Readings on Romeo and Juliet
(Book)

THE GREENHAVEN PRESS LITERARY COMPANION TO BRITISH LITERATURE Includes bibliographical references (p. 180-184) and index (p. 185-190). The plot, structure, and characters of Romeo and Juliet -- The story of the star-crossed lovers / Charles and Mary Lamb -- Shakespeare simplified and improved an old story / John Erskine -- The forces driving the play's main characters / Edward Dowden -- The characters' impulsiveness is the villain of the play / Bert Cardullo -- The masquerade is the play's central reference point / Kathleen McLuskie -- Themes and ideas developed in Romeo and Juliet -- Echãis of Romeo and Juliet in A Midsummer Night's Dream / Amy J. Riess and George W. Williams -- The meaning of the night visit in the balcony scenes / Jill Colaco -- Physical and spiritual sickness infects the lovers' world / David M. Bergeron -- Social restrictions against illicit unions in Romeo and Juliet / Ann J. Cook -- The recurring image of the inert body in Romeo and Juliet / Brian Gibbons -- The influence of astrology / John W. Draper -- Diverse ways of staging and interpreting Romeo and Juliet -- How the lovers' scenes were staged in Elizabethan times / Leslie Thomson -- Shakespeare used extensive character doubling in staging Romeo and Juliet / Giorgio Melchiori -- Editing the play's text / Barbara Hodgdon -- A film version of the play uses visual imagery to enhance the stoy / Michael Pursell -- The play's spirit retained in musical and artistic version / Joseph Kestner.