8. Romeo & Juliet by William Shakespeare and the magic of Young Adult romance novels

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Hey listeners! Today we’re talking about Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. As you probably know, this play ends tragically with the two star-crossed lovers taking their own lives. Today’s episode includes a conversation about using this play as a bridge to discuss mental health and suicide with high schoolers. We believe this is an important part of the conversation about this play, but if this topic is triggering for you, we recommend skipping ahead about 2 and a half minutes starting at minute 26 to minute. Alright, let’s get into the episode!</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Today Chelsey and Sara are chatting about</span> <em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Romeo and Juliet</span></em> <span style="font-weight: 400;">by William Shakespeare. This play is the perfect match for spring fever, and for many of us, it was our first encounter with Shakespeare. We share lots of thoughts on reading this play as freshmen in high school and later as English teachers. Plus, we have opinions on how Shakespeare should be read and taught in general. Listen in for book recommendations that capture the star-crossed lovers theme but don’t end quite so tragically. Our discussion includes:</span></p> <p> </p> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">How we may have misunderstood the main characters (11:58)</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Why Mercutio is our favorite character (20:57)</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Content warning:</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">brief discussion on teaching suicide awareness as part of the Romeo and Juliet curriculum (26:10-29:00)</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Why this play endures, and is still read in high schools (31:18)</span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Plus, as always, we’re recommending six contemporary books to pair with our classic include an unexpected literary retelli