Romeo and Juliet is a play by William Shakespeare. It is his tragedy, written in 1595. The play tells the story of two young lovers who die because of a feud between their families. Romeo and Juliet are from warring families, so they must keep their romance secret from others. They fall in love at first sight and marry secretly, but when their secret is discovered, it leads to tragic consequences for both families and causes Romeo to kill himself out of grief after seeing Juliet die.
The main source of tension in this play is between the Montagues and Capulets because they are warring families that hate each other. The protagonist is Romeo (played by Leonardo DiCaprio in Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 film adaptation), while the antagonist is his love interest, Juliet (played by Claire Danes in Luhrmann’s 1996 film adaptation). Their love for each other causes most of their problems throughout the play, but it also brings them together at the end when they both realize that death would be better than living without each other.
