Romeo and Juliet effect Romeo and Juliet effect The Romeo and Juliet effect is when of parental opposition to a relationship intensifies the romantic feelings of those in the relationship. The effect gets its name from the relationship between the protagonists in William Shakespeare's late 16th-century play, "Romeo and Juliet," whose families were opposed to their union. The term was coined by Richard Driscoll who was the first author on a research paper which first suggested a there was a real world basis for the effect. An early review of romantic love in the Western world emphasized the persistent association of obstacles or grave
Romeo and Juliet the play's "twin themes of love and the total breakdown of understanding between two generations" had contemporary relevance. Recent performances often set the play in the contemporary world. For example, in 1986, the Royal Shakespeare Company set the play in modern Verona. Switchblades replaced swords, feasts and balls became drug-laden rock parties, and Romeo committed suicide by hypodermic needle. In 1997, the Folger Shakespeare Theatre produced a version set in a typical suburban world. Romeo sneaks into the Capulet barbecue to meet Juliet, and Juliet discovers Tybalt's death while in class at school. The play is sometimes given a historical