The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet

Frontispiece of The Tragicall Historye of Romeus and Juliet.

The Tragicall Historye of Romeus and Juliet is a narrative poem, first published in 1562 by Arthur Brooke, who is reported to have translated it from an Italian novella by Matteo Bandello. Romeus and Juliet was the key source for William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Little is known about Arthur Brooke, except that he drowned in 1563 by shipwreck while crossing to help Protestant forces in France.

Source study and comparisons can be found in the introduction in the edition listed below.

The poem's ending differs significantly from Shakespeare's play--the nurse is banished and the apothecary is hanged for their involvement in the deception, while Friar Lawrence leaves Verona to live in a hermitage until he dies.

References

• Brooke, Arthur, d. 1563, Brooke’s ’Romeus and Juliet,’ being the original of Shakespeare’s ’The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet’ newly edited by J. J. Munro. London, Chatto and Windus; New York, Duffield and company, 1908. Reprinted in 1978.

External links

• Arthur Brooke's Romeus and Juliet Complete original text, with a glossary and a search engine.
• Essay: How Romeus Became Romeo Comparing Brooke's work with Shakespeare's