Romeo and Juliet

Calling all literary readers and writers! This is a must-read for you! Romeo and Juliet, as edited by Adolph… This is not a text; no, it is so much more. Personally, I found it a most rewarding adventure into my favorite activity--reading! Long before we had copyright laws that constrain creativity rather than elicit it, the storytellers of the times were able to hear a tale of wonder, enjoy it, explore it and then regurgitate it into an even greater masterpiece or, sometimes, into a moving poem, an artistic rendition of the story, or even a musical!... Caso has brought together the works of Masuccio Salernitano, Luigi DaPorto, Matteo Bandello, all Italian writers, inasmuch as the story originated in Italy--and William Shakespeare. You see, Shakespeare did not create and write Romeo and Juliet! Did you know that? So what this book provides is the ability to study the same story, by four different authors… The style of poetic writing by Shakespeare is, of course, completely different from all of the others, and, indeed, is expansive in telling the story. It includes beautifully written passages that most of us have heard at one time or another: But soft, what light through yonder window breaks? / It is the east and Juliet is the sun!... As well as, O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?...  This change in writing style by Shakespeare is exactly why I feel the book is a must-read for literary readers and writers. For it is in the reading, study and digestion of the evolved Romeo and Juliet that we may see and understand all that this beautiful story has to tell us. Indeed, for those unfa-miliar with the works of Shakespeare, this is a wonderful way by which you can begin--for the earlier versions ensure that you are totally familiar with the storyline before you begin the story as written by William Shakespeare. I highly recommend Romeo and Juliet, not only as a wonderful novel, but also as a wonderful study in the writing and evolution of great literature. (Review by Glenda Bixler)