setting, Shakespeare also intensified the dramatic tension of Romeo and Juliet’s ill-fated ending through repetition of messages and the miscarriage of messages (Gibbons 41).  These and other significant, stylized additions make Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet a memorable and compelling story to read and to watch.    

Lucy Tobin
Director of Education
The Philadelphia Shakespeare Festival