"The tragic love story of Romeo and Juliet has touched the hearts of young and old for nearly four hundred years. In Understanding Romeo and Juliet, Alan Hager draws from both historical and contemporary materials and examines the play from many perspectives, ranging from information about the earliest performances of Romeo and Juliet to discussions of teen suicide in the 1990s.

Each section of the work closes with topics for class discussion and papers and suggested works for further reading."--BOOK JACKET.