William Shakespeare's second tragedy, Romeo and Juliet (the first was Titus Andronicus), was written between 1591–1595 and was first published in an unauthorized and somewhat corrupted version in 1597.
Romeo and Juliet is set in Verona and Mantua, Italy, during the period of the Italian Renaissance.
This doesn't help us determine the year in which the action of Romeo and Juliet is set, since the Italian Renaissance is considered to have spanned the period from the 1340s until the 1550s, or even into the 1600s, depending on which historians you ask.
One of the earliest depictions of the Romeo and Juliet story not set in antiquity is a novella written by an Italian poet, Masuccio Salernitano, who stated that the events in the story occurred during his lifetime, in the mid-1400s.
Another Italian writer, Luigi da Porto, wrote a version of the Romeo and Juliet story, and he insisted that the events in his version of the story took place in the 1300s, a century before Salernitano's version.
Girolamo del Corte told the story of Romeo and Juliet in L'istoria di Verona, published in 1594, claiming that is was a true story which took place in 1303.
Shakespeare might have followed the example of these writers and set his play in the 1300s or 1400s, or he might have set it closer to his own time period.
There's very little in the play itself which helps us to date the action of the play. The Nurse talks about Juliet's upcoming birthday, and says that she was born on "Lammas Eve at night" [1.3.21], which Lady Capulet tells her will be in "A fortnight and odd days" [1.3.19], a little over two weeks. "Lammas" is a feast that celebrates the first harvest, which generally happens around August 1, so we can be fairly certain that Romeo and Juliet takes place in mid-July.
As for the actual year in which Romeo and Juliet is set, the Nurse remarks in Act 1, Scene 3," 'Tis since the earthquake now eleven years" [1.3.27]. There was an earthquake in Dover, England in 1580, which seems to set the play in 1591. It's more likely, however, that this is a clue as to when the play was written, rather than in what year it's set.
The best guess of Shakespeare scholars is that Romeo and Juliet is set in the 1300s or 1400s. However, it's the universal appeal of Shakespeare's story of the "star-crossed lovers" that allows Romeo and Juliet to be set equally effectively in any time period.
Although Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet during the 1590s, and the work was eventually published in approximately 1597 or 1599, the play itself is set much earlier, most likely in the 1300s.
It is important to note that Shakespeare was not the first writer to pen the story of Romeo and Juliet. Works such as Arthur Brooke's poem "The Tragicall Historye of Romeus and Juliet" (1562), William Painter's The Palace of Pleasure (prior to 1580), Matteo Bandello's Giulietta e Romeo (1554), Masuccio Salernitano's Il Novellio , and/or Luigi...
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Da Porto'sA Story Newly Found of Two Noble Lovers. Knowing this helps us understand that the dramatization was not meant to be set within Shakespeare's own day and age; rather, it was most likely set during the lifetime of the real-life lovers who inspired the narrative, who lived in Verona in 1303.
It is believed that Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet in the 1590s (most likely 1594). He wrote it during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. The play was probably published in 1597 and/or 1599. In fact, it was one of the first plays performed when theaters reopened after being closed due to the plague. It is assumed that Shakespeare took several years to write it but there isn't a consensus on this information. We aren't exactly sure about these dates. These are calculations and assumptions made by historians. It is known that Shakespeare wrote many of his plays between 1594 and 1603.
The story itself takes place in either the 14th (1300-1400) or 15th century (1401-1500). We know the month/season specifically. It took place in the summer, in the month of July. (In Scene III, it is mentioned that it is a fortnight and odd days away from Juliet's birthday which falls on "Lammas-eve" and that is believed to be in August or late July. A fortnight is two weeks.)
On a side note, it is thought that Romeo and Juliet is based on the real life story of two lovers who lived in Verona, Italy around 1303.
"Romeo and Juliet" is generally believed to take place in the fourteenth or fifteenth century. Most of the literature books that I have used and taught from have given the time period as the 1300's (fourteenth century). As an English teacher, I have been teaching the play for nine years now and always give the setting as the 1300s.
Shakespeare does not specify an exact year for the setting of his romantic tragedy; however, Romeo and Juliet is designated as occurring during the fourteenth century.
This time frame is appropriate for the story of the fated, turbulent, and violent love of Juliet and Romeo since the fourteenth century was a break between the Medieval Age and the Renaissance, and it was marked by great turbulence with two natural disasters: the "Little Ice Age" and the Black Plague. Also, the Hundred Years War was in progress until 1450. There was also great turbulence within Christendom as the Papal seat was moved from Rome to Avignon, France, and the pope who was appointed was hated by Rome.
The so-called Great Western Schism lasted until 1447, during which time there were rival Popes in Rome and Avignon. Since the Catholic Church based its claim to authority on an unbroken succession of Popes, the existence of two parallel papacies was more than just a power struggle; it was a fundamental challenge to the whole medieval world-view.
Thus, the microcosm of Romeo and Juliet's world with its rivalries and feuds, it disease in Mantua, and its violence mirrors the macrocosm of the historical world.
What year was Romeo and Juliet written?
1594.
What year was Romeo and Juliet written?
Although the specific date the play was written is not known, it is known that it was written between 1594 and 1595. In addition, it is believed that the First Quarto, an incomplete and unauthorized edition, was published in 1597, while the Second Quarto, which was authorized, was published in 1599.
What year was Romeo and Juliet written?
Romeo and Juliet was written by Shakespeare early on in his literary career, most probably in 1594 or 1595.
When was Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet written?
Romeo and Juliet was written in 1594 and first published in 1597.
The play Romeo and Juliet is one of the most famous that Shakespeare wrote. Most people know the story of the two lovers from feuding families whose secret marriage led to their deaths. On any given day around the world it is being performed. It was written between Titus Adronicus, a tragedy, and Love’s Labour’s Lost, a comedy. When Romeo and Juliet was being written, The Taming of the Shrew, also a comedy, was being published and likely performed. Due to the way that Shakespeare wrote and performed plays in those days, Romeo and Juliet was probably performed and edited several times between 1594 and 1597 with the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, Shakespeare’s acting company, at The Theatre in Shoreditch. It was published in the First Quarto.
Further Reading
What date was Romeo and Juliet (play) written by W. Shakespeare?
Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet early in his career as a playwright, probably in 1594 or 1595. We don't know the date for certain because there were no copyright laws then and many of his original manuscripts were not written for publication in the first place. Typically one manuscript was written and shared by the entire acting company.
After Shakespeare's death in 1616, two of his fellow actors collected and published his plays in a single volume, called the First Folio, in 1623. Without this collection it is doubtful that many of Shakespeare's plays would have survived over the past four hundred years.
When was "Romeo and Juliet" written?
It's guesswork, I'm afraid - we just don't know exactly. The answer is that "Romeo and Juliet" must have been written some time between 1591 and 1596.
The latter date acknowledges the fact that the first printed text of the play, the "bad quarto" (meaning that it has its origins in someone's memory the text, rather than an actual copy of the play) dates to 1597, so the play must have been written, and performed, by then.
The fact that an earthquake (which the Nurse remembers in her first scene) occurred in England in 1580 might date that line - and the play - back to 1591, though lots of other earthquakes have bene proposed as the inspiration for the Nurse's lines.
Scholars usually date "Romeo and Juliet" to 1595, which aligns it closely with "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (which indeed, might parody or foreshadow the plot of "Romeo" in its "Pyramus and Thisbe" in Act 5).
Hope it helps!