Romeo and Juliet is the story of two star-crossed lovers, a secret marriage, potions to simulate death and a tragic ending has been the subject of writers for centuries. Statements of a basic plot can be found as early as the third century (Dill 4), however, more detailed versions did not appear until the fifteenth century. The legend of Romeo and Juliet slowly developed thanks to the efforts of Luigi da Porto, Matteo Bandello and Arthur Brooke. However, “only in Shakespeare's hands did the love story itself become the lyrical celebration of youthful passion that we now all associate with the names Romeo and Juliet” (Mack 71). I intend to provide a history of the development of Romeo and Juliet that led to Shakespeare's success with its effect on the city of Verona, Italy. Luigi da Porto published his version of Romeo and Juliet in 1530. The Veronese credited him with "the first to tell the story of the two unfortunate lovers" (Masterpieces of Verona 48). They could acknowledge his story with such acceptance as he claimed that Pellegrimo da Verona had the early 14th century chronicles from Bartolomeo Della Scala showing the two ill-fated lovers as a true story. Porto's assertion of a factual account may have actually inspired future writers to use Verona as the setting of Romeo and Juliet. Matteo Bandello, an Italian writer, included the story in his Novelle published in 1559. This popular prose was translated into French by Arthur Brooke and used it as the basis for his 1562 poem, The Tragicall Historye of Romeo and Juliet. It has been noted that Shakespeare relied entirely on the poetry of Arthur Brooke to bring Romeo and Juliet to life. The changes made in......middle sheet...BibliographyBaugh, Albert C. ed. are attributed to Shakespeare's talent. A literary history of England. New York: Appleton-Century-Crafts, Inc., 1948. Bettiol, Gabriella. The story of Romeo and Juliet. Verona: Randazzo Edizioni Taristice, Date not available. Gill, Rome, ed. Romeo and Juliet. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1982. “Juliet's Tomb.” Veronese masterpieces. No edition, 1987. Mack, Maynard. Everyone is Shakespeare. Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press, 1993. Pallot, James, ed. The guide to the cinema. New York: Berkley Publishing Group, 1995.Shakespeare, William. Romeo and Juliet. and. J. A. Bryant, Jr. New York: Penguin Group, 1990. Shakespeare, William. Romeo and Juliet. and. Jane Backmann. Lincolnwood: NTC Publishing Group, 1994.Shakespeare, William. Romeo and Juliet. and. John E. Hankins. New York: Penguin Books, 1960. "Verona." Baedeker. 3rd ed. 1996.