Romeo and Juliet

This is one of Shakespeare's most well known tragedies and one of his best.

There's a love triangle and a 'will they won't they' element about it, including fights and squabbles, separation and longing, but there's also a lot more to it than that.

This is one of Shakespeare's best-worked plot summaries and has a satisfying conclusion, instead of everyone living happily ever after (everything written by Jane Austen), getting slayed in battles (Macbeth) or poisoning the community (Hamlet).

The only struggle I have with Romeo and Juliet is the antiquity of female opinions and, because of that, they're unable to speak up against dominant males and suitors, reminiscent of Tess of the D'urbervilles and how bleak and frustrating that felt at times. Women shut themselves away, obey alpha males and then jump off metaphorical cliffs, but that doesn't detract from the story, which is a satisfying one.

Some of the poetry and expression is beautiful, but there's also the Shakespearean warbling that's too much like filler for the untrained and uninitiated.

Although this is classified as a tragedy, there's something very heartening and reassuring about Romeo and Juliet, as though our world isn't such a bad one after all. It's one of the world's best known romances.