William Shakespeare provided some of the most brilliant works ever performed on the stage. He is also the author of numerous sonnets and poems, but is best known for his plays such as Hamlet, Macbeth, A Midsummer Night's Dream and Romeo and Juliet. In this essay I would like to discuss the play and film "Romeo and Juliet", and also the film Shakespeare in Love. William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet is set in the fictional city of Verona. Two families live within the city, the Capulets and the Montegues, who have been fighting for generations. One night a party is held at the Capulet house. At the party the Montegues' only son, Romeo, and the Capulets' daughter, Juliet, are seen across the room. The moment their eyes meet, we are supposed to believe that they instantly fall in love with each other. Since they come from two warring families, their love would most likely be forbidden. Juliet's father also promised her to his good friend Paris. Because love between young people is so powerful, they turn to Friar Laurence and secretly marry. On the day of their wedding Tybalt, Juliet's cousin, challenges Romeo to a duel. In the midst of all this chaos, Romeo's best friend Mercutio is murdered by Tybalt. Romeo then kills Tybalt in revenge. When the Prince of Verona discovers what Romeo has done, he banishes him from Verona forever. When the friar learns of this, he devises a plan so that the two lovers can be together. The main climax of the play comes when the friar gives Juliet a potion that will make her appear dead, when in reality she is alive. all the time. While in Mantua, Romeo mistakenly hears that Juliet is actually dead and goes to lie by her side. Just as she takes a vial of poison and dies, Juliet awakens to find her love lying dead at her side. He can't imagine living in a world without Romeo, so he takes his sword and ends his own life. The film version of Romeo and Juliet stars two famous young actors, Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes. In some ways it is very similar to the original, but at the same time very different.