Juliet Ever After: Shakespeare’s Heroine through the Centuries
A Fall 2024 Emeritus Society CourseCost:
$ 40.00 per personDuration:
1h 30minAbout this experience
Tuesdays, 1:30 - 3:00 pm
September 24 - October 1
Holy Trinity Episcopal Church
The title page of the 1597 edition of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet proclaims that the tragedy of the star-crossed lovers “hath been often (with great applause) plaid publiquely.” The author of this statement could not have possibly fathomed how true these words would be as the play has continued to be performed over the centuries to full houses. This year alone two huge adaptations are planned for both Broadway and London’s West End, with contemporary popular actors slated to take on the beloved roles. But, even though the young, “death-marked” lovers have been immortalized together and their names forever intertwined, it is Juliet who has transcended Romeo in popularity and positive perception. In this class we will discuss the play and its afterlives but focus especially on Juliet’s literary ascendance. “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose/By any other name would smell as sweet.” Here Juliet speaks in regard to the Capulet-Montague feud, but this line could just as easily apply to Juliet herself: why has her name become associated with balconies, literary pilgrimages to Verona, and her own Broadway show? An examination of the play itself, along with its original stories and afterlives, will help us to understand how Juliet has achieved such lasting literary longevity.
This course is held in tandem with the 2024-25 Broadway season at the Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts and provides a deeper understanding and context for & Juliet before an optional viewing of the musical. & Juliet musical tickets are sold separately on the first day of class.
- Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet: A Review
- Juliet Rising: The Many Afterlives of Our Heroine and What to Expect from the Broadway Show"
Your Host
Carolyn J. Brown (Ph.D., UNC-Greensboro) is a teacher, writer, editor, and independent scholar. Winner of the 1991 UNCG Dissertation Award, her areas of specialty are medieval, Renaissance and 18th-century literature. She is the author of five works of nonfiction, including award-winning biographies of Mississippi writers Eudora Welty and Margaret Walker. In addition, she has published articles in several peer-reviewed journals, most recently on Jane Austen. Brown sits on the board of the Jane Austen Society of North America and is the chair of the Nominating Committee. She also is a member of UNCG’s College of Arts and Sciences Advancement Council and teaches continuing education classes in Chapel Hill.