Romeo & Juliet set?

[kittylitter7]

Can someone please tell me when Romeo and Juliet was set. I know when it was written but not sure if it was set at the same time. Thanks.

[jno]

it's seen as medieval, say 300 years earlier than it was written; but this doesn't really mean anything. Some of Shakespeare's historical plays (Julius Caesar, eg) are obviously set in earlier eras, while others were seen as being 'in the present time', but they would all have looked contemporary. The actors would generally have worn Elizabethan dress (they might just have dug out a toga for a Roman play) and the lines are all in Elizabethan English with no attempt at historical accuracy, which is a purely modern concern.

[kittylitter7]

Thanks jno!

[heathfield]

In Act 2, Scene 1, Shakespeare mentions an earthquake that occurred 'a dozen years fore'. This probably refers to an earthquake noteably felt over much of Europe in 1583. 1583 + 12 would date the action to around 1595. As it happens, this is the year that Shakespeare wrote the play, and so would make the setting contemporary with his time.