Romeo and Juliet : Staged: the origins of YA’s greatest tropes

"O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?" Romeo Montague is desperate to win the heart of the elusive Rosaline when he encounters a beautiful girl and immediately falls in love. Juliet Capulet is still reeling from the news that she is to marry Count Paris when she encounters a beautiful boy and immediately falls in love. Neither of them knows that they are sworn enemies. Upon learning the truth of each other's identities, they are determined to save their love and arrange to marry in secret, encouraged by the Friar who aspires to end their families' long and bloody rivalry. But when Romeo runs into Juliet's hot-headed cousin, a fight erupts that leaves both Montagues and Capulets dead, and Romeo banished from Verona. A distraught Juliet bids Romeo a tearful goodbye, but when her family insist that she marry Count Paris and threaten to disown her, Juliet is forced to take drastic measures. She plans with the Friar to fake her own death, but a tragic series of events ends in a scene that will bring both families to their knees. Romeo and Juliet is the classic tale of love, loss and the origin of the star-crossed lovers trope. STAGED is a beautifully designed, six-part collection of Shakespeare's most beloved works and the archetypes that they popularised, celebrating the genius of the Bard and the tropes that remain present in best-selling YA titles to this day.