Student Edition - Perfection Learning

A Political RomanceAudiences often think of Romeo and Juliet as a love story and nothingmore. In fact, the play has a political dimension that is too frequentlyoverlooked. The politics of Romeo and Juliet have their roots deep in thestory’s earliest Italian sources.The play’s plot goes back to several Italian novels. All of thesenovels feature two lovers named Romeo and Giulietta, whosehappiness is thwarted by their feuding families, the Montecchi andCappelletti. The first of these was written by Masuccio of Salernoduring the 15th century. During the 16th century, Luigi da Porto basedanother novel on Masuccio’s, and Matteo Bandello based yet anotheron Luigi’s.Florence in 14906Romeo and Juliet