Romeo and Juliet Romeo and Juliet Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately reconcile their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and along with "Hamlet", is one of his most frequently performed plays. Today, the title characters are regarded as archetypal young lovers. "Romeo and Juliet" belongs to a tradition of tragic romances stretching back to antiquity. The plot is based on an Italian tale translated into verse as "The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet" by Arthur Brooke in 1562 and
Their Eyes Were Watching God based. Racism was gaining legitimacy in the decades leading up to Hurston's writing of "Their Eyes Were Watching God". Baptist preacher Thomas Dixon, Jr. wrote "The Leopard's Spots: A Romance of the White Man's Burden" in 1902, asserting white supremacy amidst supposed African-American evil and corruption. The book was so popular that Dixon wrote a trilogy. His second novel, "", was adapted for the silent film "The Birth of a Nation", portraying African-American men in an unintelligent, sexually aggressive light (1915). During the Harlem Renaissance, African-American writers were urged to write toward an Uplift program, to improve the image of