October 2020: Romeo and Juliet

For our very first ModCon Halloween release, we will be addressing William "Jason" Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.

The story of Romeo and Juliet is often portrayed as a great tragic romance, but it serves better as a cautionary tale about the dangers of being a slave to your passions. Whether you’re driven by love or hate, when you turn your brain off and let your other organs make your decisions, it ends badly.

We see it again and again throughout the play: the two families, who should just live their rich lives in peace, choose to spend their time throwing down in the street, interrupting each other at award shows, and making such a nuisance of themselves that they wind up condemned to death if they don’t knock it off. Romeo follows his…enflamed passion around into enemy territory, over walls, and, finally, into a crypt.

In this play, you will see stabbings, poison, a costume party, and an extended scene in a graveyard. It’s basically a horny teen horror comedy, but for some reason, the only holiday treatment it gets are those Valentine’s candy hearts that say 'Romeo' or 'Juliet.'

Well, I say light up some Jack-O-Lanterns, grab your best disguise, and check your drinks twice, because October 2020 is the month for Romeo and Juliet. We'll open up with some sonnets that tie in nicely with the themes of the play, and sprinkle in some fun Shakespearean treats along the way. Then, on Halloween, the full translated play and collected sonnets will be released as a PDF that you can download for free.

All translated works will remain free for those who may benefit from them. If you are able to, please consider making a donation to Modern Contextual Shakespeare, which is a passion project run by one broke nerd.