Romeo and Juliet (fabric)

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The models Pyramus and Thisbe, portrayed by Niklaus Manuel in 1513/14.

Romeo and Juliet are one of the most famous (unhappy) lovers in cultural history.

precursor

The story of Hero and Leander from Greek mythology is usually mentioned as the first model . The Roman poet Ovid based his verse tale Pyramus and Thisbe (around 1 AD) on it.

Since the 12th century the subject has begun to attract interest again: the medieval story Tristan und Isolde, which exists in many versions, or the Roman de Cligès by Chrétien de Troyes deal with unhappy lovers who die in quick succession. In the 14th and 15th centuries there are numerous variants, such as by Giovanni Boccaccio ( Decamerone IV, 10 and X, 4) or the Spanish tragedy La Celestina (1499) by Fernando de Rojas , where the unhappy love of Calixto and Melibea is told becomes.

founder

The first novella in which the lovers are called Giulietta and Romeo and lives in Verona is by Luigi da Porto ( Hystoria novellamente ritrovata di due nobili amanti , 1524). He was already based on a similar story by Masuccio Salernitano from 1476 ( Il novellino , XXXIII).

The version by Matteo Bandello ( La sfortunata morte di dui infelicissimi amanti , 1554) became better known . The French adaptation by Pierre Boaistuau ( De deux amans, dont l'un mourut de venin, l'autre de tristesse , 1559), which in turn served as a model for Arthur Brooke ( The Tragicall Historye of Romeus and Juliet , 1562) and Translated by William Painter ( The goodly History of the true, and costant Love between Rhomeo and Iulietta , 1567).

William Shakespeare relied on Brooke and Bandello with his drama An Excellent Conceited Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet , published in 1595 and premiered in 1597 . This version is the best known to this day. Another theatrical version that is apparently not based on Shakespeare, but on his sources, is Lope de Vegas Castelvines y Monteses , 1606–1612.

Fabric elements

Depending on the version, the Romeo and Juliet fabric contains different elements. The unhappy love that ends with the couple's death is common to most versions. Likewise, that love does not remain unfulfilled, but leads to a sexual relationship that is inappropriate in the eyes of the social environment. In the assessment of love by the authors and the public, however, a change takes place after 1600.

Before that, the lovers are deceived cheaters who are punished fairly in all eyes, especially in Fernando de Rojas variant. This makes the material one of the vanitas depictions that warn of the consequences of greed. Tristan and Isolde, as nobles, are “appropriately” guilty because they have been rendered willless by a magic potion, and can thus become tragic characters - while de Roja's characters remain “low” comedy heroes who have succumbed to their passions (see class clause ).

In Shakespeare's portrayal, on the other hand, there is already sympathy for the couple, although he maintains the framework of the deceived cheat. Shakespeare exposes the hostility of families as a reprehensible situation that is avenged by the death of the children. In this respect, his variant of the material is also a traditional depiction of vanitas. By psychologizing the main characters, however, they gain additional sympathy.

In the period that followed, especially since the 18th century, the public has increasingly been on the side of the couple who are directed against social norms, just as one is on the side of the rascal in modern picaresque novels. Even suicide is increasingly made plausible as a legitimate decision and the class clause is overcome by allowing the lower couple a tragic experience (as in Gottfried Keller). In this way, the fabric helped shape the concept of romantic love.

Adaptations

Since the Shakespeare renaissance in the second half of the 18th century, the material has been worked on frequently. From then on, the adaptations are mostly based on his famous drama. In many versions ( melodramatic ) music has an important meaning. The love death motif has its own tradition , which developed primarily on the opera stage.

drama

Narrative and novel

radio play

  • Ines Eck (1995): Romeo and Juliet between animals (text landscape)

Opera and musical

ballet

Choreographies

Concert music

Movie

literature

  • Rudolf Fischer: Sources on Romeo and Juliet, Marcus & Weber, Bonn 1922.
  • Elisabeth Frenzel : The secret love affair. In: Dies .: Motives of world literature. A lexicon of longitudinal sections of the history of poetry (= Kröner's pocket edition . Volume 301). Kröner, Stuttgart 1976, ISBN 3-520-30101-6 , pp. 453-467.