Romeo and Juliet is one of Shakespeare's most popular tragedies and has provoked a rich diversity of interpretations. Definitively passionate, it is much more than the archetypal love story: the play tests the limits of tragedy and comedy, challenges gender roles and explores the nature of language.In this Reader's Guide, Gillian Woods:• surveys key critical responses to Romeo and Juliet, from the sixteenth century to the twenty-first century• plots a clear route through the vast array of debates, identifying chronological and thematic connections and explaining contexts• investigates major issues and approaches such as deconstruction, psychoanalytical criticism, feminism and queer theory• discusses film adaptations, including Baz Luhrmann's 1996 box-office hit William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet.Authoritative and accessible, this invaluable Guide provides students, teachers and researchers with a panorama of the play's critical history in all its dynamic variety.